Bramble Hollow Farm: A Soil for Water Case Study

Brent stands inside the commercial kitchen at Bramble Hollow Farm.

The Soil for Water Case Study series highlights the stories and management practices of eleven farm operations throughout Virginia. The project was led by Eric Bendfeldt, Kim Niewolny, and Katie Trozzo from Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension; Lee Rinehart and Mike Morris of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT); and Ernie Didot of Clear Impact Productions. This series aims to share how farmers improve soil health and catch and hold more rainwater in soil through their use of regenerative grazing practices. 

Thank you, farmers, for sharing your time, experiences, and insights about regenerative grazing and soil health-building systems with us and the broader community! 

Each case study on the Virginia Soil Health Coalition blog will highlight the technical resources that the farm manager has used and/or mentions. We are delighted to highlight Bramble Hollow Farm in Bedford County, Virginia!

Brent (right) and his dog give Eric Bendfelt (left) a tour of the Compost Castle area.

Cycling Carbon

Brent and Anna Wills bought Bramble Hollow Farm in 2004, located along the eastern foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Bedford County. Their family raises pork and chicken on pasture and also raised other livestock and poultry through the years. Brent and Anna sell through multiple market channels including farmers markets, on-farm sales, community-supported agriculture (CSA) deliveries, participation in a food hub, and affiliation with the Edible Goose Creek farm alliance. 

“I feel like one of the biggest things that farmers have been missing for a long time, and that regenerative kind of automatically embeds in the equation, is thinking more about carbon and how carbon cycles in the system,” said Brent. 

One way that Bramble Hollow Farm cycles carbon is through composting the nitrogen-rich remains of chickens after processing. Brent calls it his "Compost Castle." Since the system has a high enough carbon to nitrogen ratio – 10:1– to help break down the materials, they are able to compost meat and bones. This helps cycle carbon as well as nutrients back into the soil, creating more fertile ground and economic benefits. 

“We’re going through a paradigm shift right now [in which] farmers and agencies and institutions are starting to see a little broader, I think, in terms of soil health, and particularly when it comes to economic resilience in the face of crazy markets,” said Brent. 

Healthy soils are the foundation for a healthy farming operation and ecosystem. The 4 core principles of soil health management can help guide practices: keep the soil covered, minimize disturbance, maximize living roots, and energizing the soil with diversity. 

Brent emphasizes the need for farmers to not only diversify their crops and soil microbes but also to diversify their markets. Brent and Anna sell through multiple market channels including farmers markets, on-farm sales, community-supported agriculture (CSA) deliveries, participation in a food hub, and affiliation with the Edible Goose Creek farm alliance. 

Understanding Systems

Early in his farming journey, a friend of Brent's gave him a the book called The Contrary Farmer by Gene Logsdon. Instead of the conventional idea of "get big or get out," Logsdon encouraged farmers to "stay small and stay in." 

Brent shared other authors and resources such as Acres USA, Eric Fisher, Jerri Brunetti, and Joel Salatin who have influenced his perspective.

"What I really like to see is a farmer that's engaged in trying to learn more about their systems work," said Brent. "I'm going to judge the farmer a lot more on the books on his shelf than the tools in his shed." 

Bramble Hollow Farm functions as part of a bigger environment than just the farm. Brent and Anna recognize that the production areas are neighbors to wildlife, and they prioritize protecting wildlife habitat as a way to encourage a peaceful coexistence and mitigate threats to their livestock. 

“We don’t have all the answers,” said Brent. “Mother Nature knows how to do that better than we do, so it’s usually best for us to stand aside and watch what the natural systems do and try to mimic that. In my experience, the farmers that I’ve worked with over the last 20 years, the most successful ones are the ones that do that.”

Follow along Bramble Hollow Farm

Website: bramblehollowfarm.com

Instagram: @bramblehollowfarm

Facebook: Bramble Hollow Farm

Dig In: Resources mentioned

The Contrary Farmer by Gene Logsdon 

Acres USA

Compost Teas for the Organic Grower by Eric Fisher

The Farm as Ecosystem by Jerri Brunetti

To read more about Brent and Anna's story, see their feature on the 4 The Soil blog post Bramble Hollow Farm is #4TheSoil.

See all the farmers' and ranchers' stories from the Soil for Water Video Case Studies on the Virginia Cooperative Extension's YouTube channel.