

November 15, 2021 Blog Environment
I love my farm, and I love being the steward of beautiful landscapes, abundant wildlife, and especially the new species we’ve found of both plants and animals. We’ve had many management challenges like spraying poison on bugs to save trees or another less effective solution. How do we ensure that any Ginseng found is properly picked and documented? The list is long. I’ve worked with a cadre of scientists, bug people and plant people and wildlife trackers, biologists and ecologists, and, well, every kind of -ologist you can think of. All of them are environmentalists, and together we’ve come up with some effective processes and techniques to manage the farm effectively while protecting and enhancing the environment. Now, the government has partnered with us. When environmentalists, farmers, and the government share common interests, it makes sense to collaborate. I wrote about it for the Tennessean. Read the article here.
April 25 2023 Blog Environment
Some scientists estimate that native grasslands have declined by as much as 99 percent. By some estimates, this resulted in three billion fewer birds on the landscape than 50 years ago. This has harmed both the eastern meadowlark and the bobwhite which are both found on Coal Creek.
April 20 2023 Blog Environment
Historically, open savannas and woodlands were largely maintained by periodic fire, which served to remove dense blankets of accumulated leaf litter from the ground and promote the growth of fire-adapted trees, such as shortleaf pine. Due to the loss of periodic fire, it is estimated that at least 90% of shortleaf pine-oak savanna has been lost.