“In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33
This post was originally sent to my email list on March 4, 2022
For 13 years my family and I have run a successful small farm business as our primary means of income. The business has allowed us to hone our production skills, build many relationships, and work together as a family team supplying others with high quality food. Over the years our production focus has changed from a focus on poultry to market gardening, and our sales model from selling at a local farmer’s market to a subscription market model serving a small group of loyal families. In recent years it has become our dream farm business allowing us to serve customers who have grown to be friends.
But a few days ago, we sent this email to our farm members.
“This week we are taking orders for one of our last regular deliveries for 2022. Recently we have felt God calling us to devote more time this year to teaching other people how to grow their own food and realize that we cannot do this and successfully continue focusing on our beloved Farmship program. As we turn our focus to training others and excelling at producing our own food this year we may offer occasional deliveries but will be taking a break from our normal program.
Y’all are our dream customers, and this is our dream farm business, but as followers of Jesus our life is not about building our own agricultural utopia. It is about being faithful to take what we have been blessed with and pass it on to others.
We can’t tell you how much we value and appreciate each and every one of you. We are very emotional right now just thinking about not being your farmers this year and delivering food to your special families. Thank you so much for all your support and friendship. You have truly become our friends, helping us achieve the original objective of our Farmship Program (friendship with a farm).
If we feel led to restart in 2023 we will definitely let you know! In the meantime, if you want any help to improve your own home food production we would be glad to help!
Your Grateful Friends,
The Sanders Family
Noah, Dorothy, Enoch, Patrick, Edwin, Brielle, Carver, and Booker
Rora Valley Farms”
A New Season
Sending this email stirred up a lot of emotion for my wife and me. We love what we do, but it feels like God is telling us we are at the end of a season, and we have a peace that we are taking the first step in the next part of this grand, but ‘risky’, adventure of following Jesus.
Our family has always felt a calling to not only model agriculture based on the foundation of Jesus, but to equip the Body of Christ to be faithful in growing food to the Glory of God. Early in my career I felt a strong desire to prove that small-scale, family run agriculture can be a viable business . . . to help make it a noble and viable profession once more. But after running a successful small farm business for many years, I now feel an urgency to equip Christians to feed themselves and their own families. What I would describe as backyard gardening or homesteading (vs. market farming).
The Need for Personal Food Production
In recent decades the centralization of our food supply has brought with it convenience and ‘efficiency’. But at the same time, it has ushered in an era of food dependency where most people have no control over the availability of the food they need for survival. With the challenges facing our world due to the disruptions of the response to Covid-19, the global food supply has been dealt a crippling blow that has sent it staggering, and we have yet to feel the full affects. Labor shortages have affected processing facilities, shipping disruptions have hampered the trade of both agricultural inputs and products, the costs of commercial fertilizer have shot up (my neighbor said his fertilizer cost went from $100/ton to $800/ton), and now the Russian/Ukraine conflict could impact not only wheat availability (Russia and Ukraine supply 28% of global wheat exports) but also energy prices. In California the government is no longer providing water to farmers due to drought, in an area that supplies almost ¼ of the food supplies of the nation. In some ways it appears like we might be eating the harvest from the seventh year of plenty yet living in what could be the first of the seven years of want.
The Role of the Church
Proverbs 27:23-24 says, “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.” In other words, assess the reliability of your means of provision because financial prosperity and government stability come and go. This has been true throughout history. And as the church of Jesus Christ, we must take this into account as we look to care for our families, serve the last, least, and lost, and seek to be ready for His 2nd coming. In a time where people are increasingly dependent on systems that enslave, threaten them, and oppose God we as the church need to be an example of how dependency on God’s means of provision can bring freedom to live in obedience to his ways. We have nothing to fear in this world, but we would do well to fear being found sleeping and heedless of the warning Jesus gave us about the times leading up to his return. Our goal is not to survive, but to experience the joy of being as obedient and effective for Jesus as we can until our last day on earth!
Increasing Our Impact
My family could continue to provide food to around 30 families, and we may continue to do so sometime in the future. But if for at least a season we could focus on training and equipping people who could multiply not only the knowledge of growing food God’s way, but the hope Jesus provides in this darkening world we could potentially help feed and impact way more than 30 families. We don’t intend to stop ‘farming’ for ourselves, but just as our primary business.
A New Focus
In the past I could run many aspects of Redeeming the Dirt part time in the evenings or on weekends. But as the demands of a growing family and responsibilities in church and community increase, those extra time slots have disappeared. So, I feel like God is calling me to change my actual workday. With the shutting down of our farm business, I can shift my workday focus to our work with Redeeming the Dirt and my role as the USA National Coordinator of Foundations for Farming. Neither of these are paid positions, but I trust that God will help me to create ways to provide for my family’s financial needs through the training, resources, books, and leadership we hope to offer. And, to model what we teach, I will give more focus to saving money through my own family’s homestead, converting our market garden into demonstrations of home-food production.
We are willing to give to the Lord our farm business, which is dear to us, to discover what He has in store as we follow Him. Life is short . . . so I don’t want to limit what God can do through my family because of my lack of faith. And when I fall on my face trying, I know He will be there to help me up, for He loves even clumsy obedience. I want to fear delay and inaction more than failure
Call to Action
We look forward to serving you in this new season, and to help us do that here are some ways you can connect with us:
- Let us know how we can pray for you. We want to know what your biggest challenges and hurdles as you pursue the vision God has laid on your heart related to agriculture.
- Let us know what way we can best help you grow more of your own food in a way that reflects Jesus. Books? Consulting? Encouraging podcasts? How-to videos? Training? What would be the most helpful to you?
- Pray for us. We know that unless God is with us and blesses our efforts it is all in vain. We value your prayers. Let us know if you want to be a prayer partner and we can add you to our Redeeming the Dirt Prayer Warrior list to receive special updates from time to time.
- Invite other to Join Redeeming the Dirt Academy. Cost to join is free, and it is a great way for us to interact with and serve others.
- Consider becoming a part of the Well-Watered Garden Project this season, where our goal is to eventually plant 1 million training gardens that reflect the heart of Jesus. Go to: https://www.wellwateredgardenproject.org/
- Subscribe to the Redeeming the Dirt Podcast and Youtube Channel.
- https://www.youtube.com/c/RedeemingtheDirtNoahSanders
- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-redeeming-the-dirt-podcast/id1464602533
- Attend one of our in-person trainings. Our next conference and training will be the end of this month at our farm and homestead. You can find our more info at: https://redeemingthedirt.regfox.com/rtdspringconference2022
- Support us financially. Our goal is to be self-supporting by generating new revenue streams through training, books, and products, but we appreciate any gifts you feel led to share as we make this transition. We are not currently a non-profit, but the following link has several ways you can donate. Thanks! https://redeemingthedirt.com/support/
Thank You!
Thanks so much for all your support and encouragement over the years. We look forward to seeing what God has in store as he continues to move in the hearts of his people to ‘Redeem the Dirt’. Together let’s excel in agriculture, live for Jesus, and make disciples!
Your Fellow Steward in Jesus,
Noah Sanders
Links:
https://www.visiontimes.com/2022/02/05/global-food-prices-nearing-record-high.html
