Episode 150 | Oct 2, 2025

Regenerative Farming for Better Health, With Joe Wanda

What does it really mean when food is “grass-fed” or “regenerative”? This week on Health Coach Talk, Dr. Sandi welcomes regenerative farmer Joe Wanda, founder of Wanda Farms in Harvard, Illinois. Together they explore how farming practices impact the nutrient density of food, the health of our soil, and ultimately, the well-being of our families and communities.

“The food we’re producing today has a much lower nutrient content than it used to in the past. The industrial agriculture system is degenerating soil health, and regenerative farming is about bringing that soil back to life so the food we eat is more nutrient-dense.”

Joe Wanda

Joe’s path to regenerative farming began in childhood on a small hobby farm outside Chicago. After years working in large-scale dairy operations focused on efficiency over health, he grew frustrated with a system that relied on pharmaceuticals instead of addressing root causes. Inspired by regenerative agriculture leader Joel Salatin, Joe and his wife Hannah launched Wanda Farms, where they now manage 150 acres using rotational grazing and other regenerative practices to restore soil and produce nutrient-rich food.

In this episode, Joe explains how regenerative farming differs from industrial agriculture and even from labels like “organic” or “grass-fed.” He unpacks the problem of greenwashing, clarifies what grass-fed and grass-finished really mean, and shares how pastured meats gain nutritional benefits when animals live in harmony with the land. Health coaches will see clear parallels to functional medicine: both emphasize root causes, nutrient density, and prevention. Coaches can use these insights to guide clients toward local and regenerative food sources, helping them make everyday choices that support long-term wellness.

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Transcript

Dr. Sandi: In functional medicine, we talk a lot about food as medicine. When we talk about eating animal foods, we say that what the animal ate is what’s most significant. And that’s why I have in my freezer things like this sirloin steak. This is from a regenerative farm. And I know this farmer. His name is Joe Wanda. And I feel very blessed to live within an hour’s driving distance from Wanda Farms and got to know the Wanda family at local farmers’ markets. Love their products. They are a regenerative farm. And that’s why I asked farmer Joe Wanda to be my special guest on “Health Coach Talk.” Let me tell you a little bit about Joe. He is the founder of Wanda Farms.

Wanda Farms is a first generation regenerative family farm up in Harvard, Illinois. Joe and his wife Hannah produce grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, chicken, and eggs, and sell their products directly to consumers online for home delivery. Their mission, to produce clean, nutrient dense food and connect 10,000 families to a farmer they trust by 2030. This is such an interesting conversation with Joe. He is so passionate about his mission. And I’m excited to bring you our conversation. I want to welcome Joe Wanda, our special guest.

Joe: Thank you so much for having me. It’s a pleasure. And thank you for what you’re doing too in helping people be healthier. It’s so important.

Dr. Sandi: Thank you. Well, I discovered you. I love to go to the local farmers’ markets and came upon Wanda Farms and started buying from you. And this is now part of my routine, buying grass-fed beef and chicken, and love your products. But I’m curious about your story, and I know our audience is as well, how you got started and you made that choice to go into regenerative agriculture. So tell us about your beginnings and how Wanda Farms began.

Joe: Yeah, I’m not sure where most of your audience is from, but we’re right here in Northern Illinois, Harvard, Illinois right now. And my parents actually came from the city of Chicago, born and raised there.

Dr. Sandi: Me too.

Joe: It was at a point where they had three kids already and my mom was pregnant with me. And they said, “We have to get out of the city. We need to get to an area where it’s safe for the kids.” And my mom always had this dream of being on a farm. So they moved out from the City of Chicago to Harvard, Illinois in 1990. And they had a little hobby farmette. And that was the beginning of my farming career. So essentially from birth, I got the opportunity to grow up in it. It was a slow process of development. But over time, my mom got a milking cow, and then we had a big garden, and we had pigs and chickens and kind of everything you would see on a little hobby farm. And so farmsteading was really not that popular of a term back in that day, 30 years ago as it is today. But essentially, that’s what my parents were doing. My dad had his own business servicing the auto industry. So he would go into the City of Chicago and still continue to do that.

