By: Ava S.
An example of tillage
Photo from: Crop Science Society of America
95% of our food comes from soil (U.N’s Food and Agriculture organization) yet we may run out of soil in 60 years without substantive changes in industrial agriculture. Industrial agriculture harms soil in a way that can make it almost unusable. Agriculture is one of the largest emitters of CO2, the greenhouse gas most responsible for anthropogenic climate change. However, carbon dioxide also has a significant role in mitigating the climate crisis while producing healthy food and sustainable soil. Since soil is a non-renewable source, therefore urgent action is needed. And the key to doing so? Regenerative agriculture.
The need for regenerative agriculture is driven by industrial agriculture practices that harm soil rather than preserving it. Many industrial farming companies use synthetic fertilizers, specifically synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, which decreases the soil’s biodiversity and also contributes to climate change by releasing N2O. Another form of industrial agriculture are pesticides that are used in order to kill weeds, insects, and fungi, but these pesticides also kill the beneficial bacteria, fungi and organisms that make up healthy soil. A well recognized form of industrial agriculture is tillage which is the use of heavy farm equipment to harvest more crops, which in turn damages the soil due to the weight of the equipment. Lastly, monocropping is growing the same crop on the same plot of land year after year, which is used due to the increase in profit it provides. Soil itself consists of minerals, air, water, and organic materials which makes it easily damaged by pollution and industrial farming. These industrial methods are used to grow more products, which provides more money. However, it depletes the soil of valuable nutrients, causes major erosion, and overall harms the health of the soil. Regenerative agriculture focuses on maintaining the health of the soil rather than how much product is produced.
The main principles of regenerative farming
Photo From: Cool Farm Alliance
The most important part of growing crops is making sure the soil is healthy. This is where regenerative agriculture comes in. Regenerative Agriculture is a system of farming practices that focus on rehabilitation of ecosystems by paying attention to soil health. To sum it up, it improves the resources rather than destroying them. There are main principles to regenerative agriculture, so it is practiced many different ways, but all with focus on soil health. Farmers avoid tillage and disturbance of the soil in order to create healthier ecosystems for plants to thrive. Farmers also increase plant diversity, due to the fact that these plants all release different nutrients which helps create soils healthy with nutrients. To avoid destroying soil by replanting the same crops, farmers cover certain fields to protect from erosion and also rotate which crops are planted to increase soil diversity and insure thriving plants.
Regenerative Agriculture is beneficial towards farmers and the climate, and provides much longer than 60 years of healthy soil. It is necessary for major farming companies to follow the steps of regenerative agriculture. If we take care of the soil, it will take care of us.
Discussion Questions:
Are there any ways your community could practice regenerative agriculture?
Do you think more pressure is needed for corporations to move towards regenerative agriculture?
Works cited:
60 years of FARMING left? New Jersey Conservation Foundation. (2019, July 31). https://www.njconservation.org/60-years-of-farming-left/.
How industrial agriculture affects our soil. FoodPrint. (2021, April 15). https://foodprint.org/issues/how-industrial-agriculture-affects-our-soil/.
Leege, R. (2019, July 29). Overturning the Truth on Conservation Tillage. Crop Science Society of America. https://www.crops.org/news/science-news/overturning-truth-conservation-tillage/.
Project, T. C. R. (2019, November 6). What is Regenerative Agriculture? Climate Reality. https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/what-regenerative-agriculture.
Regenerative Agriculture and Climate Change. Cool Farm Alliance. (n.d.). https://coolfarmtool.org/2020/12/regenerative-agriculture-and-climate-change/.