Regenerative agriculture
A short definition
It's a set of farming and grazing practices that follow nature's rules. It includes using less chemicals, minimizing tillage, accelerating crop rotation, implementing landscape elements such as flower edges, and applying green manure, among others. These practices, among other benefits, rebuild soil organic matter and restore biodiversity - resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle.
These practices have a direct positive impact on soil's water retention capacity, soil's carbon sequestration capacity, soil's biodiversity level and food's nutrient density...Bees, worms, compost, biomass...mother nature's luscious, transformative tools. We have observed this on our own farm when implementing biodiversity lanes and field flower edges: we have seen a direct correlation between the implementation of these landscape elements and the increase in birds, wild bees and butterfly populations.
Regenerative practices harness what nature offers and have been proven not only to increase soil health but also farmers' yields and profit.Â
The effects of Regenerative agriculture:
Increases
- Crops resilience
- Yields
- Quality & Nutrition
- Profitability (long term)
- Intrinsic land value
- Natural capital
- Climate resilience
Decreases
- Costs
- Artificial inputs
- Need to irrigate
- Harvest volatility
- Topsoil loss
- Soil degradation
- Run off & drought
Scientific and applied research
Regenerative agriculture draws from decades of scientific and applied research by the global communities of organic farming, agroecology, holistic management, and agroforestry.
Do you want to help us change the world through agriculture? Get in contact via emma@soilheroesfoundation.com.