Following the path to health through a cow’s stomach

SHEFFIELD — About 50 people gathered under the shady trees at Meadow Haven Farm in rural Sheffield Tuesday to learn more about the connection among soil, cows and human health.

It was the University of Illinois Extension’s seventh annual tour highlighting sustainable agriculture operations around Illinois, and on Tuesday morning, it was Meadow Haven Farm’s turn in the spotlight. Meadow Haven Farm is owned by Allan/Jeanne Sexton and Jeremy/Cherie House, and they raise certified organic grass-fed beef and pastured poultry.

Allan Sexton, a retired veterinarian, said he studied alternative routes to healing and was convinced that better quality food is the answer to many health problems.

“All disease starts with mineral deficiency,” he said. “If you give your body what it needs, it will heal itself.”

For Sexton, good food is good meat, and good meat comes from properly-fed cattle.

And that means grass.

Sexton said feeding cattle corn in feedlots is artificial.

“Cattle are herbivores,” he said.

Sexton said grass-fed beef is much healthier, containing more Vitamin E, Vitamin A, folic acid, beta-carotine, conjugated linoleic acid, and Omega-3 fatty acids. He said Omega 3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and are vital for the brain.

On the other hand, he said, corn-fed beef has 20 times as much of the Omega-6 fatty acids as it does of the Omega 3.

“It’s way too much,” he said. “Your arteries are on fire, and so inflamed that they start to leak.”

That inflammation can lead to diseases such as bipolar disorder and depression.

Sexton said the way to solve those problems has been found.

“We have the answers, but there’s just an unwillingness to change,” he said. “We have the opportunity to produce the best food ever produced.”

Also speaking was Ken Musselman, an agronomist with AgriEnergy Resources in Princeton.
Musselman said many people incorrectly take soil productivity for granted, while they should be more interested in building sustainable soils.

Musselman said the biggest difference in sustainable soil is how much organic matter and humus it contains. He said there is a strong connection between soils, livestock and human health.

“Civilizations have vanished because they didn’t take care of the soil,” he said.

One way to make soil more sustainable is to have plants growing on it 365 days a year, as opposed to most crop acres, which have plants growing on them only three to five months out of the year.

“They’re losing opportunities,” Musselman said.

Musselman said health plants give off root exudates, which feeds the biology in the soil, resulting in better nutrient availability to the plant.

Musselman said good soil is well-mineralized soil, has a good microbial balance, and is not overrun with pathogens. He said the best soil has a calcium to magnesium ratio of between four to seven parts calcium to every one part of magnesium. Local soil has about 2.5 parts of calcium to every part of magnesium.

The final speaker was Jeremy House, who talked about the bridge between soil and food. House asked who was familiar with the cell phone slogan, “Can you hear me now?”

“Soil, plants and animals are all asking if we can hear them, and hear what they need,” House said.

The visit was concluded with a tour of the facilities.

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