Agritourism & Adventure in the Bitterroot Valley

With the holidays now well behind us, and everyone sinking their teeth into 2017, it appears that now is the time of serious vacation planning for the Spring and Summer ahead – we are especially pleased with the tremendous amount of interest, enquiries, and bookings presently coming our way.

So for this week’s blog, an overview of ABC acres’ principles, and a taste of our Agritourism & Farm Stay offerings to come, we’d like to share with you an article which is soon to be published in a local tourism magazine….

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ABC acres – Agritourism & Adventure in the Bitterroot Valley

Big blue skies, sparkling lakes and rivers, and magnificent forests of the deepest greens are very much alive within the Montana landscape.  Unknown to us, and with our heads down amidst the hustle and bustle of corporate life in the metropolises of America, we had become confined from this simple, yet cultured and fulfilling existence.  It was a spur-of-the-moment vacation to the mountains of Montana that jogged our senses and allowed us to appreciate and connect with the natural world which surrounds us.

Fast forward fifteen years later, and we now find ourselves four years into operating a Permaculture Farmstead in the heart of the beautiful Bitterroot Valley, Montana.  What Permaculture is, and how ABC acres uses its prescribed methods of design to create productive, healing agriculture systems, is the basis for everything we are about.  As a family-run business, ABC acres is working around the clock to implement a Regenerative Agriculture system….a system that offers blueprints toward healthier and more efficient operations in food production.  Through our many successes, as well failures, we strive to offer visitors to the farm a glimpse into an agricultural operation that heals the land, grows strong, healthy livestock and edibles, and offers consumers truly clean, healthy food options for their tables.

Permaculture is a design science that looks to incorporate elements found in natural ecosystems such as diversity, resiliency, and stability, and place them into an agricultural system for healthier and more productive results.  ABC acres applies the concepts and principles of Permaculture to create a perennial-based regenerative agriculture operation which results in healthy livestock and healthy food harvests, while also sequestering carbon, eliminating soil run-off, building productive and healthy forested ecosystems, all the while reducing our footprint of energy use which directly affects and contributes to global pollution and erratic climatic events.

As we enter 2017, ABC acres has unveiled a new and exciting Agritourism service geared towards Farm Stay Vacations, complete with educational and participatory components for guests to learn about our ongoing regenerative agriculture systems, and how that directly benefits the local and global community.

While taking in the Valley’s sweeping views from the patio, or strolling freely about the farm in the cool Summer air, one may notice that ABC acres employs a strict ‘no-till farming’ policy.  Alternatively, ABC acres utilizes perennial systems for their food harvest and fodder production.  Nut and fruit trees, along with root crops, make up an abundance of our seasonal palate, in addition to an assortment of traditional annuals sown and harvested in beds free of ground disturbance.  This particular focus of the operation eliminates seasonal soil run-off into neighboring waterways, while at the same time reduces our use of diesel fuel, thereby lessening the effect of pollutants from the farm.

Visitors who are captivated by the varying colors, fragrances, and diversity in seasonal pollinator species, will feel right at home while touring the 80 acre property.  Through a Permaculture design system which mirrors natural ecosystems, ABC acres uses the way of nature to supply nutritional and mineral goodness to the soil.  The pastures and various landscapes incorporate a diverse set of perennials to bolster the soil health free of any chemical fertilizers or other applications.  Nitrogen-fixing grasses, dynamic accumulator plants, and biomass building forbs are all part of this design guild to fertilize and build our soil productivity….soil productivity that directly feeds adjacent flowering fruit trees and shrubs, medicinal and culinary herbs, and varying livestock populations.

For those that enjoy targeting the native bird population, you may just lose your mind with the staggering population of birds that visit the farm seasonally, as well as those that nest year-round.  With looking to a Permaculture approach, we can again leverage up on natural ecosystems to create a healthy landscape for both livestock and food crops.  At ABC acres we work through design to establish a thriving bird and insect population to increase pest management practices devoid of harmful pesticides and herbicides.  Nearly two hundred nest boxes are erected throughout the farm, while vibrant, aromatic flowers have been planted to attract predatory insects.  All of these welcome guests prey upon an array of pests throughout the year, and as a result reduce the pest population that would otherwise attack and upset animal and food crop health.  Building on the concept of birds as natural pest combatants, we utilize poultry flocks in a ‘leader-follower’ strategy behind the cattle and pigs, whereby the chickens break into fresh manure piles and peck out gestating maggots and eggs.  By observing patterns within the natural world, we can imitate and apply these to our farming operations, thereby creating a system that requires less energy and produces less waste to obtain abundant and healthy results.

While one may or may not be fortunate enough to witness the majestic sight of an elk herd moving throughout the fields and forests of our Bitterroot Valley, any visitors to ABC acres will have the opportunity to experience our cattle herd being managed in a way that takes its cue from how mega-herds of grazing animals once freely roamed the wild grasslands of the West. Using daily paddock rotations throughout our pastures by way of portable electric fencing, we’ve created a unique setting for calm, respectful viewing and photography opportunities for our Farm Stay guests.  Furthermore, and what are the main goals for managing cattle in this manner, this system regenerates the pastures and gives the cattle fresh and nutritious grass to graze on and enjoy at their leisure.  By using these planned periods of short, intense grazing, followed by long recovery periods exceeding a month and longer, we are able to not only grow more productive pastures, but also sequester atmospheric carbon and store it in a stable form as organic matter in the soil.  Good for the land, the livestock, and the planet.

When taking your eyes off the pastures, livestock, and neighboring water features, and turning skyward, you will note our extensive solar power systems.  Mounted to several farm buildings, ABC acres takes advantage of the Big Sky sunshine in energizing the farm via a 27kW Photovoltaic system.  Though this system doesn’t supply 100% of our energy needs, it does significantly decrease our energy demands from the grid, and thereby greatly reduces our energy footprint on an annual basis.

In conjunction with these new approaches to agricultural production, we have created a number of on-farm educational components to inspire participation and contemplation by all those who choose to visit ABC acres.  Such educational aspects include regularly scheduled farm tours, workshops, self-guided walking paths, strategically located informative kiosks, as well the occasional Movie Nights and Friday Socials.  Additionally, ABC acres’ recently unveiled Farm Stay now offers two newly-built, spacious, and well-appointed homes for vacation rental and an up-close and personal introduction to seasonal farm life.  Guests who choose to stay at ABC acres not only get to see and hear all that goes on day-to-day, but also have the option to dine on farm-raised foods, accompany staff with livestock feeding chores, secure custom-made tours/discussions, as well as work with our Farm Stay Management to discover off-farm adventures and services so to take in the full breadth of that which the Bitterroot Valley has to offer.  Whether you are looking for mountain biking deep in the forest, fly-fishing the Bitterroot River, trekking to the top of Trapper Peak, or simply relaxing on the porch overlooking ABC acres’ and the incredible views surrounding the property, the opportunity is there for you to reconnect with the natural wonders that Montana so abundantly provides.