our story
Vern Smith has been managing land holistically since the 80’s and ranching in Paradise Valley, MT for 32 years. After a Ranching for Profit seminar in 2004 he took a critical look at his chemical-based fertility program and began the deep dive into his soil health.
His son, Ford Smith, grew up working on the family ranch along the Yellowstone River. He studied economics and political science at Williams College, and loves whitewater kayaking. Ford aims to show how healthy soils can create nutrient-dense food, keep our water sources clean, and improve producers’ bottom line.
WHAT WE DO
Regenerative Land Solutions is an agricultural consulting and product distribution company based in Emigrant MT. Our approach is to help producers lower their chemical inputs, improve the quality of their production, and increase the performance of their soil life.
Consulting
We listen to producers’ concerns, needs, and goals and help them design a plan for success. We often incorporate various testing methods to understand where a system is underperforming and where there are deficiencies. When appropriate, we connect producers to members of our network of agricultural professionals to give more targeted and nuanced advice. We like to see the operation in person, but if this is not an option, we work over the phone as well.
Product distribution
We work with products that are synergistic with the soil life. Agriculture is managed disturbance - often, the practices we use to grow crops or feed livestock disturbs the soil in one way or another. This disturbance harms the soil life that is the workforce of the plant-soil system. Our approach is to feed and balance these populations, and to spoon feed the plants with biologically-friendly products only when needed. This added nutrition is necessary in production agricultural soils which are constantly being disturbed and pushed for yields.
Coalition building
Regenerative Land Solutions is dedicated to advancing policies and programs which support farmers and ranchers in improving their practices. We are part of a statewide effort in Montana to increase the pace and scale at which land stewards implement voluntary practices and systems to maintain and improve soils, and so strengthen the economic and ecological vitality of agriculture in Montana. We also work with a national network of regenerative-minded agricultural professionals. This exchange of ideas is invaluable to our work.
