Regenerative Agriculture is a method of farming that uses nature to protect crops and reduce reliance on pesticides.
Arguably this type of farming started in North America, one of the pioneers being Gabe Brown. He found his farming business was struggling and so he decided to farm with no fertilisers or pesticides with remarkable success.
There are four elements to this regenerative agriculture:
(C) Peter Cairns
A healthy soil has many microbiological components that help crops access nutrients and fight disease. Reducing the need for fertiliser and fungicides. A healthy soil is maintained by keeping the fungal hyphae intact e.g., not ploughing but using minimum tillage techniques that just lightly scratch the ground to sow crops.
Cover crops help to protect the soil surface in winter to stop soil erosion, keep nutrients in the soil and bring up nutrients from deep in the soil profile.
Tim Walter
Many modern farms have specialised and arable farms tend not to have livestock. By reintroducing livestock into a crop rotation by either grazing the cover crops or planting a field of grass, nutrients excreted from these animals can be used by the crop instead of using fertilizer. This also adds diversity to the rotation and grass is a great way to build up soil organic matter/soil carbon, so is good for capturing carbon and soil health.
Slow the Flow Field Aeration Event
Plant roots in the soil do a great job of making the soil more permeable to water. It is then available for crop use and doesn’t run off, taking soil, fertilizer and pesticides with it.
Plants also exude chemicals from their roots that help the soil keep its structure and encourage beneficial bacteria and fungi to grow.
(C) Springfield Farm
Biodiversity is key in regenerative agriculture. The more plants you have, the more the different roots will help the soil, they all have different needs from the soil and help to keep pests and diseases in low numbers. Monoculture i.e. a field of one crop, is one of the practices of modern farming which inadvertently promote pests and diseases
Increased diversity can be achieved by having a wide crop rotation which includes many different crop types. Resulting in fewer incidences of pests and disease , as the longer break between the same crops helps to reduce risk of disease or pest populations remaining in the field.
Diverse cover crop mixtures are also becoming increasingly popular among farmers, a wider range of cover crops enables a wider range of benefits to be introduced. Some with shallow fibrous roots to ‘condition’ the soil, deeper tap roots enable the harvesting of nutrients deeper in the soil, out of reach of crops, and legumes e.g. vetch fix nitrogen into the soil for subsequent crops to use.
Companion cropping is another way of helping the crop. E.g. Barley can be planted with peas. The peas grow up the barley so they don’t fall on the floor. They are harvested together and fed to cattle. The peas and barley work together to protect one another from pests as they are harder to see or find. Fungal spores that infect barley may land on a bean and therefore not cause disease, and also act as a physical barrier to reduce disease transmission between plants.
Yield is vanity, profit is sanity
Yield is traditionally how farmers measure their success. Regenerative farming reportedly leads to lower yields in the crop, however because less fertiliser and pesticides are used the costs to the farmer are less so they are more profitable. Last year fertilizer was £200 per tonne, this year it has reached £1000 per tonne! This fact alone is making farmers increasingly think about their chemical inputs and where they can cut back. Less chemical on the land means less chemical in the rivers and more insects for other wildlife to eat. Happily according to farmers who are a long way into their regenerative journey there doesn’t even have to be a yield penalty. What’s not to like?
How do we help?
Shropshire Wildlife Trust has three agricultural advisors as part of the Land and Water team. They advise farmers on regenerative agricultural practices and assist in accessing grant money to help with the transition to more nature friendly farming.
