Regenerative Agriculture

Regenerative agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that increases biodiversity, enriches soils, improves watersheds, and enhances ecosystem services.  It aims to capture carbon in the soil and above-ground biomass (plants), reversing current global trends of atmospheric accumulation of CO2 causing climate change.  At the same time, it offers increased yields, resilience to climate instability, and higher health and vitality for farming and ranching communities.

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Terra Genesis International

Green Farm
 
Hands in the Soil

Healthy Soil

“Healthy soil leads to a healthy plant.    Healthy plant, healthy animal, healthy human, healthy water, healthy climate.  If we get the soil right we can fix a lot of our issues.”

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Ray Archuleta - Certified Soil Scientist with NCRS and The Soil Health Academy as seen in the movie Kiss the Ground 

 
Basil Leaves

6 Principles of Regenerative Agriculture

  1. Least Disturbance: No/low till, no/reduced chemicals, less compaction

  2. Living Roots: Maximize photosynthesis, continue pumping liquid sugars into the ground to feed microbes

  3. Soil Armor: Keep the soil covered with living plants or crop residue, wood chips, or mulch.  Bare soil gets much hotter at midday and more vulnerable to wind/water erosion

  4. Animal Integration: Animals big and small play a pivotal role in nutrient cycling and regenerating landscapes

  5. Increased Biodiversity: Biodiversity of plants increases beneficial biodiversity below and above ground as well as increases the functionality and resilience of the ecosystem

  6. Context: No two farms are alike.  From brittle environments to more moist ones, from different crops to livestock, from no funds to extensive funds, context is key.  How you will go about regenerating land vary and depend on many key components.  A holistic framework is necessary to successfully transition to regenerative.

 
Vegetable Picking

Regenerative Agriculture Can:

  1. Help address climate change through increased carbon sequestration in the soil and plants

  2. Improve risk mitigation with reduced risk of flooding and drought and greater soil resiliency

  3. Enhance food security by reducing soil degradation and less reliance on synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides

  4. Raise food nutrient content through better microbial activity and improved plant health and access to minerals

  5. Improve human health by eliminating reliance on harmful chemicals

 
Wheat Field

Carbon Sequestration

“Carbon, that is currently one of the biggest problems in the atmosphere, can be the biggest solution in the soil.”

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Ryland Englehart - Co-Founder Kiss the Ground

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Many thanks to Kiss the Ground and their Soil Advocate Training program for the content on this page.