But I would help my mom every morning on the farm. And I just fell in love with the lifestyle and being with the animals, with nature. So I continued on with that career path. And so I worked for a dairy farmer nearby once I got my driver’s license. And then I continued and got a four-year degree at the University of Wisconsin. And that was specifically dairy. And then from there, I got a job working for, at the time it was considered probably a commercial large-scale dairy farm. We had 1400 milking cows. But now today, things are just changing so dramatically in the agriculture industry, even that’s not considered that big anymore. Now a lot of these operations, they have 20,000, 30,000 milking cows at one location or amongst a few locations within a close area. I mean, it’s just amazing how much agriculture has transformed in size and scale over the last 50 years.

So anyways, that was the start of really my farming career. And when I was at the college and then, of course, working for that larger dairy, it was all about high production, efficiency, economies of scale. And of course, to achieve all that, it was all about using the latest technologies and pharmaceuticals and chemicals and GMOs and you name it, everything that you and I are probably going to talk about how you should avoid, we were using it because, like I said, it was all about cutting costs, trying to produce a product at the lowest cost possible, and being the most efficient that we could. And we were, I mean, we really were, and we would pride ourselves in that. But that farm I worked for, I mean, 50 years ago, they were a small family farm with 50, 60 cows and they scaled to that within 15, 20 years because they felt that was the path they had to take to still be profitable and still be a surviving multi-generational farm. And so we’re seeing a lot of the farming industry moving that way to these large-scale operations.

But, you know, and I say but, the last year I was there, I was starting to begin feeling really frustrated with the way it was going. And I always had a little bit of an interest in college on rotational grazing, organic methods, because that’s what my mom instilled in me a little bit. She was much more health conscious and wanting to do things more naturally. And I was getting frustrated because I felt like all we were doing was fighting diseases and there was always some new product to solve the issue and that the pharmaceutical companies, they always had a product for your problem. And I came across Joel Salatin, and if I don’t know how many of your listeners have heard of Joel Salatin, but if you have not, definitely look him up. He’s a very popular farmer in Virginia. The name of his farm is called Polyface Farms. And he’s written several books. He’s got lots of YouTube videos. And I started following him and he was practicing regenerative farming model of rotationally grazing the animals.

And as I started reading his content and watching his videos, it just started to click and it just was like, wow, what we’re doing here, it doesn’t make any sense. We need to get back to the root cause of why these animals are getting sick and why we’re dealing with all of these diseases and everything. And that was the moment that really helped me change my mindset and trajectory on how I wanted to farm. And so soon after that, my wife and I, Hannah, we stopped working there and helping that farm and we started our own thing here in Harvard, Illinois. And we bought a 77-acre farm right next to my parents’ little hobby farm. And now that’s grown into where we have about 150 acres that we’re managing here. And it’s all in perennial pastures where we either are grazing the livestock or we are…for feeding in the winter. And it’s all focused on constantly rotating the animals around the farm and using a regenerative farming practices.

Dr. Sandi: I love your story and it is so inspirational. And in many ways, when you talked about the root cause of finding out why these animals were getting sick, that’s what functional medicine is. It is not a pill for every ill, but really looking at what are the root causes of illness, what drives chronic disease? And so much is based on what food we’re eating. There’s a lot of confusion about regenerative agriculture, what that actually means and what is the difference between that and, let’s say, grass-fed? How do you describe that to somebody who is completely new? Like, how would a health coach describe it if they were working with individuals who were completely baffled by this?

