In a world where we are bombarded constantly with the warnings of food shortages, environmental issues, worldwide depletion of our soils, droughts, weather changes, desertification, erosion, pesticides and chemicals poisoning our water mantles, streams, rivers, lakes and ponds, the role of carbon in our environment and the need to sequester it, on top of all the health and autoimmune related illnesses related to exposure to toxic chemicals, it's good to know that there are things we can do and are being done to counteract the impact of a growing urban society.
Today we are going to talk a little bit about how Regenerative Agriculture can play a main role in this process of bringing back the health to our soils, and the practices that surround this transforming way of farming. We are going to explain what it is and what it's not, and give some examples of places that are implementing these practices and a little bit about the people behind these amazing projects.
First of, what is Regenerative Agriculture? It is a holistic approach to food and farming systems, these practices focus on improving the resources we use, rather than destroying or depleting them. It rebuilds and enhances the health of the soil, by restoring its carbon content, which improves productivity and planet health, by regenerating the topsoil, we are increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting bio-sequestration, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil.
Doesn't that sound amazing? A practice that not only is good for the environment, but if it is done consistently, it improves the overall health of our soil, which in turn also cleans our water sources, sequesters carbon and brings life into our soil, making the crops that are farmed in these systems more nutritious and healthy for human consumption, the livestock that is introduced, also helps with the overall health of the system and ads the disturbance necessary for soil health.
There are 6 Core Principles of Regenerative Agriculture practices.
The First Core Principle is to Understand the Context of your Farm Operation: This is the most important principle to follow, if you don't understand your farm, your environment, the context of where it is located, and all the intricate little details that are important in what you are trying to accomplish as and end result, then all that work would be done for noting.
The Second Core Principle is to Minimize the Soil Disturbance in your property: You don't want to ad to the depletion of your soil by tilling it, tilling the soil causes erosion and topsoil depletion, what you want is just to ad minimal disturbance and only following your land curve lines and topography.
The third Core Principle is to Maximize Crop Diversity: This principle is so important, we have come to understand that monoculture requires not only the tilling of the soil, but also the use of chemical pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers to gain a good crop. In Regenerative Agriculture, diversity not only gives the opportunity for different crops to thrive, but this way of farming also reduces not only the use of pesticides and chemicals, but it also allows the farmer to have a variety of different crops at different times of the year, allowing diversity and making the farm more financially stable. These include not only seasonal crops, but also the integration of perennials, fruit trees and nitrogen fixing crops and trees.
The Fourth Core Principle is to Keep the Soil Covered: Just like in a forest, who keeps it and maintains it? Why is it that no one tends to them and they seem to thrive without our input or help? The reason is because in a forest when the leaves and branches fall, they become a cover to the ground, not only keeping the moisture, but also by decomposing they turn into food for the bacteria and microbes that live in the soil. So we need to do the same thing in our farm, we need to keep our soil covered and it can be done by planting cover crops that fix nitrogen into the soil, or by adding other kinds of cover like straw, grass clippings, woodchips, etc.
The Fifth Core Principle is to Maintain Living Roots Year-Round: Root systems under the soil are like glue, they not only communicate with each other through the mycelium in the soil and help each other with nutrients, but they also keep the topsoil in place, preventing erosion.
The Sixth Core Principle of Regenerative Agriculture is to Integrate Livestock: That is right, livestock, don't think of this as a CAFO operation, no, here the different kinds of livestock bring not only soil disturbance needed for aeration, but they also bring with them their manure and droppings which bring nutrients needed to feed not only the bacteria and microbial life in the soil, but also a myriad of beetles, flies, and feed for birds and other species. Livestock can be the addition of Cows, pigs, and chickens into the system.
When all these principles are combined in an intelligent and conscious manner, the results will be noticeable within the first season. One amazing thing about this practice is that most of the work is done in the first couple of years of implementing it, but as the system matures and the soil regains health, it will become almost self-sustaining, needing minimum maintenance.
Regenerative Case Studies, articles and Interview resources:
- Regenerative agriculture - Case studies from Western Australia
- Southern Rangelands Revitalisation Project
- Animals' Vital Role in a Healthy Food System
- Mazi Farm
- Article The Imperative for Regenerative Agriculture
- Regenerative Farm Design with Darren Doherty of Regrarians Ltd.
- Regrarians
- Polyface Farms
- Farming for a better climate: five examples of regenerative agriculture done well
- General Mills
- Regenerative Agriculture: From The Key Principles To The Practice