Why Regenerative Agriculture?

A couple weeks ago, I shared my personal reasons on why I choose to garden, and why it has captivated me the way it has. Now I will do my best to share the reasons that I follow an alternative agriculture method called regenerative agriculture. Regen ag can also be called biomimicry, holistic management, the buffalo system, and the list goes on. Simply put, regenerative agriculture focuses on farming in nature's image and pretty much goes directly against every action of conventional agriculture. Here are five main principles that are the blueprint for regenerative agriculture.

1. Armor on the soil surface

- Keeping the soil covered benefits the farmer by decreasing runoff, decreasing erosion, regulating soil temperature, and does a great job of suppressing weeds. I don't know about you, but if there is a way I can save my back by not having to dig up weeds all season, I'm all for it. I know, I'm lazy.

2. Minimize Soil Disturbance

- Where in nature do you see a tilled, bare field? The answer is never. Nature is always trying to cover herself with varieties of plants. When we till or disc, we release stored soil carbon into the atmosphere and decimate the quantities of soil organisms, such as worms, microscopic bacteria, and fungi. I want as many living creatures in and on my soil as possible! Not to mention, when we till in southern Missouri, we bring a wonderful layer of rocks to the surface. I have gardened for the past three years with rocks being my #1 crop every year, but I think I'm on the right track to change that.

3. Plant Diversity

- Have you every seen a native prairie consisting of one species of plant? Once again, the answer is no. Nature does not discriminate when it comes to choosing which plant species. Grasses, legumes, broadleaves, and brassicas all have a place in nature - together. If you have a pure sweet corn patch, okra patch, or green bean patch, you have one root type competing for nutrients and water from the same soil layer. For example, corn, beans, and sunflowers all have different rooting depths and structures. Planting them together allows each plant to extract the needed water and nutrients from its respective soil layer, not all competing at the same level. This increases efficiency in nutrient and water usage, and who doesn't want that?

4. Living Root at All Times

- As we have said, nature tries to keep herself covered. When large herds of grazing animals (elk, bison, deer) moved through the prairie, they ate and trampled plants to the ground. As soon as she could, nature would have new plants growing to fill the void in no time. Having a diversity of living plant roots in the ground feeds worms and soil microbes through plant exudates. The plants perform photosynthesis by taking carbon dioxide out of the air, and exuding "liquid carbon" and sugars into the soil to feed soil biology in exchange for water or nutrients. This also "aerates" the soil by roots making pathways through the soil which increases the soil's water holding capacity. Who knew there was so much going on beneath our feet? I didn't until a year and a half ago!

5. Livestock Integration

- The final principle is integrating animals onto the land. The wildlife that roamed the plains gathered in massive herds where they were driven by predators to another area of land, eventually making it back to the same land they started at. We can replicate this by packing large numbers of animals to graze portions of the land and frequently moving them to separate areas of new plants. This is not possible for me at the time, but I hope to one day be able to support animals and come very close to mimicking nature in every way!

That probably was one of the less interesting reads from my blogs for most people, so props to whoever makes it this far. On a more serious note, it is my belief that if people involved in agriculture would follow this system, we would have a more efficient environment and farm economy. The word sustainable gets thrown around quite often through the agriculture community - I even had a required college class called "Sustainable Agriculture". While this is a good focus, I don't believe it is the best one. If your car tire was nearly flat, would you want to sustain the pressure to not keep it from going completely flat? Or would you air up the tire completely? Most likely, you would fill it up - why? If you drive with nearly flat tires, you know that there will be negative impacts, such as worse gas mileage. You fill it up because you want the tire to be at its full potential - to be as efficient as it can be. The same applies to agriculture. We need to focus on REGENERATING the soil to leave it better than we found it, not meagerly trying to sustain our degraded land.

My Mission:

Very few people have hundreds or thousands of acres they use for agriculture crop production, especially in southern Missouri. An exponentially greater number of people have access to a small garden in their backyard. I want to share the benefits of farming with nature to as many small farmers and gardeners that I am able to, because we hold a very important role in our community, as we provide for our families and neighbors. Most importantly, consumers hold the highest power in the future of agriculture. Educating consumers on where their food comes from and how it was produced is the key to driving agriculture change. Showing the benefits of regenerative agriculture can educate consumers on the increased need for their support of responsible farming practices.

It is incredible what we can do when we work with nature, instead of against her. Please contact me for any questions you may have regarding the importance of our agriculture decisions. If I can't answer them, I have a plethora of farming "mentors" that are leading by example.