Regenerative agriculture is a sustainable method of farming that can replenish nutrients in the soil while combating climate change. Regenerative agriculture is a modern name for the way farming was practiced for centuries..
For centuries, American farmers relied on the natural fertility of the soil to produce food. In the early 20th century, however, chemical fertilizers became necessary to maintain that fertility. Industrial agriculture depends on constant inputs of chemical fertilizers to keep the soil productive.
Regenerative agriculture includes a diverse range of practices that have been used by farmers for decades, even centuries.
Crop Rotation
Crop rotation is as old as agriculture itself but has been largely abandoned in favor of monocropping, the growing of a single crop on the same soil year after year. In the early 20th century, the pioneering agricultural scientist George Washington Carver began advocating crop rotation after watching farmers in the American South deplete their soil from planting only cotton in their fields. Carver encouraged them to alternate cotton with legumes like peas, beans, and peanuts, all of which return nitrogen to the soil.
In crop rotation, clover might be grown as a winter crop, then turned into the soil in the spring. Brassicas like kale or mustard, or grasses like fescue or sorghum, can also be interplanted with the main cash crop, as each different plant returns different nutrients to the soil.
No-Till Farming
Farmers and gardeners have long turned over their soil in the belief that they will expose their newly planted crops to a greater abundance of nutrients. But tillage breaks up existing organic matter in the soil and destroys networks of decomposers, reducing the soil’s natural fertility. Tillage also accelerates evaporation by exposing water to the air. In turn, the remaining bare, drier soil is subject to potential erosion. In more fragile ecosystems, desertification can result. Reducing or eliminating tillage allows soils to retain their organic matter and moisture, reducing the need for irrigation.
Agroforestry
Whether for pasturage or crops, land-clearing is an almost instinctive first step in farming. Yet agroforestry is increasingly being used as a form of regenerative agriculture. Integrating trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems avoids deforestation, creates a holistic ecosystem that naturally returns nutrients to the soil, and can increase yields.
Trees are natural windbreaks, which reduce soil erosion, and the shade they provide reduces evaporation. Like other forms of regenerative agriculture, agroforestry has a long tradition. Breadfruit, grown in diverse agroforests, is a staple crop in many Pacific cultures.
A growing number of studies indicate that regenerative agriculture practices have many environmental benefits, including the increase in soil health by restoring the soil’s carbon.
