HMI is pleased to have offered assistance in the development of the formal Regenerative Agriculture definition that has just been released by the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative at California State University at Chico as well as the Carbon Underground and 56 other leading organizations from over 100 countries working in this critical field.
The regenerative agriculture definition notes:
"Specifically, Regenerative Agriculture is a holistic land management practice that leverages the power of photosynthesis in plants to close the carbon cycle, and build soil health, crop resilience and nutrient density. Regenerative agriculture improves soil health, primarily through the practices that increase soil organic matter. This not only aids in increasing soil biota diversity and health, but increases biodiversity both above and below the soil surface, while increasing both water holding capacity and sequestering carbon at greater depths, thus drawing down climate-damaging levels of atmospheric CO2, and improving soil structure to reverse civilization-threatening human-caused soil loss. Research continues to reveal the damaging effects to soil from tillage, applications of agricultural chemicals and salt based fertilizers, and carbon mining. Regenerative Agriculture reverses this paradigm to build for the future."
In particular 4 main practices are noted as critical to regenerative agriculture including:
No-till/minimum-till
Soil fertility building practices like cover crops and applying compost
Increasing active biological systems on working landscapes through increased biodiversity through such practices as polyseeding, intercropping, hedgerows, etc.
Well-managed grazing practices to build soil fertility and increase health and diversity of biological systems.
The need for moving beyond organics to regenerative agriculture is best summed up by Ronnie Cummins, head
of the Organic Consumers Association, “Organic food keeps people healthy. Regenerative agriculture keeps the planet
healthy.”
Click here for the full press release.
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Learn more about how to improve cropping practices by purchasing HMI's new Holistic Management® Cropping Planning Manual. You can also download the HMI Holistic Management® Grazing Planning Manual for free.
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