How Does Regenerative Farming Improve Soil Health?

The best way to describe regenerative farming is to say it is like giving the land a breath of fresh air. Another way to describe it is like working with nature instead of against it. Whatever way you choose to define, the regenerative farming method aims to restore farm health through various techniques aimed at rebuilding soil fertility, improving water retention, and creating biodiversity. 

What are the techniques? 

There are a variety of ways farmers can practice regenerative farming. They can do it through cover crops, where farmers can grow plants such as clover, rye or other varieties between main crop growing seasons to help prevent soil erosion, enrich the soil with nutrients and improve water retention.

Farmers can minimize tilling or not till the soil to preserve its structure, stimulate beneficial microbes and prevent carbon loss. Rotating crop types per season can prevent depletion of nutrients, disrupt pest cycles and improve healthy ecosystems.  

Adding compost manure (animal waste from cows, horses or poultry combined with food scraps, leaves or straw) or biochar (made by heating organic matter such as wood, crop residues or manure in a low-oxygen environment) improves soil fertility and microbial activity. Rotational livestock grazing accompanies natural livestock movements by improving soil aeration, plant regrowth and carbon sequestration.

Collecting rainwater, swales ( a shallow, vegetated channel designed to manage stormwater), and contour farming enhances water retention and reduces runoff. When it comes to pest control, natural predators, beneficial insects, and intercropping can reduce the use of synthetic pesticides.  

How is Conventional Farming Different? 

If you compare regeneration farming to the traditional conventional method, there would be more fertilizer and pesticide use, which would gradually degrade the soil over time. Chemical fertilizers could release more greenhouse gases, especially with more tillage. Lack of water management would lead to more runoff waste and soil erosion. There would be little biodiversity if farmers stuck to planting only one crop.  

Looking at long-term productivity, in comparison with conventional farming, the regeneration approach is more about looking towards the future by building soil health. Hence, productivity improves sustainability without depending on synthetic chemicals and working with nature to build organic matter, improve soil microbiology, prevent erosion, improve water retention, sequester carbon and manage soil nutrients naturally.  

To learn more about regenerative farming visit www.acsnl.ca or on NLFA's social media channels.