Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1233627
What happened to the Smiths. Mark and Jane Smith were living what many would consider the American dream. ey had bright futures in their careers. Mark was an accountant, and Jane was a pediatrician. ey had two sons at the time and had moved into a newly built home. Although It seemed like they had the world by its tail, something simply didn't seem right to this young couple. As they were pondering this, Jane became so ill that she couldn't get out of bed for weeks. en the entire family became ill. ey discovered mold on the inside walls of their new house. Water from rain runoff had pooled beneath the house and caused mold to find its way into the walls. "We le the house the day we found the mold and did not stay there another night," said Jane. While they were recovering from the mold-inducing illnesses, they decided they had to do something about their health. To begin, they changed how they ate. Shiing from the regular American diet, they began shopping and cooking organically. Jane also had to deal with the Lyme infection from a previous tick bite that reactivated due to her weak immune system. As they continued to heal, they decided they no longer wanted the hectic life. Jane disliked the modus operandi in modern medicine where she had to scurry from one patient to the next without taking time for each one. e couple knew that to make their own bodies whole, they had to slow down and breathe. What they did about slowing their hectic life. Both Jane and Mark had had experience working on ranches, and in addition to a business administration degree, Mark had earned a degree in natural resources and conservation. Using their knowledge and experience, they decided to start an organic beef ranch to help themselves and other people eat well. is led the couple with a new son and the two older boys to a new home on the 2500-acre Aspen Island Ranch between Lavina and Broadview, Montana, in 2006. Work was in abundance those first years on the ranch. e pastures and hay fields were overgrazed; the fencing was sagging and broken; springs were clogged from lack of maintenance; and the house hadn't been lived in for several years. "We had an idea of what needed repair, but once we dug in, the work felt overwhelming at times." recalled Jane. It took three years of no herbicidal spraying or artificial fertilizers for the pastures and hay fields to start to rejuvenate and to become certified for raising organic beef. e fields had pockets of thistle and knapweed. Where thick patches prevailed, the Smiths actually pulled these weeds by hand. Mark Smith checks the cattle in a pasture on the Aspen Island Ranch. farm406 34