The Nature-Nerd Nuts & Bolts of Regenerative Agriculture
Learning to Nourish Life by Nurturing It
When considering how to serve Earth, it’s been natural for me to also consider one of the primary ways that Earth serves us: food. But as in any relationship, figuring out how to meet each other’s needs in ways that supports the well-being of everybody can be tricky. This has certainly been the case for modern agriculture which has been pressured to keep up with the huge food-demands of a rapidly growing population, while doing its best not to cause damage to the environment.
Needless to say, it hasn’t been easy, especially as the technology that many have come to rely on has had some significant, and harmful, blindspots (check out Dignity for Humanity to hear more about how these blindspots happen naturally as part of the human condition).
With that in mind, in a world that has developed in ways that require large-scale farming, Regenerative Agriculture offers a path forward that simultaneously meets the needs of Human, Earth, and Farmer flourishing. Regenerative Agriculture is a method of large-scale food production that “restor[es] degraded soils using practices…based on ecological principle.1” (Learn more about biodiversity here). It does this by addressing the challenges that farmers face with mono-cropping (which is planting only one crop on a large plot of land). Though this method has earnestly sought to meet the demands of producing massive amounts of food, it has had significant ecological consequences that affect not only environment, but the farmer too. To hear the compassionate song and story of how and why mono-cropping came to be, click here.
That being said, in order to understand how Regenerative Agriculture serves the environment and the famers, it’s helpful to understand the challenges they face with the method of mono-cropping.
Firstly, having only one crop on a large plot of land encourages infestations of pests to gather in one place. This has created a dependence on synthetic agricultural pesticides which is costly for the farmer and has a detrimental impact on water sources, native plants, and wildlife.23
The mono-cropping practice also includes frequently tilling large areas of land by using a plough to loosen or turn soil before seeding it. This practice brings “fresh nutrients to the surface while burying weeds and crop remains to decay.4” However, tilling also has some significant consequences.
Firstly, tilling releases CO2 from the ground and into the air. Here’s how that works: Soil has a tremendous ability to sequester carbon through photosynthesis5 in which “plants use light and carbon dioxide (CO₂) to make the sugars they need to grow.6” Then, “the carbon that remains as plant tissue is consumed by animals or added to the soil as litter when plants die and decompose… Carbon can remain stored in soils for millennia, or be quickly released back into the atmosphere.7” With that in mind, when soil is tilled, it releases the CO2 that had been stored in the ground, contributing to the 10% of US greenhouses gases that agriculture is responsible for8.
Secondly, tilling causes soil erosion that increases losses of usable soil at a “rate [that’s] estimated to be double what the U.S. Department of Agriculture says is sustainable”. This happens because tilling breaks up the soil making it more susceptible to being carried off by wind or run-off9. Tilling also removes what’s called “crop residue, which help[s] cushion the force of pounding raindrops. Without crop residue, soil particles become more easily dislodged, being moved or 'splashed' away.10”
That being said, erosion “makes growing food more difficult and expensive [because] when topsoil erodes, the nutrients that crops need go with it, making it more difficult for soil to store water and support plant growth. Farmers can lose 50 to 70 percent of their yield potential because of the loss of topsoil…Some experts suspect that Earth will run out of usable topsoil within 60 years.11”
Finally, tilling disrupts the microorganisms that live in the top soil and that help break down organic material into usable nutrients for crops12. Without the microorganisms, the soil loses significant fertility, which then requires farmers to invest in fertilizers, which can be costly both for the farmer and for local bodies of water.
Regenerative Agriculture, however, seeks to address each one of these challenges with care for the needs of the farmer, the people, and the environment. With methods that have been tested, perfected, and proven over thousands of years all over the world, these practices include (but are not limited to):
No-Till Planting, which has been steadily increasing in the US Corn-Belt to decrease soil erosion and rebuild soil quality13. No-till farming practices are beneficial14 15 by increasing efficiency (as tilling takes time). Also, no-till practices increase profits by reducing the costs associated with tilling (such as maintenance of machinery, fuel, and labor). It also allows farmers to manage greater acreage as there is less labor, thus increasing the potential yields. Last, but not least, no-till methods improve environmental stewardship by reducing CO2 emissions, soil degradation, and erosion.
Regenerative Agriculture also encourages Crop Rotation and Cover Crops, a practice that has been developing for thousands of years, going all the way back to the Romans16, medieval farmers17 and even George Washington18. Today, in the US Corn belt, the primary method of production is to grow corn and soy on the same plot of land, while leaving the plot empty between the production of these two crops. This empty time exposes the soil, thus increasing erosion and leaving room for weeds to infiltrate the plot. With the ancient practice of crop rotations, however, farmers plant a cover crop (such as winter wheat or rye) during the time that the plot was otherwise left empty. By simply planting a cover crop during this time, there are numerous and highly significant benefits19:
First, cover crops help weed control as “weeds [compete] with the crops being planted [so that] in the long run, farmers don’t need to use tillage on the ground anymore.20”
Cover crops also help with pest control as adding wheat or other cover crops both diminishes the persistent nematode populations that harm soy crops as well as starving the pesky corn root worm21.
