Blue Ridge Women Who Dare: The (Regenerative) Farmer

Have you ever secretly wanted to play fancy Food Network Chef in your own kitchen? You know, using only the freshest fruits and veggies in season to cook delicious and nutritious meals your friends and family rave about? Well, I have a friend who can help.

Meet Mary Pedersen of Verdant Acres Farm in Raphine, VA, a chemist, entrepreneur, Mom, wife, homeschooler, and coming up on her tenth year as a REGENERATIVE farmer.  In other words, a real Blue Ridge woman who dares.

I met Mary just a few months ago when I signed up to be one of her farm share customers enjoying weekly deliveries of fruits and veggies, eggs, and meat all produced with meticulous care at Verdant Acres Farm, which Mary runs with her husband John and six little farmers aged 2 to 15.

I thought I was doing a pretty good job buying organic when I could find it, and shopping at the local Farmer’s Market. But buying vegetables farmed in a way that actually enriches the soil and produces more nutritious results takes eating well to a whole, new level.  And I love that I now KNOW my farmers, Mary and her family.

Mary came to the Blue Ridge by way of Detroit, where she was a chemist in the auto industry. Mary’s life changed when her late mother was diagnosed with colon cancer.  Mary learned that a diet rich in ultra-processed food had contributed to the disease, yet none of the doctors advocated any change.

If food could contribute to disease, Mary wondered whether food could also be part of the cure. Or maybe even help to prevent it.

Mary’s quest led her to regenerative farming:  producing nutrient-dense foods, sustainably grown, without pesticides and herbicides. She interned at two of the largest regenerative farms on the East Coast, Polyface Farm in Virginia and White Oak Pastures in Georgia, where she eventually met her husband, John.

Five years ago, Mary and John took a leap of faith and opened Verdant Acres Farm dedicated to producing the most nutritious food farmed in the most sustainable way that would leave the soil better than they found it.

They bought a circa 1776 farmhouse and went to work creating a regenerative farm.  I examined a jar of the soil that they initially had to work with—hard, gray and rocky. A jar of the soil today shows soil that is dark, moist, and rich. An amazing transformation still in progress.

And regenerative farming is all about the soil. If the soil is depleted, then so is the nutritional density of the food. To illustrate, Mary shared a startling fact: an apple grown in the 1950’s has 100 times more Vitamin A than one grown today. Yikes.

In addition to showing the earth some love, Mary and John decided to do the same for their customers. Instead of selling in grocery stores via a middleman, they chose to sell to individuals. To feed families. Nourish neighbors. To get to know their customers and give their customers a chance to know their famers and learn more about their food.

Mary’s customers get weekly deliveries of veggies in peak season sized for individuals or a family. Eggs and proteins are also available, and shipments can be paused if you are out of town, or plussed up if you are hosting friends and family. Check out the options on  www.verdantacresfarm.com

Verdant Acres also has a farmstand open on Fridays and Saturdays where you can choose your own goodies along with an array of local crafts and surprises, and you can even pick your own wildflowers. It’s definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in the Shenandoah Valley.

Oh, and if you are staring at that Asian turnip and wondering what to do with it, Mary has you covered. Verdant Acres’ website features Mary’s recipes and tips, and you can sign up for the newsletter even if you are not a farm share customer.

Mary confessed that she has not always been a talented and adventurous cook, even though she grew up watching Rachel Ray. In her 20’s Mary realized that if she was learning to plant and harvest nutritious food, then she should probably have some idea what to do with it.

She simply went online and started googling. She made plenty of mistakes, but persevered. She is still a fan of progress over perfection and prefers to learn techniques rather than recipes so she can experiment and get creative.

These days cooking for eight, Mary sets aside Sunday for meal prep day, when she might have four quiches in the oven plus three crock pots and an instapot at work. She enjoys listening to a podcast and sipping a glass of wine as she cooks. Mary freely admits not every creation turns out to be a masterpiece, but her one rule is everyone tries it once. If it’s a miss, then she just moves on to try something else.

I asked Mary how she balances all the demands of farming, parenting, and running a business. She starts her day at 5am to enjoy her coffee, read her Bible, and quietly reflect on the day ahead before the kids wake up and mayhem starts.

She shared that, in her view, the concept of self-care has become too commercialized. It doesn’t always have to be about a fancy spa visit. Anything that you do intentionally to calm your mind and relieve stress counts. For Mary, this includes cold plunging in chilly water daily, a practice that she credits with both relaxing and energizing benefits.

When I asked her if there was anything she missed about her previous life in the big city, she was quick to answer—the food!  The authentic street food in the city’s ethnic neighborhoods. Mary traveled a good bit before settling down, Cambodia, Hawaii, Mexico and Eastern Europe. Each place with a special cuisine to try.

She says that back then--pre-husband, pre-kids, and pre-farming--she spent her life moving “faster, not farther.” She is by nature ambitious and focused. These days she appreciates having a broader aperture on life and the things that are really important.  She may still be too busy to stop and smell the roses every day, but she gets to grow her own now in the most enchanting place with six little farmers to assist.

I love that Mary turned tragedy into a higher purpose. She found her passion and trusted her gut. She is truly a woman who inspires me to keep inspiring you as your life and leadership coach to ignite your passion, live purpose and make a difference. She is a Blue Ridge woman who dares.

Follow Mary on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/verdantacresfarm/ and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/VerdantAcresFarm/ and her website  www.verdantacresfarm.com