Unfortunately, many crops grown on American farms aren’t as healthy and nutrient-rich as they could and should be, says Steve Groff, (www.stevegroff.com), author of the upcoming book The Future-Proof Farm and founder of Cover Crop Coaching, which educates farmers and farm advisors about effective cover crop use.
Cover crops are plants that are grown not to eat, but to improve the soil. Better soil produces more nutrient-dense crops, Groff says, which in turn can provide that help to the immune system.
“Historically, farmers have not had an incentive to grow nutrient-dense food with a larger amount of vitamins and minerals,” he says. “Farmers are paid based on the quantity of their yield, not the quality. From their perspective, why enrich the soil the crops are grown in if that doesn’t lead to a greater yield? But when the soil is enriched with healthy minerals, so are the crops.”
Change is in the air, though, and there are reasons more farmers should start focusing their attention and efforts on nutrient-dense crops, Groff says. Those includ ...
