What Is Regenerative Agriculture?

If you keep up with the agricultural world, you’re probably familiar with the term regenerative agriculture. But what does it mean, and how do you implement it? Keep reading to find out more about this approach to farming, why it matters and how farmers (and home gardeners) put it into practice.

What is Regenerative Agriculture?

Do a quick search on the definition of regenerative agriculture and your head may start spinning. Different groups and organizations define it in various ways. But the general idea is pretty simple and straightforward. Regenerative agriculture asks people to see the land as something not only to farm in the present but something to improve for the future.

The term may be new, but the practice is not.

For hundreds of years, farmers and ranchers looked at their land as an investment. It served them in the present, offering bounties of food and livestock to feed their families and earn an income. But they also knew they needed to take good care of it in order to continue using it to produce food and other agricultural products.

Most people agree that there are a lot of goals associated with regenerative agriculture practices. These include, but are not limited to:

1. Improving the Soil

Plants require nutrients to grow, and they receive those nutrients from the soil. But how does the soil get those nutrients back so it’s healthy and ready to support next year’s crops? There are dozens of specific ways to care for soil, but the general idea is to minimize soil disturbance and regenerate the soil with healthy bacteria and microbes.

See more: Healthy Soil Is the Foundation for Healthy Plants

2. Building Biodiversity

When farmers aim to build up the biodiversity on their farms, that basically means operating a miniature ecosystem instead of focusing exclusively on a single crop. Attracting beneficial bugs, birds and other animals and planting different cover crops that offer a variety of organic matter are two ways to do this.

See more: Water Quality Expands with H2Ohio Program

3. Improving Water Quality

Poor soil quality leads to increased erosion and run-off, which is bad news for plants, animals and farmers. But when your soil is rich in organic matter, it is less likely to struggle with the same water retention issues. That means plants will thrive, animals will have access to healthy food and farmers can harvest healthy crops.

Why Does Regenerative Agriculture Matter?

You can make a lot of cases for why regenerative agriculture practices are good for the crops, animals, and farmers and ranchers. But one of the best reasons is because the land we cultivate, whether for plants or livestock, is best served when its future is taken into consideration.

Think about it like this: If someone plants one crop in the same field year after year, the soil is going to run out of what it needs to produce a bountiful harvest. Likewise, if a farmer doesn’t rotate the fields where their livestock graze, the land won’t have a chance to recover from all that grazing.

Caring for the land is the best way to grow and raise food now and in the future. Everything from the minuscule microbes to the lumbering cattle are going to win if we do our best to be good stewards of the land.

How Do Farmers Practice Regenerative Agriculture?

We talked a little about the philosophy behind regenerative agriculture, but let’s take a quick look at a few ways farmers might put this idea into practice.

Using Cover Crops

Planting cover crops after the harvest means your soil will always be nourished with plant and root growth. Reducing soil erosion, building up the soil nutrients and increasing water efficiency are a few benefits to this practice.

Practicing No-Till Farming

The general idea here is to avoid disturbing the soil any more than necessary. Some farmers mow down their crops (without a tiller) and let them decompose back into the ground over winter to nourish the soil with healthy organic matter before the next spring planting.

See more: No-Till Farming Pioneer Speaks for Farmers

Rotating Crops and Livestock

Soil occasionally needs a break from growing the same plants or feeding the same animals year after year. Diversifying plantings improves soil health by optimizing available nutrition and reduces erosion, both of which can result in better crop yields over time.

Composting

Compost is the superfood of gardening and farming, which is why it goes hand-in-hand with regenerative agriculture. Spreading compost, as you might guess, gives the soil some delicious goodies to break down and pass on to future plants or grasses for livestock to enjoy.

Practicing Regenerative Agriculture at Home

You don’t need to farm for a living to practice regenerative agriculture. Container gardens can benefit from the addition of rich organic compost. Backyard gardens can produce higher yields with the introduction of no-till farming. You can even plant cover crops in your raised bed to provide the soil with the extra nutrients it needs to produce strong and healthy plants during the next growing season.

No matter how you decide to incorporate this philosophy into your own garden or farm, keep in mind that the overall goal is to leave the land better than you found it.

See more: Eco-Friendly Gardening Tips