The source of 95% of our food is topsoil, and the world runs on it. Unfortunately, experts warn the with current agricultural practices, topsoils could be gone within the next 60 years.
For centuries, American farmers and agriculturalists relied on the natural fertility of the soil in order to produce food and crops. But with the boom of industrial farming in the early 20th century, farmers have relied on chemical fertilizers to maintain the fertility of the soil.
Constant inputs of chemical products such as fertilizers not only have health implications on us and the wildlife but also severely damages the topsoil.
Regenerative agriculture can be a way to reverse the damage done to both the soil and the climate.
What is Regenerative Agriculture?
The agriculture industry is one of the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas mostly responsible for climate change. Combining with forestry and various other land uses, agriculture is responsible for roughly 25% of all human-created greenhouse gas emissions.
Regenerative agriculture is the farming and grazing practice used by American farmers for centuries before the boom of industrial agriculture. This modern name of regenerative agriculture is a sustainable farming method that replenishes the nutrients in the soil while combating the effects of climate change.
Returning to more traditional methods of farming is beginning to gain momentum in an effort to reverse damage to both the climate and the soil that we depend on for food and survival.
It works by rebuilding the topsoil's organic matter and restoring the degraded soil biodiversity.
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Types of Regenerative Agricultural Practices
Regenerative agriculture includes a wide range of practices that have been utilized by farmers and grazers for centuries.
No-Till Farming
Many gardeners and farmers have practices turning over their soil in the belief that it will expose newly planted crops to a greater abundance of nutrients. However, tillage breaks existing organic matter in the soil, thereby destroying networks of decomposers and reducing the soil's natural fertility.
Tillage is also responsible for accelerating evaporation when it exposes water to the air. In turn, what remains is a drier, less fertile soil that is subject to erosion.
Agroforestry
Whether it's for crops or pasture, land-clearing is an instinctive first step in farming. On the other hand, agroforestry has become an increasingly used form of regenerative agriculture.
By integrating shrubs and trees into animal farming systems and crops, farmers help avoid deforestation and create a holistic ecosystem that naturally gives nutrients back to the soil and increasing yields.
Like many practices of regenerative agriculture, agroforestry has been a long tradition in farming and grazing. Breadfruit has been grown in diverse agroforests and has become a staple crop in Pacific culture.
Project Drawdown has ranked regenerative agriculture as the 11th most efficient means of combating climate change next to solar farms. Industrial agriculture heavily relies on fossil-fuels and long supply chains of chemical-based fertilizers with each step further contributing to the worrying climate crisis.
Regenerative agriculture, on the other hand, lowers carbon footprints and keeps the natural nutrients in the soil for generations more to come.
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