AGRICULTURAL PRINCIPLES
Skara Brae Homestead employs restoration agricultural practices. We work to balance agriculture and the environment by simulating natural habitats. We utilize silvopasture, food forests, and rotational grazing, which stack functions to maximize production. We continually rebuild the soil’s organic matter and biodiversity through regenerative agriculture land management, which helps sequester carbon, retain water, and build nutrient density. We utilize wildlife corridors for their safe passage around and through our farm.
By growing on a small scale, we do not need to utilize chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. Instead, we use natural predators, compost teas, companion plantings, and rotational plantings. Most work is completed by hand, eliminating the need for large equipment.
Skara Brae Homestead focuses on heritage breed livestock and poultry whose genetics are better suited for our management style. They are rotated 365 days a year in carefully planted pastures that provide year-round forage. Pastures are given rest periods to recover from foraging and to break parasite cycles. Our livestock and poultry are primarily forage-fed and supplemented with locally grown and milled non-GMO soy-free feed as needed. Traditional veterinary care is utilized in life-or-death cases. Otherwise, we depend on balanced nutrition and alternative medicines for health care. Using Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs), we keep livestock and poultry on pasture year-round without the threat of predators. This also allows us to spread manure directly into the soil naturally. All poultry and rabbits are humanely processed on-site. Other livestock is processed at a Virginia-inspected facility. We practice nose-to-tail processing so members can access various cuts, soup bones, fats, and offal. All waste is utilized or composted to ensure 100% of the animal is honored.
We honor our food heritage and biodiversity by focusing on numerous foods found on Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste.
If you wish to learn more about the practices used at Skara Brae Homestead, please visit Regeneration International.