Sustainably Unsustainable(The Part We Don’t Put on the Pretty Labels)
BellMar Ranch & Gardens
December 2, 2025
My alarm is set for 4:00 a.m. every day.
Most mornings I’m awake at 2:30 anyway, staring at the ceiling, running numbers.
We call ourselves a regenerative, sustainable ranch.
And we are… mostly.
Except for the part where we still buy every single bite of hay and grain that keeps our animals alive.
That makes us sustainably unsustainable.
Right now, about 50–60 acres of this place are beautiful, moose-filled forest and bush.
Looks great in photos.
Produces exactly zero calories for cattle, pigs, or poultry.
The rest is pasture, barnyard, and buildings.
No rented cropland.
No grain fields.
Just trees I want to turn into feed.
So every winter I write big cheques for:
- Hay
- Seed-quality wheat, barley, and peas (the only way I can 100 % guarantee it’s non-GMO and never sprayed — because seed grain has to sprout)
That seed-quality grain costs 30–40 % more than regular feed grain.
But I pay it, because when someone asks “How do you know it’s clean?”
I can answer:
“I test every load. If it won’t sprout, I won’t feed it.”
Still… it’s not grown here.
Every dollar spent on someone else’s crop is a dollar not spent clearing those 50–60 acres of trees.
We’re regenerative in practice, but not yet self-sustaining.
And that tension keeps me awake at 2:30 a.m. more than the cold.
The Plan (and why it’s slow)
Step 1 – Clear the forest
50–60 acres of poplar, spruce, and willow.
One chainsaw, one tractor, one stubborn rancher, and a whole lot of winters.
50–60 acres of poplar, spruce, and willow.
One chainsaw, one tractor, one stubborn rancher, and a whole lot of winters.
Step 2 – Turn trees into pasture and cropland
Seed to alfalfa, wheat, barley, and peas.
Build soil. Rotate animals. Sequester carbon.
Seed to alfalfa, wheat, barley, and peas.
Build soil. Rotate animals. Sequester carbon.
Step 3 – Answer every question with three words
“How do you know it’s non-GMO?”
“How do you know it’s never sprayed?”“I grew it.”
“How do you know it’s non-GMO?”
“How do you know it’s never sprayed?”“I grew it.”
Until then, we’re sustainably unsustainable.
And that’s the part nobody puts in the brochure.
But it’s the part that drives every decision we make.
One tree at a time.
One acre at a time.
One season at a time.
We’ll get there.
And when we do, the story won’t be “sustainably unsustainable” anymore.
It’ll just be sustainable.
Thanks for buying our beef, pork, and eggs while we build the ranch we promised you.
Tim – CNP, OHP
BellMar Ranch & Gardens
(The guy who wakes up at 2:30 a.m. thinking about trees he hasn’t cut down yet)
P.S. Welcome boxes are still available.
BellMar Ranch & Gardens
(The guy who wakes up at 2:30 a.m. thinking about trees he hasn’t cut down yet)
P.S. Welcome boxes are still available.
Every purchase is a vote for the day we stop buying other people’s feed and start growing our own.