Sustainable, holistic, bio-dynamic, regenerative… there is an ever-evolving list of buzzwords to describe farming that employs environmentally friendly practices and methodologies that are more in-line with nature. While these words get thrown around a lot, there isn’t an agreed upon definition for what they mean or what practices they encompass. I wrote a 30+ page thesis on the meaning of the phrase sustainable agriculture during college and still didn’t come to a conclusion on its definition. 

Part of the challenge is that agriculture is so varied based on place, culture, type of farm, environment and dozens of other variables. When the industry fixates on one single word to try to describe the “best” way to farm, that word often gets convoluted and can describe farms with a wide range of practices that may or may not actually be aligned with the original meaning of the word. I believe that working towards putting substance behind a definition to a word like regenerative can be helpful in facilitating conversation and presenting new ideas to various sectors of the agri-food space. 

I will forgo the 30 pages of text this time and do my best to explain my latest thinking on the word regenerative and what it means for our agriculture industry today. It is important to note that because there is no consensus on the true definition of regenerative across the industry, all I can do is share my perspective on the word. You could hear the word a dozen times in different contexts and get a dozen nuanced definitions. My time working on a wide range of types of farms, and most recently on a livestock operation that employs a set of unique practices that work towards building soil health has had a significant impact in shaping my views.

At its core, regenerative agriculture practices come down to focusing on soil health, and growing crops or raising livestock as a holistic system, rather than treating each part of the farm as separate pieces of the puzzle. True regenerative agriculture is asking farmers to fundamentally change the way that most farmers have thought about farming since the green revolution. It is asking farmers to think about building soil health AND crop yields, rather than just focusing on maximizing yields. Many farmers likely initially respond that they are already thinking about soil health, but I think farming regeneratively means critically looking at the commodity mono-crop system as a whole. Can a farm be defined as truly regenerative if it is only rotating between 2-3 commodity crops and applying synthetic chemical and fertilizer? 

Some practices that I believe are key to a true regenerative farm include: keeping the ground in a vegetative state, focusing on biodiversity, working towards minimizing or ultimately eliminating synthetic chemicals and fertilizers, considering ways to add livestock into a system, and disturbing the soil as little as possible. Emphasizing soil health in conjunction with maintaining profitability will look different on different operations. Some of the practices on the current farm I am working on that support the definition of regenerative agriculture include the following.

Examples of Regenerative Practices from A Livestock Operation

• Always have a field in a vegetative state. The livestock operation I am working on uses the kiwi-tech fence system, that is designed to create a network of electric fences overlaid on the property to create ¼ acre paddocks. This allows grazing management and frequent cattle shifting to ensure that certain parts of the field are not overgrazed. For example, if there is a cell that is in poorer condition, the grazing plan can be adapted around the health of that cell to ensure the long-term health of the sward (sward is the makeup of grasses in a paddock). With this system in place, as well as other management practices, the farm hasn’t had to re-seed in years.

• Don’t assume that herbicides and insecticides are the solution to all pests. Synthetic chemicals and fertilizers haven’t been used in 15 years. It took a period of getting used to and an acceptance that the fields wouldn’t look like the uniformed perfectly weed free paddocks that farmers dream of, but it also means that they are not spraying synthetic chemicals that degrade soil health. Yes, it means slightly lower yields and productivity but there are ways to remain profitable through niche crops and value added products. 

• Focus on biodiversity. One of the ways that the health of the farm is measured is by running analysis on the diversity of plant, animal and fungi species present. This doesn’t just mean the diversity of grasses and cattle in the paddock, it also includes wild animal species that have a habitat on the farm. There are new native birds and plants that are popping up around the farm, which is a positive indicator of the health of the environment. 

• Disturb the soil as little as possible. Driving heavy machinery in the paddocks is avoided. In cropping system this also may mean adopting no-till or minimum- till agriculture. 

The list of practices that encompass a regenerative farm vary widely but a good rule of thumb is to always keep soil health at top of mind. Many row crop farmers in the U.S. are starting to move towards a more regenerative approach to farming. For example, more farmers are planting cover crops and practicing no-till agriculture. However, according to the USDA 2017 Agriculture Census only 3.9% of cropland in the U.S. was planted with cover crops and only 37% of tillable acres were no-till. These trends are moving in the right direction but even for those farmers that are already implementing these practices, I believe that there is more to be done. It is asking farmers to fundamentally change the way that they address issues like weeds or how they put nitrogen back into the soil. 

Ultimately, building a regenerative agriculture system will take an industry-wide effort. I believe that we all need to wake up to the fact that commodity agriculture as it exists today cannot be sustained into the future. It’s estimated that each year 24 billion tons of soil are lost to erosion. The Ogallala aquifer, one of the largest aquifers in the world, is being depleted at an unsustainable rate. And the headlines from deadly algal blooms due to excess nitrogen are everywhere. I recognize that this may be an unpopular opinion, but it will take disrupting the status quo to move into our next phase of agriculture, that will restore the soil, rather than degrade it. 

Many farmers that I have worked with are already figuring out other ways to diversify and move beyond the commodity crop business. I have seen farmers adding new crops into their rotation, testing out a roller-crimper rather than spraying to kill a rye cover crop, or even finding ways to create value added products out of niche crops. We need farmers to stick around so let’s not put it all on their shoulders to make these changes. We all have to innovate and be active participants in creating a more regenerative food and agriculture system. 

Sources and additional resources: 

https://www.rcsaustralia.com.au/rcs-regenerative-grazing-principles/

https://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/soil-fertility-and-erosion.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/08/vanishing-midwest-ogallala-aquifer-drought/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nub7pToY3jU&feature=youtu.be

https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2019/07/cover-crops-2017-us-census-of-agriculture.html

https://newfoodeconomy.org/ohio-algal-bloom-farm-runoff/

https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/8929-no-till-cover-crop-acres-continue-upward-trend