In this blog you are going to learn about Regenerative Agriculture can do for you, your farm and the planet.
Regenerative agriculture is a movement that is transforming agriculture by impacting the way food is grown, the quality of food produced and the resources we dedicate to agriculture. It is a solution to enhance crop yield, improve farming practices, and promote human health. This movement unites farmers, gardeners, and consumers to move away from conventional farming into ways of producing and consuming food that have a positive net impact on the earth.
Choosing to participate in the regenerative agriculture movement can take shape in diverse ways depending on how you decide to get involved. Overall, the movement encourages the improvement of soil health, water utilization, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity. When multiple strategies are used in tandem, the greatest outcome can be achieved. If you are a farmer and want to get started with regenerative agriculture, deepen your knowledge about practical solutions to improve your bottom line and promote a healthy planet.
“Regenerative Agriculture is a surprisingly efficient way to commercial farm while stewarding our ecosystems and long term survival as a species . It’s the solution the Earth has been waiting for. ”
– Chad Wall
Improve Soil Health
Soil health has a deeper importance than traditional agriculture explains. Historically, soil fertility has been an assessment of the quantity of minerals present followed by the addition of minerals and fertilizer to address perceived deficiencies. Chemical analysis detects the soluble minerals available for uptake but is unable to holistically evaluate the soil. This process does account for how microbial communities work to increase natural mineral availability. With a new understanding of the importance of how the microbiome functions we understand that protecting soil and building a habitat for the microbial population to diversify and flourish improves the availability of the minerals within the plant rhizosphere.
A farm can only be as healthy as the soil is. Improving soil health directly leads to an increase in crop health. If you’re looking for a consistent and sustainable yield of high quality crops, look no further than improving the quality of the soil. Soil health can be enhanced through a variety of regenerative agriculture including cover cropping, crop rotation, and intentional tillage.
Typically proponents of regenerative agriculture advocate for no-till farming. However, there are certain circumstances in which no-till can be extremely beneficial and others in which it is detrimental to soil and crop health. Conventional tillage practices promote excessive tillage in order to prepare the fields for planting and eliminate weeds. This level of tillage disturbs fungal communities and can prevent microbial communities from thriving. In other circumstances with substantial compaction and limited gas exchange, tillage is needed to bring life back to the soil. Practicing intentional tillage allows us to preserve soil health when possible and restore it when necessary. When the soil microbiome is healthy nutrient cycling occurs more readily. Choosing to improve soil quality naturally, without added fertilizers, immensely increases the quality of the harvest. Providing access to sufficient nutrients allows plants to build a higher quantity of protective compounds. Overall, the greatest benefit of higher quality soil is food with higher nutrient density. And the importance of soil health as a means to support planetary balance cannot be underestimated.
Increase Water Effectiveness
Regenerative agriculture exponentially increases the effectiveness of water applied to farmland. Healthy soil retains more water and creates less runoff. Substantial root systems built with cover cropping and crop rotation reduce the amount of water needed to sustain crops. Established soil is more efficient at storing and utilizing the water it receives due to having a higher water holding capacity. Notably, an increase of organic matter in soil by 1% allows the land to increase water storage capacity by up to 20,000 gallons. Increased water storage capacity has a huge benefit by increasing resiliency for crops during heavy rain or drought.
Decrease Water Demand
Structured water further enhances the impact regenerative agriculture can have on farming. Integrating structured water pivot devices into agricultural farmlands can reduce water demand by up to 30%. As farmers, the opportunity to use structured water provides a substantial prospect to reduce freshwater consumption. Global freshwater demand could be reduced by 21% if all agriculture was produced using structured water.
Reduce Pesticides with Structured Water
Preliminary data shows that when structured and energized water is used during pesticide application, the active ingredient required can be reduced and produce the desired outcome. As agricultural practices have developed, plants have required a continual increase in pesticide application to achieve sufficient results. When soluble fertilizer products are overapplied the soil system becomes dependent on artificial additives. These overapplied nutrients are often detrimental to the microbes in the soil and prevent the plants from having a symbiotic relationship with the soil microbes that facilitates nutrient uptake by plants. Using structured water improves the efficacy of pesticides and fertilizers thus reducing the amount being applied and decreasing the unintended consequences of the application.
