Regenerative agriculture has the potential to sustainably promote the life, biodiversity and health of soil, plants, animals and people. We define regenerative agriculture through the following 5 principles.
Minimal soil movement
Reducing mechanical, chemical and physical stress on the soil. Any tillage of the soil destroys its structure. In effect, it destroys the house that nature has built to protect the living organisms in the soil that ensure its natural fertility. Soil structure includes aggregates, pores (openings through which water can penetrate the soil) and fungal networks (mycelium) that store most of the carbon. Fungi are also the soil’s nutrient transportation highway, through which bacteria carry nutrients from A to B, precisely to the plants that need those nutrients. Nutrient exchange occurs through fungi.
Tillage is generally excluded from conservation agriculture. Soil movement cannot be completely avoided because Direct Seeding For example, some of the soil in a crop row is always moved without the purpose of tilling it and thus changing its structure.
The result of tillage is above all soil erosion, i.e. the waste of one of the most valuable natural resources.
Permanent organic soil cover and root penetration into the soil
Always keep the floor covered! This is an important step in restoring soil health. Nature knows no bare ground. A natural shield protects the soil from direct sunlight, wind and water erosion while providing food and habitat for macro and microorganisms. It also prevents moisture evaporation and weed seed germination.
Permanently covered and rooted soil increases resistance to extreme weather because it can absorb and store more water. In addition, soil covered with green plants cools the microclimate, thus compensating for possible warming. More plants means more photosynthesis with all its positive effects on ecosystems.
Living roots feed the soil biology, providing it with its main source of nutrition: carbon. This biology, in turn, drives the nutrient cycle that feeds plants.
Promoting biodiversity through intercropping, broad rotations and possibly mixed farming
Each plant species has its own beneficial properties: some have shallow roots, some deep roots, some tap roots, some tap roots. Some are high in carbon, some are low in carbon, some raise pH, some lower it. Each plays a different role in maintaining soil health.
The diversity of plant crops in rotation and intercrops, as well as the integration of trees into the agricultural landscape, leads to a diversity of soil flora and fauna, as roots secrete different organic substances that attract and feed different types of bacteria and fungi, which in turn play an important role in converting these substances into plant-available nutrients.
Widespread avoidance of artificial inputs
All the principles mean that we can increasingly do without the use of artificial inputs in agriculture. For example, direct seeding can save up to 70 percent of diesel fuel. The symbioses that develop in undisturbed soil make plants healthier and much less likely to need aids such as fungicides and insecticides. The longer the system is left alone, the fewer resources are needed. In a few years, the need to apply specific herbicides will also be much less frequent as weeds will have little or no incentive to germinate.
This translates directly into significant economic advantages for farmers practicing regenerative agriculture over those who continue to rely on tillage. For example, less resource and labor use because fewer transitions are required for the same or even higher yields.
Livestock integration
Integrating livestock into a regenerative farm brings many benefits to the soil. In this way ecosystem processes on both pasture and cropland can be improved. These effects are then reflected in the functionality of the water cycle, mineral cycle, energy exchange, and plant and animal diversity. If animals are used not only for soil improvement but also for meat production, this type of housing is also reflected in the quality of the products, also in terms of nutritional value and palatability.
Another important benefit of grazing is that it encourages plants to release more carbon into the soil by stimulating photosynthesis. This “feeding” of soil life promotes nutrient cycling and also has a significant positive impact on climate change because more carbon can be recycled and stored in the soil.
Due to their numerous stomachs, ruminants are a reservoir for microorganisms, which they release into the soil through their excretions and thus contribute to active life in the soil.
In addition to grazing, animals should be fed exclusively from the farm’s own land or, ideally, from land owned by neighboring farms so that nutrient cycling is as closed as possible.
However, a healthy, functioning ecosystem requires not only livestock, but also pollinators, predatory insects, earthworms, and all soil microbiology (fungi and bacteria). The integration of farm animals contributes to these very life processes.
