Brooke Bonner
DREAMER, FARMER, SQUIRRELER
I left my career in the nonprofit sector to become a farmer after my step-Dad unexpectedly passed away in February 2021. Kyle and I had been traveling and working remotely from our converted campervan and office Airstream when Archie passed away and we moved home immediately to help Mom with the ranch. Left with 44 Arabian horses, 80 acres, a hay operation, and no staff, clearly we needed a plan to manage and maintain the ranch.
After spending the first year here walking around each day trying to figure out what each newly discovered implement was and how in the hell it attached to which tractor, and spending each evening reading about farming and the changing role of agriculture in human and ecological health, I decided to embrace the challenge. I’m deeply grateful for this opportunity to steward a spectacular piece of land, in a community I’ve lived in and loved for most of my life, and transform it into something that is deeply aligned with my values.
Each day brings a new lesson (and often a new opportunity to make an ass of myself - see the forthcoming blog “Farm Foibles”), but learning is one of my favorite things. I love the diversity of duties - from creating the big picture vision, writing a business plan, and building a website, to shoveling a pile of horse manure onto the compost pile, installing kestrel boxes, and figuring out how to repair the plumbing and wiring on frozen horse waterers in the 10 degree winter. This life seems to fill my need for daily change and interest, balancing the physical and mental.
Now that we planted more than 3,000 fruit and nut trees and shrubs last summer (2023), I’m extremely antsy to see them start producing…
Hanging with Dad on the tractor - perhaps planting the seeds of a future farmer??
Drinkers of the Wind Team
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Kyle Baysinger
CAT RANCHER
And husband, tech advisor, troubleshooter, pinch hitter. Non-profit consultant by day. He may look the part, but swears he’s “NOT a farmer!” He’s chillin’ in the feed truck with Archie’s favorite cat Spats.
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Helen Bonner
HORSE LADY
Mom and property owner. Thinks I’m nuts for wanting to be a farmer, but is graciously humoring me and allowing me to transform the ranch. She’s honoring Archie’s legacy by finding the perfect homes for his extraordinary horses.
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Olaf
BABY POLAR BEAR
“Squirt,” LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog), Akbash/Great Pyrenees, ranch supervisor. Spends his days looking for deer and elk bones from recent mountain lion kills. Big bark, lovable snuggle bug.
Advisors and Inspiration
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Jake Takiff
CEDAR SPRINGS FARM & RESTORATION AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT
As part of his role as a farm consultant with Restoration Agriculture Development, Jake visited Drinkers of the Wind in April 2022 to help me make sense of all my ideas and goals. He returned in August 2022, with RAD team member Ben, to survey and help install our passive water management system. When not doing farm consultations, Jake can be found with his family and seriously adorable cows at Cedar Springs Farm in Colorado.
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Ben Stromback
STROMBACK LAND REGENERATION & RESTORATION AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT
Ben joined Jake at the ranch in August 2022 to help with the surveying and water management system installation. He also took the beautiful drone flyover images on this website. Seen above enjoying a post-project beer with us at Redfish Lake during our required tour of the area. When not helping with other projects, he’s part of the team at Crannmor Forest Farm in upstate New York.
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Restoration Agriculture
BY MARK SHEPARD
In my winter of farm reading, it was Mark’s book, Restoration Agriculture, that finally brought all the pieces together for me. There were many other great books with terrific ideas, but it wasn’t until I read Restoration Agriculture that I believed I could do this both successfully and in a way that was fully in line with my values - that I wouldn’t have to sacrifice what I believed in order to grow what I wanted without going broke. Thanks Mark! If you want to be inspired, watch some (or all) of his videos from his farm.
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The Resilient Farm & Homestead
BY BEN FALK
This book is a beautiful balance of vision/values and straight up practical nitty gritty details. It has a ton of ideas that work for properties of practically any size.
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Dirt to Soil
BY GABE BROWN
There are a ton of great soil health fundamentals throughout this book. While there is a strong animal-grazing component to this book, it is required reading for anyone interested in regenerative agriculture, whether or not you plan on integrating animals into your operation (though he makes a strong case that you should!).
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Regenerative Farmers of America
“Find a regenerative farm near you to support, learn, & change the world.” Their map of farmers in their US network are currently regenerating 612,170 acres, and counting! In addition to the cool map, they have great resources, a blog, and even a children’s book.