“We forgot to remember, Mother Nature knows what she’s doing,” Deeply Rooted ranch manager Jana Huffman says.
Deeply Rooted Ranch, a 120-acre regenerative farm and ranch in Burton, is living up to its name. Since opening in 2022, it has been spreading its roots deep into the greater Round Top community and growing a network of people and organizations who are passionate about land and soil preservation, education and locally grown food.
To meet these ends, Deeply Rooted Ranch offers bespoke educational and homeschool programs, open farm days, volunteer days, movie nights on the farm, field trips and more. Its community supported agriculture program provides opportunities for locals to support the operation by purchasing a portion of the farm’s crops in advance of the harvest. Deeply Rooted also sells its locally grown produce at the Brenham First Fridays Farmer & Artisan Markets.
“We forgot to remember, Mother Nature knows what she’s doing,” Deeply Rooted ranch manager Jana Huffman says. “Regenerative farming brings the soil back to a time when it was teeming with life. We focus on the roots, where it all begins.
“Through practices like rotational, planned grazing and increasing the diversity of plants and organisms on our farm, we help support our soil so that it can produce nutrient dense food for our community.
Deeply Rooted Ranch’s culinary director Chris Huffman holds coriander seeds harvested from a cilantro plant. (Photo by Amber Bartek)
Deeply Rooted Ranch is located on land designated as Texas Backland Prairie
Pumpkin seedlings in rich soil, watered with drip irrigation at Deeply Rooted Ranch. (Photo by Amber Bartek)
“We can’t eat the minerals straight from the ground. We rely on them becoming bioavailable to our bodies by eating plants and animals that are grown and raised in healthy, nutrient-rich soil. We believe healthy soil makes healthy food and healthy people.”
Yes, Deeply Rooted has deep plans.
“We, as humans, are not above nature, but are nature,” adds Deeply Rooted Ranch executive leader Amy Milliron. “Once we realize our place in the natural cycles of life, we will revere the microbial community in the soil underground and human relationships with our community above the ground, with intense care. Nature seeks a reciprocal relationship with all living things including us.”
Growing the food is only part of the story at Deeply Rooted Ranch. The ranch also has a culinary kitchen in the works. Scheduled for completion this fall, it will boast a large teaching kitchen for hands-on education and demonstrations. Visitors will learn about topics such as kombucha, how to make sourdough, getting started with foraging and homesteading with classes led by culinary director Chris Huffman.
The culinary kitchen will also be the setting for farm-to-table dinners with those Texas-sized sunsets melting into the dark night sky filled with twinkling stars. The hope is to offer people a restorative place to gather, connect, learn and ultimately grow together.
“We have people coming in from Houston and Austin to work remotely on the ranch. They do their work in this beautiful place, then get to wander and go foraging,” Deeply Rooted co-chief operating officer Sarah Noonan tells RoundTop.com. “It’s a place to rest and take a breath.”
Education is key at Deeply Rooted Ranch
Education is key at Deeply Rooted Ranch
The Deeply Rooted Ranch team
Deeply Rooted is also working to establish partnerships with local restaurants and organizations that promote health quite literally from the ground up. Round Top Brewing currently purchases the ranch’s fresh produce and greens like arugula from the market garden. Local dieticians and other organizations have also partnered with Deeply Rooted to advocate for healthy farming in central Texas.
Fearless Farmers, a nonprofit headquartered at the ranch, provides a curriculum based on regenerative agriculture, ecological studies, place-based education, hands-on training and holistic problem solving. The program is aimed at educators, homeschool parents, or anyone interested in teaching to students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade.
“The goal with Fearless Farmers is to provide the tools and training that educators need to teach children how regenerative agriculture can revitalize our soil to support the future generations that will need it most,” Noonan notes.
Want to get involved? You can join Deeply Rooted Ranch this fall for a family movie night, find them set up at the First Friday Farmer and Artisan Markets in downtown Brenham, or sign up to volunteer on the ranch.
In the meantime, anyone can sign up for Deeply Rooted’s newsletter to stay up to date on events, classes and community opportunities.
