These days, he’s still wearing a pair he bought three years ago.
The difference? Sayles stopped using harsh fertilizers on his fields that ate through the leather of his boots. Sayles, a fourth-generation farmer with 6,000 acres near Seibert in eastern Colorado, now practices regenerative agriculture, a multi-faceted style of farming that advocates say has a host of benefits, including improved water efficiency, water quality and profitability.
Above all else, regenerative agriculture can help restore healthy, fertile soils working with nature, instead of against it.
“I’m really tired of fighting nature because she always wins. That’s her ace in the hole,” said Sayles, 64.