Regenerative Agriculture

The essential elements to regenerative food farming relate to building up the natural biological and physical processes. This occurs above and within the soil, supporting the harvesting of nourishing and profitable produce.

Regenerative agriculture (regen ag) is founded upon the biomimicry of natural systems.  Farming practices incorporating livestock will seek to mimic natural ecosystem grazing. The land is grazed and manured heavily by herbivores, till predators cause the herd to move onto new areas. Farmers creating numerous small paddocks fulfil a similar role, managing short period intense grazing regimes. This is followed by substantial rest periods for plant and soil regeneration.

By limiting the range for livestock, then moving them to fresh pastures generally every one to four days, the natural systems of intense grazing followed by extended rest regenerates the paddocks. The process will facilitate the development of more deeply rooted and varied pasture species. Soil productivity increases, enhancing micro-organism and mycorrhizal abundance and diversity, while improving water penetrability and holding capacity.

Regen ag practices can also support farming where livestock are not part of the matrix. Healthy forest systems incorporate diverse species, from annuals, perennials and trees, with stratified canopies and successional growth strategies. Syntropic farming, whereby the biota and energy are increased through biomimicry, models these natural ecosystem functions. The place where many of the benefits of species diversity accrue is within the soil.

Plant species have a broad range of root types, with differences in depth (shallow, midlevel, deep), function (fibrous, tap root, rhizome, nitrogen-fixing) and longevity (short or long-lived). Within the soil, these differences support biota from micro-organisms to fungal mycorrhizae, and allow the development of what has come to be known as “sense quorum”. If the addition of artificial fertilizers is to be avoided, minerals need to be made bioavailable for the plant roots through the actions of this soil biota. Just as a successful meeting requires enough attendees to make quorum, so too soil organisms need enough diversity to adequately make nutrients available for the plants to flourish.

We at EarthScapes are committed to developing and disseminating regenerative farming principles and techniques. While sustainability is a noble endpoint, much of the agricultural land requires regeneration. Regen ag will build topsoil profiles and health, allow more significant water infiltration and holding capacity, assist natural pest control through the diversity of predator habitat, increase long term yields, and improve the nutritional quality of food produced.

Resilient farms, resilient ecosystems, resilient families.

EarthScapes Consulting will assist you to make the world a better place for you, your family and the generations yet to come.

Contact greg@earthscapes.com.au for further information and support.