Increase Crop Quality
Crops quality is improved by the energizing effect of structured water. Energized water functions similarly to rain water in that it can affect the soil biology by improving nutrient availability. Substantial improvement in soil quality can be achieved in just one growing season of using structured water. When structured water is applied increased crop quality and quantity are observed. Often when we misapply nutrients we produce more at lesser quality. Structured water brings balance that can impact all aspects of successful growth.
Reduce Irrigation Costs with Structured Water
The potential of using structured water is immense for reducing costs and having higher crop quality and yield. Field trials with soil moisture monitoring equipment have validated that crop demand can be met with 30% less water applied than historical applications. Moisture monitoring is a great way to use technology to ensure the correct amount of water is applied. Oftentimes visual inspection looks like crops need more water, but monitoring equipment can show that no additional application is needed and adding more water would create plant stress and ultimately waste water. Higher quality soil is able to more efficiently store and utilize the water applied. By increasing soil health and applying structured water, improvements to crop health are multiplied. Moisture requirements can be achieved while simultaneously increasing yield.
Boost Carbon Sequestration
Regenerative Agriculture decreases carbon emissions and increases carbon sequestration, while improving plant and soil health. Plants sequester carbon dioxide from the air and use it to grow. Furthermore, plants pump carbon into the soil via root exudates to feed and support a robust microbial ecosystem, which further promotes the health of the plant and enriches the soil. The carbon storage in soil increases organic matter and improves future crop yield. When organic matter in the soil is increased over time by intentional tillage and using cover crops, the amount of carbon in soil can be increased by 500 to 2,000 pounds per acre per year.
Increasing the amount of carbon in soil, increases the water holding capacity of soil and allows water to more deeply infiltrate soil. The impacts of this can be substantial as one pound of sequestered carbon can hold up to 40 pounds of water. Across large areas of agricultural land this capacity is multiplied to have a huge impact. Carbon sequestration is carried out by plants through photosynthesis with carbon being stored in soil as organic carbon. Organic carbon in soil impacts nutrient retention and turnover. Nutrient availability is increased by an increase in organic carbon in soil. For every 2,000 pounds of carbon in the soil about 200 pounds of nitrogen, 30 pounds of phosphorus, and 30 pounds of sulfur are available to plants. Carbon sequestration plays a crucial role of increasing water and nutrient capacity of soil.
Regenerative practices improve plant photosynthetic capacity. An increase in photosynthesis directly relates to plant ability to thrive. It is estimated that conventional practices support plants at 20% of photosynthetic capacity. When regenerative agriculture practices are fully implemented, photosynthesis capacity can be increased to 60-80% capacity. A healthy plant microbiome and increased water capacity are the biggest ways to increase photosynthetic capacity.
Increase Biodiversity
Biodiversity contributes to healthy soil, resilient crops, and a strong ecosystem that is resistant to pests and disease. Having a variety of microorganisms, plants and animals on a farm is a sign of high biodiversity. Using a variety of cover crops increases plant diversity and boosts helpful insect populations. Polyculture reduces the strain on the available nutrients and allows for farmers to use less fertilizers. Animal grazing practices can increase plant growth by increasing soil carbon deposits. Overall, increasing biodiversity creates more micronutrients in the harvest.
How you can be part of the regenerative agriculture solution
Joining the regenerative agriculture movement will directly improve the health of the planet and the population by addressing the way food is grown on agricultural land. Now that you’ve taken the first step of digging into the major components of regenerative agriculture, you’re ready to take the initiative to apply these principles to your current practices. Taking action to improve soil health and water utilization will increase productivity of the land. Participation on any scale will have an impact on global health. If we all stand together, we can transform agricultural practices around the world.