Cover crops support water retention, wherein “evidence is mounting that cover crops…improve moisture availability in the face of increasingly erratic weather.22”
Cover crops also reduce soil erosion. This is because “plants (like cover crops) anchor the topsoil layer through their roots.23”
Finally, cover crops increase yield. In fact, “farmers can expect a 3% increase in their corn yield and a 4.9% increase in soybeans after five consecutive years of cover crop use24”
Regenerative Agriculture also Incorporates Livestock into Crop Rotations. In this tried and tested ancient method, grazing cattle on cover crops provides natural fertilizer that also helps to replenish soil nutrients. Furthermore, livestock integration helps break up compaction (which is especially important in no-till systems). It also speeds up microbial action25 (which is essential for soil health). Finally, cover crops like oats, rye, and radishes provide good forage for cows26, making it a win-win situation for all parties: the crops, the livestock, the soil, and the farmer.
Finally, Regenerative Agriculture limits the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. As agriculture returns to practices that naturally nurture soil health, the need for synthetics diminishes, thus reducing both production costs associated with their use27 and the negative impacts that they’ve had on the environment through pollution.
With all that in mind, Regenerative Agriculture offers significant support for the big challenges that farmers face today. That being said, farmers need support in making the transition to regenerative methods.
To learn more about how farmers are coming together to make the change, check out Taking the Risk for Regeneration: Compassionately Cultivating the Courage To Change, Together.
https://www.noble.org/regenerative-agriculture/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2984095/#:~:text=Impact%20on%20environment,%2C%20and%20non%2Dtarget%20plants.
%20require%20nitrogen,the%20eutrophication%20of%20our%20waterways.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/57-billion-tons-of-top-soil-have-eroded-in-the-midwest-in-the-last-160-years-180979936/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plough#:~:text=A%20plough%20or%20plow%20(US,cut%20and%20loosen%20the%20soil.
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/soil-carbon-storage-84223790/#:~:text=Soil%20Carbon%20Sequestration,in%20the%20form%20of%20SOC.
https://www.essex.ac.uk/blog/posts/2020/12/11/carbon-dioxide-feeds-plants-but-are-earths-plants-getting-full#:~:text=Photosynthesis%20acts%20as%20the%20lungs,releasing%20oxygen%20in%20the%20process.
https://www.esa.org/esa/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/carbonsequestrationinsoils.pdf
https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/frequent-tillage-and-its-impact-soil-quality#:~:text=Since%20tillage%20fractures%20the%20soil,moved%20or%20'splashed'%20away.
Ibid.
https://www.rff.org/publications/explainers/agricultural-greenhouse-gas-emissions-101/#:~:text=Key%20Points,%2C%20nitrous%20oxide%2C%20and%20methane.
https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/frequent-tillage-and-its-impact-soil-quality#:~:text=Since%20tillage%20fractures%20the%20soil,moved%20or%20'splashed'%20away.
https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/13216-2022-us-census-of-agriculture-reports-increase-in-no-till-acres-decrease-in-conservation-tillage?v=preview#:~:text=Census%20data%20for%202022%2C%20the,104.45%20million%20acres%20in%202017.
https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/references/public/PA/uc192%5B1%5D.pdf
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/crop-livestock-practices/soil-tillage-and-crop-rotation/
https://www.allotment-garden.org/crop-rotation/history-principles-crop-rotation/
Ibid.
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/george-washington-and-agriculture/#:~:text=In%20August%201786%2C%20Washington%20began,legumes%20to%20rejuvenate%20the%20soil.
https://www.sare.org/resources/cover-crops/
https://www.environmentbuddy.com/farming/crop-rotation-examples-benefits-cons-and-diy-kit/
https://www.agriculture.com/crops/wheat/adding-wheat-to-cnsoybe-rotations-helps_144-ar46231
https://www.sare.org/resources/cover-crops/
https://www.environmentbuddy.com/farming/crop-rotation-examples-benefits-cons-and-diy-kit/
https://www.sare.org/resources/cover-crops/
https://www.agweb.com/news/crops/crop-production/flip-your-soil-incorporating-livestock-provides-many-soil-health
https://www.agproud.com/articles/33288-producer-s-view-converting-row-crop-rotations-to-grazing
https://www.agriculture.com/crops/wheat/production/7-ways-wheat-c-boost-crop-rotation_145-ar51230