Joe: So, I never heard that term regenerative at all while I was in college for four years. And it wasn’t until Joel Salatin that I actually heard the term. And then as I started learning more about it, and it’s a very loose definition realistically, but essentially the core of it is the food we’re producing today has a very lower nutrient content than it used to in the past. And the reason for that is the industrial agriculture system on producing our today’s food is actually degenerating the soil health. And the regenerative is how do we regenerate the soil health? And so, the focus on regenerative is how do we regenerate that soil to where it has more life in it, it has more nutrients, and at the end, the food that we’re producing now for us to consume is more nutrient-dense as well? And so, that’s really been the focus is all about regenerating the soil. And there’s so many principles to how we help that as a farmer, but that’s really the basis of the definition.

So, one key element is integrating livestock back into the land. And as we see in the industrial farming model, all the livestock you don’t see anymore today, right? They’re not out roaming the prairies and grazing. We see them all locked up in these feed lots or we see the cows and the chickens all locked up in these big industrial barns on concrete. And they’re all stationary in one place where we’re trucking the feed to them, and then we’re having to remove all the manure, and then now there becomes issues with manure management, and how do we manage all of that so we don’t have runoff into our streams? And it’s very unnatural, but the premise of the integrating livestock back to the land is one of the key aspects of regenerative farming because now we’re getting the animals rotating around the pastures and they’re spreading out their manure naturally and they’re grazing the land naturally as they would otherwise. It’s really just getting back to what were the natives doing here in the U.S. before we came? And they had buffalo here. They said there were herds of a million-plus. I mean, it’s incredible to think that could be, but we’re just getting back to really the basics of what it used to be before the industrial revolution and agriculture landscape changed.

Dr. Sandi: Well, this is really critical and, as you describe it, this is not just a buzzword. This is not just the latest food label, natural, organic, grass-fed, regenerative. This really could transform our soil so that it has enough nutrients because, you’re correct, our soil is so depleted. So in terms of grass-fed, I think that’s another area that we see a lot of hype come to. Everything is labeled grass-fed, and I’m one of those annoying people and say, “Well, is it 100%? Is it grass-finished as well?” So can you describe, if somebody’s confused about grass-fed, or 100% grass-fed, grass-finished, what is the difference?

Joe: Yeah. Well, you’re smart to be doing that. I think everyone should be asking those questions. And so unfortunately with, we call it greenwashing, essentially a lot of the products in the grocery store are being greenwashed with the latest buzzwords and terms to hype up someone to think that they’re buying something that they want, but it’s actually not truly what they were intending to purchase. And so, yes, we have to be mindful of this as a consumer now when we go to the store to purchase and ask those hard questions. So unfortunately, they’re not really…a lot of these terms are not being regulated or anything. So therefore, you could call a grain-fed animal grass-fed because they probably had some grass still in their diet. So maybe it was grass, hay, and it was some grain. And so they could be considered grass-fed. And then, of course, you have other individuals that they say, well, they’re grass-finished, but they might’ve been fed some grain at one point in their life. And then at the end, the last 60 days were only grass and no grain. Or it could be some producers will still call it grass-fed even though they’re finished on grain for the last 60 days. And so unfortunately, it’s just everybody has a different definition when you say that word and you pretty much have to clarify with everyone, what is your definition?

And the big thing for us is we know that when the animals are fed grass their entire life, and not just grass, because one thing to be mindful is you could still have a feedlot scenario where they’re just trucking grass to them. And that kind of takes away some of the health benefits versus a regenerative farming practice of rotationally grazing them naturally. But as we’re moving them through the pastures and they’re consuming all of this fresh forage out on the pastures, the cattle are benefiting from all of the higher nutrient density in the pastures. And then that in turn is making a higher-quality product for us as consumers, because now it has higher-quality fats and antioxidants and vitamins. And there’s just a lot of research out there showing grass-fed beef is indeed more nutrient dense than grain-fed beef. And actually, it’s interesting when you start looking at the fat profiles, omega-3s, the omega-6s. Grass-fed only ruminant animals has almost a perfect ratio for our health. And I think if that’s any sign that we should be eating grass-fed beef, I mean, personally, I believe in God and I really think that he designed it for us to eat ruminant animals for a reason. And so let’s not go and change it too much. Let’s stick to the plan.

