Regenerative Agriculture: What is it, and what's all the hype?

Regenerative agriculture is a phrase you might be hearing more and more but what is it, how is it different from organic, and why would you want to choose it?

To put it simply, regenerative agriculture is leaving land and soil better than you found it. Unlike industrial agriculture, which relies on the immediate cost savings of monocultures that deplete soil, regenerative agriculture improves soil health and increases biodiversity. It does so by focusing on topsoil regeneration, bio-sequestration, and improving water cycles. It is a kind of farming that goes beyond simply “sustainable".

Organic certification requires that farmers do not use antibiotics, pesticides, or GMOs or confine their animals indoors. Even with organic certification, there can be a lot of variation in actual farming practices and their impact on the earth. Regenerative agriculture is not necessarily a certification but a way of farming. For us this means rotationally grazing in such a way that pastures are not overly taxed, adding back nutrients (i.e. nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium via cow manure) that soil may need, allowing a wide range of plant species to grow, and not tilling. Not tilling allows for perennial roots that continue to develop deep beneath the soil year after year, feeding the soil by converting sunshine into nitrogen and other minerals while preventing erosion and run off by promoting superiorly healthy soils. This relationship between soil, plants, cows, and sun captures more carbon from the atmosphere and puts it back in the land where it belongs, supporting a healthier planet.

A spoonful of healthy soil contains not millions but BILLIONS of microbes, so imagine how important and complex that ecosystem is! Then imagine what things rely on that diversity: insects, worms, grasses, flowers, birds, and for our farm, cows, self selecting the right grass species to balance their rumen health (they know exactly what to eat to stay healthy!). The cows produce manure that feeds the soil. It’s an important cycle that keeps both soil and animals healthy!