For The Health Of… Beyond Dirt: How Soil Powers Regeneration from the Ground Up
When most people think of soil, they picture brown, lifeless dirt. But what lies beneath our feet is far from dead. Soil - healthy, living soil - is one of the most complex and essential ecosystems on Earth.
It’s not just the medium for growing plants. It’s the foundation of every thriving food web, every resilient ecosystem, and every bite of nutrient-dense food.
A Living Web Beneath Us
Just one teaspoon of healthy soil holds more living organisms than there are people on the planet—bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, and micro-arthropods all interacting in a dynamic, symbiotic web. These tiny players aren't just background noise. They are the engineers, farmers, and recyclers of the natural world.
Microbes cycle nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, converting them into plant-available forms. Mycorrhizal fungi extend the reach of plant roots by tenfold or more, exchanging water and minerals for sugars. Earthworms tunnel and aerate, improving water infiltration and structure. Together, they build what we call the soil food web—a vibrant, self-sustaining engine of fertility.
At Tangen Draw, our work begins here—in the invisible world underfoot. Because when you regenerate soil, everything else follows.
What Went Wrong?: The Legacy of Industrial Agriculture
Over the past century, industrial agriculture decoupled food production from ecological function. Monocultures replaced biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides replaced biology. And heavy tillage broke up soil structure, exposing it to erosion, oxidation, and microbial collapse.
The consequences have been severe:
- Soil erosion outpaces formation by more than 10x in many regions.
- Organic matter—the backbone of soil health—is disappearing.
- Water cycles are disrupted as compacted soil loses its sponge-like capacity.
- Biodiversity is declining both above and below the surface.
In short: we’ve treated soil like dirt. And in doing so, we’ve undermined the very systems that support life.
Soil as a Water System, Not Just a Nutrient System
One of the most overlooked functions of soil is its role in the water cycle. Healthy soil acts like a sponge—soaking up rainfall, filtering pollutants, and slowly releasing moisture back to plants and streams. Organic matter, particularly humus, can hold 20x its weight in water.
At Tangen Draw, we’ve seen firsthand how rebuilding soil organic matter through rotational grazing and rest periods can dramatically improve water retention. Pastures that once flooded in spring and dried out in August now maintain consistent moisture—nourishing deeper roots, supporting wildlife, and reducing runoff into rivers.
This isn’t just good for us. It’s good for the watershed, for downstream communities, and for the long-term resilience of the landscape.
Regenerative Practices that Heal
Regeneration isn’t a product. It’s a process. It’s not about what we “apply” to the soil—it’s about how we partner with it.
Here are a few of the ways we actively restore soil health at Tangen Draw:
- Rotational Grazing: Our bison and cattle are moved frequently, mimicking the migratory patterns of wild herds. This prevents overgrazing and allows grasses to regrow with stronger root systems.
- Long Rest Periods: We allow fields to rest between grazings—often for more than a year—giving soil biology time to rebuild and plants time to recover fully.
- Multi-species Forage: Instead of a single type of grass, we manage for diversity of native grasses, legumes, and flowering forbs. This diversity feeds different soil organisms and creates a stronger root matrix.
- Minimal Disturbance: We avoid tillage, compaction, and chemical inputs that disrupt soil communities.
The result? Soil that teems with life. Grass that grows taller, faster, and with deeper roots. Meat that’s richer in nutrients. And a ranch that grows more resilient each year.
Why Soil Health Means Better Food
The health of your food starts long before the harvest. It starts in the soil.
Plants grown in biologically active soil are more nutrient-dense—absorbing a broader spectrum of minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. Animals grazing on those plants are healthier, with higher levels of omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and fat-soluble vitamins.
In contrast, crops grown in dead soil require synthetic inputs to survive and deliver fewer nutrients per bite. This nutritional decline is part of a broader pattern of disconnection—where calories are abundant, but nourishment is lacking.
At Tangen Draw, our bison and beef are grass-fed and finished on pastures built from the ground up, starting with soil. It’s not just about ethics or sustainability. It’s about raising food that truly nourishes the body and the land at the same time.
A Feedback Loop of Life
Regenerative soil practices don’t just “fix” one part of the system. They set off a cascade of positive feedback:
- Healthier soil grows stronger plants.
- Stronger plants support more diverse microbial and insect life.
- More life above and below ground creates more stable ecosystems.
- Ecosystems that function well produce higher-quality food and sequester more carbon.
It’s a loop. A living loop. And once it starts turning, it builds momentum—restoring landscapes, livelihoods, and legacies.
Closing Thoughts: From the Ground Up
At a glance, soil may seem simple. But once you understand what it does—how it connects water, air, life, and food—it becomes clear: regeneration starts at the root. Leonardo da Vinci once observed, “We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.” Five hundred years later, his words still ring true.
If we want stronger communities, healthier bodies, and more resilient ecosystems, we need to start by rebuilding the ground we stand on. Because soil isn’t just where life grows. It’s how life thrives.