Dr. Sandi: I couldn’t agree more. And I was misguided, as so many of us were, back probably when you were first starting out, or your mom was, in the ’90s, late ’80s, ’90s, and oh, everything was fat-free. And, of course, we thought we were making the best choices by being vegan. So I went through all those phases. I was macrobiotic. I was vegan. I was raw vegan, never was as sick. And I always thought, well, if I’m not feeling well, I’ll just put more kale in my smoothie and raise my kids that way as well. And really look back and regret that because when I finally did start eating meat, I felt so much better. And now I crave it. And it is my food of choice. In fact, I have some some sirloins defrosting right now that are Wanda Farms. And I also get your…You have chickens as well. And what other products do you carry? And we talk about pasture-raised chickens and pastured pork. So what are some of the issues there? Because I’m really adamant, and I never order chicken when we’re in a restaurant, for example, because even sometimes they’ll say organic chicken, but what does it actually mean?

Joe: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, and that’s another thing we could debunk here is the organic label does not mean it’s regenerative. And that’s a very key thing to understand. Unfortunately, I think in the last 30 years, we’ve seen, like, the organic label really change to where organic was more small family farms that were practicing these these regenerative farming practices. Because regenerative, even though it’s a new term today, it’s nothing new, farmers have been practicing this forever. It’s just now the organic has become more industrialized and they’re mass-producing it because that’s what the masses are asking for. And so they’re doing it to produce it efficiently and low-cost and all that. But they’re not using the regenerative farming principles of getting the animals back on the land. And they’re still doing the trucking feed to the stationary, big buildings where the animals are all cooped up. The only difference is they’re eliminating the antibiotics and they’re feeding a certified organic feed. But the livestock don’t necessarily have a different lifestyle than maybe the conventional farming model. So that’s the big thing.

So organic chicken or even like the free range chicken you might find, and for that matter, this is the same thing for the eggs and for the pork and for the beef, all of them are living in this stationary building where they’re not necessarily out foraging in the grasses like we like to picture when you think organic. And so, and just as I spoke about the grass-fed beef and how much of a difference it makes in the nutrient profile, it’s the same thing as for the chicken, the pork, and the eggs. When they actually are out on pasture, it improves the nutrient density of the food because those animals are more healthy because they’re actually getting exercise and they’re getting sunshine, that vitamin D. And of course, they’re getting to consume a lot more than just grains. They’re getting actually bugs and the forages and worms. I mean, we’ve been getting tons of rain this past weekend on our farm and it’s so awesome to go out there in the evening and you just see those chickens running around, chasing down all those worms coming up out of the ground because that’s so saturated right now. And so it’s really a true awesome sight to see to know that we’re really producing a better-quality product for the consumers to consume.

Dr. Sandi: I love it. And you get so excited and you are so mission-driven, which is really critical and just the opposite of the conventional big factory farms. What do you say to people who would say, “Oh, I can’t afford it?” And I know I get your newsletter and your mailings and social media, which by the way, check out his awesome social media and get on his mailing list. But you sell, you have bundles, and you also sell huge, like, sides. So is it possible can people get together and divide and conquer, so to speak?

Joe: Yeah. There’s no doubt about it, we’re going to be more expensive than, say, the big box stores where you might buy your food from. And I’ll put this quick little note out there, but when we start looking back at food costs, we’re comparing our cost of the regenerative meats compared to conventional meats. It’s a big price change, but we’re using the conventional meats as the baseline. And rather than…if we actually look back at history, over 100 years ago, the individual was spending roughly 45% of their income for their food budget. And today we’re at less than 15%. And roughly half of the population eats out. So when we start looking at that, it’s like food is four times cheaper today than it’s ever been in history. But yet again, we’re still going to the grocery store complaining about the prices on the food. And so industrial farming model has significantly made food cheaper. There’s no doubt about it, but the price tag we see at the grocery store is not the true cost. That’s just the cost you’re paying. But we’re forgetting that our government is subsidizing all of these industrial farms, and so your tax dollars are paying for your food.

