Regenerative Agriculture
"As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us." — Robin Wall Kimmerer
What is Regenerative Agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture is a holistic approach to farming that focuses on conservation and rehabilitation techniques. It utilizes various agricultural practices that seek to revitalize the land by increasing biodiversity, enriching the soil, and protecting ecosystems. Key components of regenerative agriculture include no-till farming, cover crops, crop rotation, livestock integration, and composting techniques.
Why Regenerative Agriculture?
Agriculture at any capacity makes an impact on its local environment, the climate, and the planet as a whole, integrated system. The conventional ways in which a majority of today's food, fuel, and fibers are grown is increasingly harmful and damaging to the planet's delicate ecosystems. Conventional agriculture is a massive contributor to climate change, habitat destruction, and soil degradation. Regenerative agriculture, on the other hand, seeks to heal the land in return for the nourishment and beauty that it provides for us in the form of plants, animals, and other complex biological life systems. It is important to note, these are not "new" practices and ideas. Indigenous cultures have integrated these restorative, reciprocal practices into their way of life for thousands of years. Today, we have found a way to blend indigenous wisdom with conventional practices in order to transform the ways we approach agriculture, to move towards towards an abundant, healthy, and restorative global future.
Principals of Regenerative Agriculture:
Cover the ground
Limit soil disruption
Increase biodiversity
Keep the roots underground (perennial system)
Livestock integration
Agroforestry
Livestock Integration
Description: Implementing regenerative grazing practices to mimic natural herd behavior and promote soil health.
Considerations: Proper management is essential to prevent overgrazing and soil degradation.
Benefits: Enhances soil fertility, promotes grassland biodiversity, and improves pasture productivity.
Cover Cropping
Description: Planting cover crops to protect and nourish soil during periods when cash crops are not grown.
Considerations: Diversity in cover crop species enhances soil health and ecosystem resilience.
Benefits: Prevents erosion, enhances soil fertility, supports biodiversity, and promotes carbon sequestration.
Agroforesty
Description: Mixing tree crops with row crops to enhance land productivity and ecological diversity.
Considerations: Strategic placement of trees and crops optimizes sunlight interception and soil health.
Benefits: Improves soil structure, conserves water, reduces erosion, and supports diverse ecosystems.
Sustainable Agriculture vs. Regenerative Agriculture
Differentiation
Regenerative agriculture and sustainable agriculture share similarities, but their goals differ fundamentally. While sustainable agriculture seeks to maintain productivity levels without depleting resources, regenerative agriculture takes a more proactive approach. It goes beyond sustaining and aims to actively restore, renew, and enhance soil health and ecosystem services. In the face of widespread soil degradation (38% of global agricultural land affected), regenerative practices focus on soil improvement, emphasizing customization to specific agro-ecosystems. The goal is to stimulate nutrient cycling in order to contribute to the ongoing process of soil regeneration and health.
Scales of Regenerative Farming
Local
Regenerative growers seek to nurture and protect relationships between and among people and the land. These initiatives are often community led, and focus on supporting small scale farms, non-white and Indigenous farmers, and food sovereignty movements. At the local scale, regenerative farming initiatives can provide valuable networking opportunities for farmers, provide local employment, and be innovative centers for learning and sharing skills. On a local scale, the practice of regenerative farming is not simply healing for the land, but healing for the community of people involved in sustaining and nurturing this land.
National
For centuries, American soil has been severely mismanaged and abused by conventional agriculture techniques. Traditionally, large-scale American farms have relied on pesticides, GMOs, and monocultures to continue to produce high yields on degraded land. Due to this, a majority of U.S. soils are highly degraded, and continue to decline in fertility. U.S. soil is actively suffering from a loss of organic matter, erosion, and pollution. This is a major contributing factor to the climate, water, and health crises in America. A national shift to regenerative agriculture practices could help reverse the damage we have done to our soils while simultaneously reducing production costs, increasing biodiversity, improving nutrition, and overall boosting the health of the people and the land.
Global
At the global scale, regenerative agriculture has the ability to reverse climate change, decrease green house gas emissions, improve global nutrition, and boost international economies. Mass participation in regenerative agriculture techniques can be the key to reversing (and even improving!) the damage we have done to our planet's ecosystems. The biggest contributor to this positive impact? The soil! Soil is one of the earth's greatest carbon sinks; with proper care, healthy soil can draw down nearly 250 million metric tons of carbon-equivalent greenhouse gases in one year. And that is in the US alone (nrdc.) -- imagine what this could mean from a global perspective! Healthy soils have the power to heal not only you and your community, but the world.
Four Steps to Transitioning to Regenerative Agriculture
1. Acknowledge the Spectrum
Regenerative agriculture encompasses a range of outcomes and practices tailored to diverse landscapes. From shallow systems focusing on carbon sequestration to deeper systems prioritizing biodiversity and water quality, regenerative farming adapts to local conditions while promoting ecological resilience and sustainability.
2. Agree on Definitions
Establishing clear definitions of regenerative agriculture is crucial for informed decision-making and effective implementation. Consensus-building efforts are needed to develop widely accepted frameworks that capture both processes and outcomes, facilitating initiatives and financing support for communities, producers, and landscape stewards.
3. Don’t Get Dogmatic
Recognize that regenerative agriculture is context-specific and requires a flexible approach. Transitioning to regenerative practices is a gradual process, characterized by experimentation, learning, and adaptation. Embrace diverse perspectives and prioritize outcomes over rigid adherence to specific methods.
