Journey Back to Health – Farming with Nature

By Heidi & Philip

Farming has always been in our bones. This is the story of how our health, and our relationship with farming, brought us back to nature.

A Life in Farming, a Wake-Up Call in Canada

After managing our Irish family farm, we sold up and moved to Manitoba, Canada, in 2007. There, we farmed 2,000 acres of arable crops: wheat, rye, peas, soya beans, canola, and more. On the surface, it was successful. But underneath, things were beginning to unravel.

Our input costs were growing. Soil health was declining. And we started questioning the safety and purpose of the chemicals we were spraying across our fields.

I, Philip, enjoyed the practice of driving my sprayer through a crop on a beautiful summer’s day, but the act of what I was pumping through the machine and covering the crop and soil with never felt right. This gut feeling turned into something undeniable. After years of chemical exposure, our own health began to deteriorate. The final wake-up call came when we heard Dr Don Huber speak at a conference about the effects of glyphosate on the whole food chain, and the unintended consequences, backed by science and data. It was surreal to sit in a room with 150 fellow farmers, and after Dr Huber's closing remarks, there was the moment of 'hearing a pin drop', as we all tried to process our guilt. We knew then: the way we were farming was making us sick.

From Crisis to Curiosity

As concerns for our own health and our soils grew, we began looking for alternatives. Discovering Dr Elaine Ingham was a turning point. After completing her foundation course, we dove into further self-education. Attending conferences, reading widely, and connecting with farmers asking the same hard questions. Just like humans, if the soil and crops' nutritional needs are met fully, the necessity to deal with weeds, disease, and predatory insects is greatly reduced.

We started using cover crops and biological foliar feeds in place of synthetic fertilisers. We experimented with composting, creating teas and extracts that introduced microbial life back into the soil. But perhaps most importantly, we began to understand that regeneration wasn’t just about farming differently. It was about seeing the whole system. Soil, plants, animals, and people, as one interconnected ecosystem.

Coming Home to Heal

One of the most frightening discoveries on our journey was learning about PFAS. So-called “forever chemicals” found in many common pesticides. These substances are highly toxic, persist in the environment, and have been linked to cancer, fertility issues, and immune dysfunction. Like many farmers, we were unaware that pesticides can contain forever chemicals. At least three of the pesticides I previously used contained PFAS.

In 2021, we made the decision to return to Europe. We settled on a 44-hectare farm in Fife, Scotland, alongside our children, Symone, Konrad, and son-in-law Alex. We began building a health focused, science backed, regenerative farm. Reclaiming our health and building whole body health from the ground up.

By walking away from chemicals entirely, we’ve stopped that cycle on our land and in our bodies. Put simply, our own health and the health of the land we work with is improving. A phenomenon which I have never experienced before.

Farming for the Future

Changing farming methods is no easy task. On the other hand, a system that is broken is an incentive to try changing. Today, we're focused on producing nutrient-dense food, sharing our lived experience and offering service solutions to regenerate a food system designed for health.

Education is key, and it is at our fingertips all day long. Take small steps... the important thing is to start.