WHY REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE?

I will delve into the first of many and wonderful sustainable farming practices in the next few weeks, but first I want to shout out to everyone why Regenerative Agriculture is so important.

We must REBUILD, not just sustain

The human induced degradation of soils worldwide has been significant. In Australia this has predominantly been since European settlement and its associated impacts of grazing and farming the land. To purely ‘sustain’ our soils, river systems and environment at the current state is simply not enough. We need to regenerate and build our soils to a state better than where they currently are. We have encroaching desertification, loss of soil carbon, loss of soil life, acid soils, dryland salinity, lowered nutrient contents of the foods produced from these soils and massive increases in chronic human disease in developed countries in the last 50 years, which many attribute to increased pesticide use and lower nutrient contents of food. We have the opportunity to turn this around!

We need to change for so many reasons:

• For future generations
• For the nutrient value of our food and for our own good health
• To ensure the viability and continuation of family farming operations
• To build soil nutrition and eliminate energy-intensive artificial fertiliser inputs
• For the fulfillment of us….. The farmers, the food producers.

When challenged with changing climate, we need systems that are more resilient; systems that can not only perform well under average seasonal conditions, but can carry us through more challenging times and seasons of increasing variability.

Let’s open our minds to different ideas and embrace regenerative agriculture practices.

Where to start?

There is such a vast array of approaches to farming regeneratively, but generally speaking they all embrace the way nature intended things to be, and consider the system and the interrelationships and affects around our decisions. This array of different approaches means that it can be more of a ‘brain strain’ getting our heads around it, when compared with a more conventional system, where there is a more standard ‘best practice’.

I remember my confusion 15 years ago when first exposed to the natural ways in which soils work and how to integrate this into farming systems. I didn’t know enough to know the right questions to ask. I’m not sure how many conventional farmers feel like this today – it’s hard to gauge from my now more informed viewpoint. I feel like there is much more information in main stream media – but are people’s mind’s still awash? Let me know…

Granted, it can be more mind taxing because such farming and grazing systems have a number of different approaches aimed at achieving the same outcomes (so which do I choose?). Also, the innovation in such systems is often grower driven, so there isn’t the traditional large scale adviser support out there. This forces us, as growers to think about our decisions more, and to rely on advisers less. For example, to improve soil health the farmer may ask:

• Do I concentrate on soil biology and build soils this way with soil chemistry balances following? Or,
• Shall I concentrate on balancing soil chemistry, following which other things like soil biology reportedly fall into place?
• Different again is those that have their focus on soil carbon and humus.
• Or graziers that address mineral deficiencies through supplementing their stock rather than rectifying at a soil level.

They are all trying to do things better and more consciously, but with different focuses to achieve this.

This might be the point where some people feel a little frustrated, throw their hands in the air and find regenerative farming is all a bit hard. “Where do I start?” Without one clear approach to begin them on their path, I believe many can’t get started. I admit I can’t say that I strongly believe any one approach is always the best. I think this is what may dissuade some producers from moving away from chemical agriculture to other methods. They know their current farming or grazing systems don’t feel right, but it can be challenging to determine which new approach to take, and then, within that, what on ground practices can be performed to achieve this?’

This is the very purpose of The Conscious Farmer Blog!

It will report on the fascinating and innovative practices that many different farmers have developed in approaching their soil, plant and animal health. You can then learn their practical ideas and apply what suits you and your circumstances best. It is about finding what resonates with you and what is practical for you and suits the machinery, infrastructure and/or skills you have. I hope to help all of you who may currently have different stages of understanding.

• Those of you currently farming with conventional tillage and herbicide dominant no till.
• Those already dabbling in something different.
• Those already fully involved in regenerative farming.

Also, remember something I recently heard, that when we have a state of confusion and keep going, we get expansion and learning. It’s O.K. to feel confused, but if we don’t push through it – we will always feel this way (and have this limiting us).

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE TAKE HOME MESSAGES

A farmer recently asked me when I told him of this blog I was beginning ‘What are the take home messages of regenerative or sustainable farming?’

Preventative

It is a preventative approach – prevention of pests and disease within crops, and, in turn, prevention of the need for band aid pesticides. It’s enhancing natural systems.

Whole system

It is about a systems approach – not just one off inputs.  This can prove more challenging, as I mentioned, it requires a greater understanding of the interaction of different inputs and actions and leads us back to the point of prevention.

It’s about a new system, not a new input

There is one thing that moving toward regenerative agriculture is not. It is not about adding one biological or more sustainable input to a traditional system and expecting a better yield. It is however about reducing or removing or replacing current inputs whilst maintaining or increasing current yield outputs. This is something predominantly missed in traditional trialing methods. Science often wants to change ONE variable and test its effect. Some trialing in the past, for example, has involved adding a biological product to a traditional farming system and looking for a yield increase. This is completely missing the point, and such trialing frustrates me and inhibits the promotion of more sustainable systems to those that chemically farm.

Because of this, I’m certainly not suggesting traditional farmers have a complete overhaul of their farming system and change their whole system overnight. If people want to change– don’t try it by trialing one product over a large area. Give it a try via a greater system change over a small area of land.

I’m also not suggesting that change will be easy – there is much soil degradation to repair, which is why I would suggest trialing things on small areas to get a feel for them and come back and discuss the outcomes with other Conscious Farmer subscribers. But it can be done!

FINALLY

It is all good and well to know the theory of how natural soil systems work (which I will discuss), but how do we practically achieve this in our grain growing, cropping and grazing enterprises?

Growers the world over are addressing it in so many different ways and here are just a few examples:

• Directly adding carbon/humus to the soil via composts
• Encouraging the natural soil microbiology through “feeding” the soil with simple sugars like molasses.
• Increasing the microbiology levels in the soil by applying or inoculating the microbiology directly to the soil via compost teas.
• Maintaining as much root growth throughout the year as possible via cover crops or green manure crops or by increasing perenniality in pasture systems.
• Some alter grazing systems to maximize root growth and exudate levels.
• Some aim to infiltrate and keep more moisture in the soil through redirecting water flow along keylines.

I will examine these and many other methods each week with The Conscious Farmer Blog and I look forward to you being along for the ride

What regenerative farming and grazing methods are you practicing on your farm or with your clients?

Yours in conscious farming, Kirrily.