Then the other big kick, the environmental factors, and let’s not forget about that, how much money is being spent on our government dollars for environmental improvements. But then the third thing I’m going to point out is over 100 years ago, our healthcare cost was about a third of what it is today. And so we’re spending so much more on our health than we ever have in history. And if we just got back to the basics of making sure that we’re getting exercise, sleep, and eating good-quality food, not processed food, could we actually…are we really spending more money? Are we really? Let’s just get back to the basics and eat real food again, not a bunch of processed food or food that was produced with all this junk in it that we see grocery store meat.

If you guys love the sound of that and you want to get on board with eating higher-quality food to improve your health, yes, we offer all of our items on our website ala carte, and you can purchase, pick out your own bundle on that. But we do try to curate, like, bundles for individuals. And we also do, like, bulk beef shares. So you could buy like a quarter or half a cow type thing. And the reason for that is we just want to extend extra savings to individuals that maybe are on a tighter budget and want to get the best price per pound. And that just gives everyone an opportunity to buy in bulk, because obviously when you buy in bulk, it lowers our operational cost. It’s expensive for us to deliver small orders of food to everyone’s homes. And so we’re just trying to help out in any way we can to help everyone get better-quality food.

Dr. Sandi: Well, I love it. And your mission is to see 10,000 families have access to a farmer. And I’ve always said that, and I feel so blessed living an hour away from where you are and seeing you and seeing your family, and knowing that there are farmers’ markets, but there are also farmers. And you do wonderful things. You open up your farm, you have hay rides for the kids that can go out and see the cattle. I love that. When my grandkids get a little bigger, that’s going to be on our list. This has been just a fascinating conversation. And it is doable, and we can have a better quality of food and have and support farmers like you who are out there doing the right thing, spreading the word about the fact that it is possible to change the quality of our soil too. You are truly making a difference. And we have a lot of people who are social media influencers in functional medicine, for example, and talking about how to do it. But if we didn’t have people like you out there actually actively growing the food, then we’d be in trouble. And I know I would because I, certainly as a city girl, do not have access, although I’m in the suburb now, but still, I couldn’t have cattle out in the back. So I appreciate you. Yeah.

Joe: Well, we need more farmers today. And my prayers are that there’s more people coming on board, just like myself, producing regenerative farming practices right here in the Midwest. And so we definitely need a lot more farmers to feed this whole world.

Dr. Sandi: And one of the reasons I know your food is so good is because you’ve got your children, your little kids out there. And they wouldn’t be out there if you had one of those big factory farms and conglomerates filled with all kinds of nasty pesticides and all the rest. So, yeah. So Joe, where can people find you? And if they want to order from you, where…?

Joe: Yes. So the best thing would be go to our website, wandafarms.com, and on there, you’re welcome to go ahead and create an order for home delivery. Or if you live nearby, you’re welcome to pick up here at our farm. Like I said, we’re in Harvard, Illinois, which is about an hour and a half northwest of Chicago. So really not far from any of your listeners here in the Midwest. But of course, you can check us out on social media. We’re on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter. I don’t know all of them. I honestly don’t manage a lot of those. We have a couple individuals that are really fantastic that manage our social media. And so feel free to go on there and you can follow along and see everything we’re up to. And if you are maybe outside of the Midwest, don’t forget that we can still probably deliver to you. We do ship nationwide. However, we do encourage everyone, find a local farmer. And so if you are, say in Florida or California, listening to this, I’m still going to encourage you to try to find a local farmer that, you know, is doing the same practices we are. But if you’re not finding that farmer that you can trust, I mean, we’re certainly happy to help you to get started on your journey to eating healthier food.

Dr. Sandi: Wonderful. No, thank you so, so much for being our guest today. And I’m excited. I’m going to go see how the sirloins are doing, they’re defrosting, and excited to have that regenerative farm so close to me. So thank you so much, Joe.

Joe: Thank you. I appreciate it.