We like to think of ourselves as

a petri dish
the size of Manhattan

Watch as we create a soils-focused regenerative farming model driven by social and economic goals that are so powerful our model is widely embraced across the Northern Plains.

Montana Carbon Project

fighting climate change

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Ranch Updates

follow our progress

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Sustainability

protecting the environment

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Beyond Organic

next generation farming

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Our Story

Breaking the chemical cycle that is modern agriculture

The Sandy Arrow Ranch will not farm conventionally. Our goal is to prove that there is a better agricultural model for the planet. Our model is based on the principles of nature and the ranch’s 2,500 acres of agriculture land and 20,000 acres of rangeland have become the petri dish to prove our thesis. Over the next several years, the Sandy Arrow Ranch will become chemical free while utilizing agriculture practices that are climate and wildlife friendly, retain water, and reduce erosion.

It is our belief that crops grown in our biologically rich, enhanced soil will produce substantial nutritional upticks to both conventionally grown and organic products. We will be monitoring this project in a scientifically robust, data driven manner, and will openly share our results. This website explains our various sustainability agendas, lays out our execution plan, and provides updates on our progress. Thank you for your interest. This is an important topic for the world.

Eric Dillon and the Sandy Arrow Ranch

Eric Dillon purchased the Sandy Arrow Ranch in late 2013. Eric’s introduction to conventional farming was shocking. He learned that his farm, and the majority of Northern Plains farming, had little connection with nature.  The key inputs to growing crops are synthetic chemicals that are created and prescribed by companies like Monsanto. Across the plains, repeated chemical applications have compromised soil and poisoned ground water.

Products grown in chemically infused soil are devoid of nutrition and contain trace harmful substances like glyphosate (Roundup).  The practice of tilling and “fallowing” land has compromised the soil biome (microbial community) and these practices are responsible for releasing billions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere across the planet.  How farms in America arrived at this chemical crazed state is a story of conspiracy and the naïve pursuit of quantity at any cost.  We discuss this “story” throughout this web site (especially in the “full plan” tab) but the punch line is that conventional farming is an environmental and nutritional disaster.

“A farming model that goes beyond organic and breaks the chemical cycle that is modern agriculture”

The latest from the ranch

Common Ground
Carbon SequestrationMontana Carbon ProjectProgress ReportRanch News
September 27, 2023

Sandy Arrow Ranch Fall 2023 Update

Ranch Update I am thrilled to announce that Common Ground is coming to select theaters on September 27th. I encourage you to watch and share the trailer (see below). If you can attend a screening in person, please do so –the link below includes the current screening locations and schedule. It also provides you with a way to request a…
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Carbon SequestrationMontana Carbon ProjectProgress ReportRanch News
June 6, 2023

Sandy Arrow Ranch Spring 2023 Update

Ranch Update As visitors to this website know, I’ve been on a journey over the past ten years to prove that regenerative agriculture has the power to heal ecosystems and improve human health. In my mind, the end game is broad scale adoption of regenerative practices. Three years ago, I saw Kiss the Ground and quickly realized the impact that…
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Soil from Gabe Brown's North Dakota Farm
Carbon SequestrationMontana Carbon ProjectProgress ReportRanch News
November 21, 2022

Sandy Arrow Ranch Fall 2022 Update

An image of where the SA Ranch is going: this is soil from Gabe Brown’s North Dakota Farm in August 2022 Ranch Update It has been two years since our last update on the SA Ranch. In short, it has been a humbling time to be a farmer or rancher in central Montana. The region in which we are located…
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The Ranch

The Sandy Arrow Ranch (“SA Ranch”) is a 22,500 acre cattle ranch/dry land farm located in central Montana.  The ranch borders the Missouri Breaks National monument and Lewis & Clark came through this country in 1805.  In their journals, they commented that this area held more wildlife than any other part of their expedition.  What they witnessed was undisturbed, robust, bio-diverse native prairie that supported millions of buffalo and other ungulates.  The prairie was a perfectly balanced ecosystem that nature spent 100’s of millions of years to create.

Did you know?

  • 20% of the harmful carbon emissions are due to agriculture practices
  • Since 1960, 1/3 of the world’s farmland has been lost due to erosion or degradation
  • 2/3 of the deaths on the planet are directly or in-directly caused by diet
  • Chemicals are approximately 70% of the cost structure in growing wheat

Contact us

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