The idea, eventually, is to have cattle, chickens, hogs, sheep, and turkeys in a leader-follower system — all of the animals will be kept in small paddocks and moved frequently to aggressively trample-graze the alleys between trees and shrubs.

Due to this year’s drought, Shepard’s apples were nonexistent and the chestnuts and hazelnuts were way down. But the farm has a large variety of crops that produce at different times and thrive in multiple climatic conditions. He believes this approach will be crucial for farmers facing the unpredictable, potentially destructive weather of the future. “This summer was the driest on record in our part of Wisconsin and we had the finest cattle and hogs we’ve ever had,” he says.