((PKG)) SALVATION THROUGH THE SOIL   
((TRT: 07:20)) 
((Topic Banner: Salvation Through the Soil))  
((Reporter/Camera/Editor: Jeff Swicord)) 
((Map: Knoxville, Maryland))    
((Main character: 1 male))  
((Sub character: 1 male))  
((MUSIC/NATS)) 
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer)) 
I was five years old when my father bought the farm here. We 
moved over the winter of 1966, ‘67. Father moved here because 
of church work. He was a preacher and this was hillbilly country.  
((MUSIC/NATS)) 
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer)) 
My dad and I went into partnership when I was 18. He gave me 
five cows and that’s kind of how I got started. Farming is, it’s not a 
job. It’s a lifestyle. As I look back over my life, it was great to be in 
connection with the creation, okay. And that put me in connection 
with the Creator God.  
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer)) 
This farm here is 118 acres [48 hectares] and we try to utilize 
everything. We totally graze this farm. We have about 70 or 80 
mature cows. We milk the cows and then we raise the baby 
calves up to five months old here on this farm.   
I had heard some teaching in the early 90’s and it was, “How do 
you give God the farm and let him direct the path?”  
The organic came along and I sensed God saying, “Look at this.” I 
began to understand how the cows and grass worked together. 
And so, in a conventional world, where they are feeding 20 
pounds [9 kilos] of grain, and they computerize their rations to 
produce as much milk as they need,  
and it changes actually the components in the milk. Her omega-6, 
the bad fat, it goes up and it might go 1 to 10. If they are really 
heavy grained, it’s 1 to 20.   
((NATS: Michael Busselberg)) 
Come on sweetie.  
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer)) 
So, God made a cow to eat grass. Whenever you feed all grass, 
the omega-6s and omega-3s are balanced at 1.  
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer)) 
It’s nothing for their cows to give a 100 pounds [45 kilos] of milk a 
day. That’s normal. Ours might be averaging 40 [18 kilos]. We 
have more quality, not as much quantity. So, it does make our 
product stand a little bit out from the norm. ((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer)) 
When this whole grazing thing came in, I began to understand the 
biology in the soil and how the conventional farming were killing 
off some biology. I began to look and say, “Is this the best we can 
do?” 
On this farm, we start our rotation at a certain place, so that we 
can set a pattern for the year. So, we are either grazing one acre 
[0.4 hectares] a day. We definitely switch them every 12 hours. In 
the heavy growth times, we’re actually switching them every hour 
or two. We’re giving them new grass.   
As she slobbers across that grass as she is lapping in grass, it’s 
full of bugs. Same way, the cow’s rumen, her stomach, is full of 
bugs. And they don’t know too much about this, but they are 
learning more: how they talk to each other and the biology in the 
soil, the bugs we can’t see and the bugs in their saliva. They 
interreact with each other ‘til it actually speeds up the grass 
growth. It’s just the next new thing. It’s cool. 
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager)) 
Been laying in the barn, huh. We got a big brush in the barn.  
They like to go scratch on it.  
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager)) 
When you’re dealing with animals, they are a creature of habit. 
They all have different personalities. Most of them are pretty 
friendly. Certain cows will be a little bit more jumpy. When they 
are given the opportunity to actually play, they will play with you.   
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager)) 
The cow that we were looking at, she basically just has a very 
strong, forward personality and she wants to be up close to you 
and she wants to be touched. She wants to be petted. She wants 
you to know and acknowledge she’s there. 
((NATS/MUSIC))  
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager)) 
We want them to be stress free. I’m not hitting them. I’m not 
pressuring them. And if we have animals that are under a high 
level of stress, they are going to perform less as far as their milk 
production because those stress hormones are released and that 
affects their ability to be able to make milk the highest quality as 
far as butterfat and protein.   
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager))  
You push your way around. You’re almost like a pet says, “I don’t 
want to be told what to do, huh?” Don’t take out the tripod. 
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer)) 
Regenerative farming can be more profitable too. It’s like any 
other business. You have to watch your inputs. But for us, we 
don’t cultivate the land, so we’re not spending money doing that. 
We’re not spraying, so we’re not spending money on chemicals. 
We’re not fertilizing. So we are selling cows. We are selling dairy 
cows. We’re selling beef cows. We’re selling cows as we make 
replacements because every year, we raise replacements, 
animals.   
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer)) 
We’re trying to maximize the income from the land-base we have. 
We want to direct market our product. We feel like we can still 
stay small. We can still provide a living for two families. That way, 
it’ not stressful for anybody.   
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer)) 
There is so much that we can tell the world about salvation 
through the soil. Every spring like we have right now, it’s a new 
birth, just like we were born again with his spirit. And I really enjoy 
it when I get connected with God because he is the one that 
created it. And so that puts me back in connection with the soil.   
((NATS/MUSIC))