Originally published February 2026 in the Napa Valley Register
By: Carine Hines
As the mother of a one month old, most of my day is spent nursing my baby. The incredible gift and labor of nursing is nothing to take for granted. Twenty four hours a day, my main purpose is to provide nutrition to this growing human, and secondary to all that, is keeping myself fed so I can meet his needs. Every atom in this new human comes from the complex biological processes of creating breastmilk and the partnership I form with my son so he can eat and grow. In summary, all I think about right now is nutrition.
Nutrition is an apt theme for this time of the year on the farm. Of the approximately 20 acres of land we steward, 19 of it is currently tucked in with cover crop. Lush stands of fava bean, peas, grass, clover, radish, and alfalfa soak in the wonderful rain and stretch towards the sky when the sun comes out. Carbon is turned into sugar by the sun and plants, and nitrogen is fixed with bacteria in the soil. The roots of the cover crop create soil structure so that when it rains, the water is absorbed into the soil and does not run off into ditches with precious top soil.
My son and I collaborate while nursing, he eats and sends signals to dictate how much milk he needs and when, and in turn my body provides the food a protection he needs to eat and feel safe. I provide him antibodies and the act of nursing heals my body from pregnancy and labor. Just as we collaborate, so do farmers collaborate with plants and microbes to build and grow healthy soil. It is an investment on the farmers part so that we can then take from the soil to feed ourselves (and you). As well, plants and soil microbes could not exist without each other, and they communicate across a complex network of hormone and chemical signals in the soil.
Like creating breastmilk and feeding an infant, giving soil the proper nutrition and environment to be healthy requires an incredible amount of work and investment. Prior to the verdant landscape I look at today, we first cleared out old summer crops, pulled up drip tape, spread compost and gypsum soil amendments, and sowed crop seed. Luckily mother nature provided the rain, although we can still remember the drought years when we needed to irrigate the cover crop or watch its stunted growth. While growing cover crop can feel like “easy farming”, it is also an act farmers must decide to invest in. Building healthy soil, like growing nutritious food or nursing an infant, is not a passive action.
Without rich, fertile soils that have the proper nutrition, we cannot grow nutritious food, and in turn, we humans cannot be healthy. Lately, I find there is a new rhetoric surrounding healthy eating and food. Sadly, different camps and social media trends try to politicize and appropriate eating healthy, whole, and nutritious food. Some say, “Eat real food, and while you’re at it ignore science”, and others counter, “We live in a global market, maybe it’s fine to eat food that is grown on foreign soil and out of season”. The fact of the matter is food doesn’t need to be political. Yes, your food choices can influence where your dollars go and society values, but healthy, nutritious food does not belong to one side or the other. I believe in a country where we can see the value of nutritious, local food and the farming practices used to create it. This food can be available for all, regardless of class or race, without harming our earthly cohabitants.
I sit with all these thoughts as I walk my fields with the baby. There is incredible joy and satisfaction in growing nutritious food from soils fed by cover crops. Even more so when I harvest a bit of fava and pea cover crop for a stir fry, knowing that some of the very plants meant to feed microbes will also end up in the milk feeding my son. I hope you too find joy in the nutritious meal you make for yourself and family, with food bought from your favorite farmers at the Napa Farmers Market.