What twenty tons of manure looks like.

At the beginning of each season, Michael has soil samples analyzed to assess the state of the farm's fertility. Based on the results, he places an order for minerals to spread around the farm. Earlier this week, Michael took delivery of a dump-truck load of well-composted manure premixed with these minerals, and he has spent a couple of afternoons applying this mix to the fields.

This is a critical yearly task. One of the central principles of the way we farm is that the health of the soil is all. The early-twentieth-century English agronomist Sir Albert Howard -- who is considered one of the fathers of organic farming -- promoted the idea that we should view the "whole problem of health in soil, plant, animal, and man as one great subject." The health of our plants -- and the health of our shareholders -- depend on the health of our soil. We therefore do all we can to ensure that our soil is fertile, nutrient-dense, and teeming with worms and beneficial microorganisms. And sometimes creating healthy soil means spreading twenty tons of manure.