4. Follow the Data
Emphasize data-driven approaches to assess the effectiveness of regenerative agriculture. Measure outcomes across different farming contexts, including carbon sequestration, biodiversity, sociocultural impacts, and productivity. Invest in research to address food loss and optimize regenerative systems for holistic benefits.
By embracing these steps, stakeholders can work towards scaling up regenerative agriculture practices, mitigating climate change, restoring ecosystems, and fostering resilient communities. Through collaborative efforts, regenerative farming has the potential to create vibrant landscapes and contribute to a sustainable future for generations to come. (Marano)
SAP Implementation Plan
We already defined the difference between sustainable and regenerative agriculture, but here's a refresher: Where sustainable agriculture focuses primarily on maintaining agricultural productivity without causing destruction to the land— to support the needs of today without compromising the ability to meet the needs of tomorrow— regenerative agriculture has shifted it's view of success to focus not solely on maintenance, but also on healing and restoration. It asks the question: How can we grow food in a productive, sustainable way while simultaneously working to heal the land upon which this food is being grown?
The SAP is a sustainable farm, but that doesn't mean regenerative practices are not already being implemented. Currently, mulching, composting, crop rotation, crop diversity, and no-till practices are being utilized at the SAP. Furthermore, the SAP does not partake in chemical fertilizers or pesticides. But where can the SAP's regenerative practices be improved? What can be introduced to the SAP so that it can take its farming practices from simply sustainable, to being healing and regenerative to the land?
Our proposal is to integrate a more extensive cover cropping system into the rotation of practices being utilized at the SAP. Cover cropping, as previously described, is a method of planting to enrich and protect unoccupied soil. Cover crops, also known as "green manure" crops, are any grains, grasses, brassicas, or legumes that will grow during the mild fall and cold winter months. They are typically planted in late summer or early fall to grow during the off-season, when soil would usually be exposed to the elements. Their duty is to cover and nourish the soil during these long winter months, in order to manage soil fertility and control erosion in anticipation for springtime planting. Come spring, cover crops will be mowed down in order to make room for new life. This is a relatively easy, inexpensive way to introduce amendments to the soil, manage water availability, suppress weeds, control erosion, and (if using leguminous cover crop) fix nitrogen in the soil.
In order to reap these regenerative benefits, we propose the SAP invests in a yearly cover crop mix to integrate into their growing rotation. The addition of cover crops at the SAP will help to bolster a diverse range of plant life, nurture resiliency, and build organic matter in the soil. We have envisioned a six month plan inclusive of a timeline and a budget to help kickstart this initiative. Our hope is that the SAP will continue to utilize cover cropping methods long after this initial plan in order to see improvements and healing to the land for years to come.
Timeline
Budget
Triple Bottom Line
People
— Community volunteers and students that come to help plant and tend to the crops may experience a boost in mood. Spending time outside and connecting with others socially is proven to reduce stress, increase happiness, and improve overall health.
— Cover cropping is a farming technique that is virtually free of harmful chemical inputs. In this way the food being produced and shared from the SAP will be able to support the physical health of the students and community members who enjoy produce from the SAP.
— The application and connection that happens between the seeds, cover crops, and the soil simultaneously helps to build a stronger relationship between people, their environment, and their food.
— Regenerative agriculture practices such as cover cropping requires many hands collaborating and working together towards a greater goal. This teamwork aspect of farming facilitates community building and connection among students, interns, volunteers, and other community members.
Planet
— Integrating cover crops at the SAP will ensure that soil health and fertility is a priority. Other practices such as adding compost to the soil, leaving roots in the ground, and crop diversity, will provide a foundation for a diverse world of soil microbes and crops to survive and thrive on the land.
— Biodiverse, thriving soil will improve the diversity of the life above the ground, on the land, and in the air. A diverse plant, bird, and insect population supports the ecology of the environment and is essential for the resilience of the land. Cover cropping is a direct source of this diversity.
Profit
— Cover cropping can help the SAP save money by reducing costs for excess materials such as synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, and large machinery for maintenance. Along with this, the increased resilience of the land will require less repair costs in the future.
— By supporting the soil, the SAP will experience a more predicable, stable land that is much less reliant on outside support systems; therefore, the SAP will experience greater financial security.
— Integrating regenerative agriculture practices ensures the resilience and strength of the land. Healthy soil = happy crops = the SAP will continue to be able to grow and sell their produce for years to come!
Sources
Nrdc. “Regenerative Agriculture 101.” Be a Force for the Future, 29 Nov. 2021, www.nrdc.org/stories/regenerative-agriculture-101#climate.
Guide to Regenerative Agriculture (Why Is It Important?) - Kiss ..., kisstheground.com/regenerative-agriculture/.
“Can We Afford Regenerative Agriculture? (The Benefits and the Costs) Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems.” Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems – Chico State, www.csuchico.edu/regenerativeagriculture/blog/drawdown-post.shtml.
Marano, Marli. “Four Steps to Transitioning to Regenerative Agriculture.” The Rockefeller Foundation, 5 Mar. 2024, www.rockefellerfoundation.org/insights/perspective/four-steps-to-transitioning-to-regenerative-agriculture/.
Myers, Rob. “Creating a Baseline for Cover Crop Costs and Returns.” SARE, 30 Sept. 2020, www.sare.org/publications/cover-crop-economics/how-to-get-a-faster-return-from-cover-crops/creating-a-baseline-for-cover-crop-costs-and-returns/.
