Soil or dirt? It's a substance that's often forgotten about. Right beneath our feet, but its role in regenerative agriculture and fighting climate change is immense. The UN predicts that we only have 60 harvests left at the current rate at which our topsoil is being washed or blown away! The reason for this is the unsustainable management practices being used in conventional agriculture. Overgrazing pastures with livestock, excessive tillage and plowing, which destroys the soil structure, monocropping, and heavy chemical usage is killing the living bacteria in the soil which is vital for growing food in the first place! So why is our SOIL so important? Destroying the soil is destroying humanity. Alarmingly, it is putting us at risk of increasing global hunger and malnutrition rates. Without healthy topsoil, our farmers will be unable to produce food to solve the massive nutrient deficiency problems humanity faces.
My farmers toolbox So what would I do differently as a regenerative farmer to solve this soil crisis? Well, I like to think that I have a 'toolbox' of management practices I can use to rebuild and fix the soil on my farm. My toolbox currently consists of: 1. Composting 2. Worms
3. Frass
4. Rotational grazing of poultry and dairy cows
6. Cover crops
7. Rest and Recover
Our chickens graze outside on the pasture. They have a varied diet of grains, grasses, dudus and insects. What they leave behind is their manure which feeds the soil.
Regnerative Agriculture also combats climate change. As for every 1% increase in soil organic matter (Using manure from holistic livestock management) we are able to achieve an 8% increase in water infiltration into the soil. Hence, the soil carbon cycle takes off once there is rain or when we have to continue to irrigate our pastures. In Sum, healthy soil leads to healthy plants. Healthy plants = healthy animals. Healthy animals = healthy people and ecosystems!
Thanks for supporting our regenerative projects!
George