Regenerative Agriculture News

General Mills’ and Danone’s programs are testing theories of carbon sequestration, gathering new data which could lead to big changes to our agricultural system. These pilot programs help farmers transition to no-till agriculture and crop rotation, plant cover crops, and other regenerative practices. By switching to these regenerative practices– through government grants and fund matching initiatives – they hope farms will restore soil, foster biodiversity, protect water systems, reduce greenhouse gases, and sequester more carbon as explored in this Greenbiz article.

Danone’s farmers planted cover crops on 64 percent of the total acreage and practiced no-till on 77 percent. The national average is 5 percent and 33 percent respectively. They also doubled the number of crop species to 32.”

Jesse Klein

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Soil scientist Fred Magdoff outlines how to build healthy soil and repair the carbon cycle while also explaining the history of soil science and agriculture’s role in soil carbon in a clear and thorough primer in the Monthly Review.

Life on Earth depends on healthy soils. The soil under our feet is a living system – home to many fascinating plants and animals, whose invisible interactions ensure our well-being and that of the planet. Soils provide us with nutritious food and other products as well as with clean water and flourishing habitats for biodiversity.

European Commission Board for Soil Health and Food

[Read more…] about Repairing the soil carbon rift

Chris Kerston from the Savory Institute’s Land to Market Program, makes a case for how measuring and monitoring is the key element to achieving positive environmental outcomes using regenerative practices in this New Hope Network essay.

 A practice will certainly not produce the same outcome in different environments across the country, and some may not even apply across fence lines between neighbors. Just like with a business, you have to: proactively plan, set up feedback loops and KPIs, adjust accordingly and continue to optimize. 

Chris Kerston

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Throughout December, Forbes highlighted several companies investing in regenerative agriculture adoption across their supply chains. Harmless Harvest has committed to sourcing 50% of its coconuts from Regenerative Organic Certified farmland by 2023. Nestle and Danone have recently committed to measurable goals supporting regenerative agriculture as well. And, thanks to a $1.5 million seed grant, Alter Eco has transitioned 1,000 acres of cocoa farms in their supply chain to agroforestry.

“The major challenge for companies enabling regenerative agriculture is educating consumers about its environmental benefits, since the concept remains a novelty to the general public. ‘It’s a really hard topic to understand,’ Forbes said, ‘so we’re teaching people what regenerative means…’”

Forbes

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According to researchers in the Cornell Chronicle, sequestering soil carbon represents a huge opportunity to help mitigate the effects of climate change naturally. To represent this visually, soil scientists have developed an interactive mapping platform that models how soil organic carbon has changed over 11,000 years.

Soils Revealed is the first interactive, global tool that shows how organic carbon in the soil has changed over time, as well as how much potential different land management strategies have to mitigate climate change.

Professor Johannes Lehmann

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The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released “The State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity” on December 5, World Soil Day. The report stresses soil’s role as a “global reservoir of biodiversity” and underlines the need to promote research and innovations in soil health management.

We urgently need to recognize that soil biodiversity is indispensable to food security and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Soil biodiversity underpins the productivity and resilience of agriculture, making production systems and livelihoods more resilient to shocks and stresses.

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema,
Executive secretary of the uN conveention on biological biodiversity

[Read more…] about New FAO report highlights the role of soil organisms in ensuring sustainable agri-food systems and mitigating climate change