MJ & Blaine Pickett
Husband–Wife Team
Pasture-based livestock operators • Pig integration • Soil-building through movement and cycling
At Calder Farm, MJ and Blaine Pickett represent a practical, ground-level vision of regenerative agriculture—one where pigs are not treated as a problem to contain but as active contributors to healthier pasture, better nutrient cycling, and more balanced land management.
Location
Operation
Partnership
Management
In Gunnison, Colorado, MJ and Blaine Pickett show how pigs can do far more than occupy land—they can help heal it.
Their portion of Episode 1 is centered on pigs as a complementary tool within a larger pasture system. They explain that pigs root around, eat the thicker grass cattle often leave behind, and work with a more varied diet than cows. That makes them useful not as a separate enterprise floating above the land, but as animals with a distinct ecological role inside it.
What stands out most is their emphasis on movement. Because the pigs are not kept in one place, nutrients are spread rather than concentrated. Waste does not collect into toxic pools. The pasture is not overwhelmed. Instead, fertility is distributed across the land and allowed to cycle through. In their telling, this is one of the clearest differences between confinement and stewardship.
They also frame pigs as builders rather than destroyers. When moved frequently and managed with care, pigs help work the ground, spread nutrients, and contribute to healthier soil conditions. Their language is practical, even playful, but the point is serious: animals can participate in regeneration when their natural behavior is given structure and purpose.
Why MJ and Blaine Matter
MJ and Blaine Pickett matter as Farm Heroes because they help widen the regenerative conversation beyond cattle alone. Their section shows that pigs also have a place in land restoration when they are managed in a way that spreads nutrients, supports cycling, and avoids the concentrated damage people often associate with livestock.
“They’re happy. They’re living out their pigginess.”
Farm Hero chose MJ and Blaine Pickett because their work shows that regeneration often looks simple up close: animals moving, nutrients cycling, and land improving because management finally matches function.
Pigs, Pasture, and the Work of Cycling Life Back Through the Land
MJ and Blaine Pickett bring a focused regenerative message to Episode 1: pigs can play a valuable role in pasture systems when they are moved often, integrated thoughtfully, and allowed to contribute to healthier soil rather than concentrated waste
