It’s amazing to see so many people on a quest for sustainable farming, and today, backyard farmers have more options available to them than ever before. They can try for organic certification or they can dedicate themselves to good ol’ non-GMO. Their animals can be pasteurized or free range. They can use natural practices and modern technology all at the same time. Wonderful isn’t it?

With so many options available to the backyard farmer of today, you’ve got to know where to look for inspiration. Do you look to nature or technology?

Nature Knows Best

We firmly believe that Mother Nature knew what she was doing when she started growing plants. There’s no reason to steer in the opposite direction of her original vision. Farmers should be working towards making their practices sustainable and mimicking the natural order of it all.

The first step towards sustainable farming is understanding how nature has set things up food and environment wise. Chickens eat bugs and plants. cows eat grass, and pigs will scavenge for anything they can get from leaves and fruits to a variety of meats. You’ve got to stick with this formula if you expect to grow healthy animals.

That means no GMOs. It also means animals don’t belong stuck in a cage their whole lives. Each animal has a natural environment, and creating a safe haven for them—preferably outdoors—will aid in proper development.

We definitely trust in nature to do its job, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t take advantage of modern technologies.

Technology Is Here To Save The Day

Because the world’s population is growing at an unprecedented rate, we can’t leave everything for nature to sort out. We’ve got to eat. Luckily for the backyard farmer, there are plenty of nature-friendly technologies out there that can help us to increase crop yields without polluting the environment or abusing our animals.

For example, the chicken coops on Polyface Farms are mobile, which allows Joel Salatin and his family to move the birds from one pasture to another to clean up after the cows. Another fabulous technology success story comes from the lovely folks over at Fertrell. Because our soil isn’t as nutrient rich as it was 50 or 100 years ago, our food isn’t as nutrient rich. Enter Fertrell.

With their organic products that aim to increase the nutrient density of the crops we farmers produce making for healthier soil, healthier plants, healthier animals, and healthier people.

What Modern Farms Need

So the truth is that there is no versus when it comes to nature and technology in modern farming—you’ve got to have a healthy balance of both. If we trust nature and use technology to intensify all the things the earth already does right, then we’ll be able to feed our future both physically and monetarily. So why choose just one?

For an abundance of healthy, non-GMO food, both nature and tech are needed, and there are a myriad of ways to incorporate them into your business practices. Head over to Facebook and tell us how you combine nature and tech on your farm.