WHAT IS REGENERATIVE FARMING?
Regenerative agriculture consists of holistic farming practices that aim to improve soil health and reverse climate change by expanding biodiversity, improving the water cycle, increasing organic matter in soil structure, and leveraging the power of photosynthesis in plants to transfer carbon from the atmosphere to the soil.
Proponents of regenerative agriculture avoid using chemical pesticides and advocate for methods like crop rotation, livestock rotation, composting, no-till farming, agroecology, and agroforestry. Regenerative agriculture practices help fight the climate crisis by simultaneously decrease carbon emissions and increase carbon sequestering.
KEY PRACTICES OF REGENERATIVE FARMING
The following regenerative agricultural practices aim to improve the well-being of our environment by increasing soil fertility, biodiversity, water retention and cleanliness, and soil carbon sequestration.
Minimal Soil Disturbance, Low to No Tillage. By adopting a low or no till practices, farmers minimize physical disturbance of the soil, and increase levels of soil organic matter, creating healthier, more resilient environments for plants to thrive, as well as keeping more and more carbon where it belongs.
Managed Grazing/Integrate Livestock. Well-managed grazing practices stimulate improved plant growth, increased soil carbon deposits, and overall pasture and grazing land productivity while greatly increasing soil fertility, insect and plant biodiversity, and soil carbon sequestration. Regenerative grazing system mimics the natural grazing patterns of animals, allowing sufficient time to regenerate between grazing periods.
Cover Crops and Crop Rotation are two of basic principles of sustainable agriculture that lead to greater carbon sequestering, improve underground microbe and vertebrate diversity, and increase water absorption and retention. It builds more resilient soils that can better withstand climate change impacts like flooding and drought.
Promote Biodiversity and Natural Equilibrium Between Species. To help build resilience in soil a diverse range of plant species is needed above the ground to cultivate a diverse microbial ecosystem below the ground. Building biological ecosystem diversity begins with inoculation of soils with composts to restore soil microbial community population, structure, and functionality. This can be done by planting multispecies cover crops, and borders planted for bee habitat and other beneficial insects.
RESSOURCES
https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/what-regenerative-agriculture
https://regenerationinternational.org/why-regenerative-agriculture/
https://www.earthday.org/campaign/regenerative-agriculture/
https://www.winemag.com/2020/02/28/regenerative-agriculture-wine-organic/
