Regenerate the nurturing earth
Regenerative agriculture is on everyone's lips, but this concept is anything but simple to define. One of its essential elements is soil fertility.
The terms "humification" and "regenerative agriculture" have long been discussed at agronomic conferences and in specialized press. Courses on this topic have been organized for several years, but it remains difficult to grasp exactly what regenerative agriculture is. When looking for a definition, one comes across, for example, this sentence from Australian pedobiologist Christine Jones: "Agriculture is regenerative when soils, water cycles, vegetation, and productivity continuously improve instead of remaining the same or slowly deteriorating."
Humification is the central principle
Regenerative agriculture pays particular attention to the soil because it considers it the basis for clean water and healthy food – thus for the health of humans and animals. The central principle is then to improve soil fertility by increasing its humus content. This agriculture, also called regenerative, follows different approaches to achieve this goal. For example, there is the abandonment of tillage, permanent soil cover, aerobic composting, and the use of effective microorganisms (EM) and/or compost tea.
Regenerative methods are so far not linked to any specifications – and they are practiced by both organic and conventional farmers. However, they are very close to organic agriculture. For example, the following excerpt from the Bio Suisse specifications regarding soil fertility corresponds in many respects to the approaches of regenerative agriculture: "Maintaining a living soil as well as conserving and increasing the natural fertility of the soil are the basis of all techniques. The best basic conditions are provided by a diverse and as uninterrupted as possible plant cover. Organic agriculture practices thoughtful humus management." Regenerative agriculture can therefore also be an opportunity to highlight these principles of organic agriculture again. The increasingly widespread presence of this theme also shows that the need for a better understanding of the multiple interactions at work in the soil, in plants, and in the entire agricultural and food system is growing.
So far almost no scientific studies
The application of regenerative methods cannot follow simple step-by-step usage modes. It is much more about observing processes and understanding changes. Knowledge acquired through courses or personal study can help at the beginning, but to find appropriate solutions depending on the pedoclimatic conditions concerned, on-site trials are necessary. It can also be useful to exchange experiences with colleagues – whether positive or negative. Interest groups and visits to crops are good platforms for this. The approaches of this much-discussed regenerative agriculture have so far hardly been the subject of scientific studies. However, many farmers practicing regenerative methods report that the changes affecting their soils and plants are obvious. To continue developing agronomic methods and conduct valid trials, the FiBL is launching two research projects focused on studying regenerative agriculture approaches.
FiBL is looking for interested farmers
The FiBL will conduct trials on regenerative agriculture from 2020 to 2023 on private farms. The goal will be, among other things, to study the effects of regenerative methods using strip trials to compare them with usual methods. FiBL is therefore looking for farmers interested in these strip trials who would like to test different agronomic approaches on their land and/or who would like to start in regenerative agriculture. The farms participating in the study will be scientifically monitored by FiBL during the trial period and will be compensated for the costs incurred.
Film: The elements of regenerative agriculture
The central principle of regenerative agriculture is to improve soil fertility by increasing its humus content. In the film, farmer, technician, and moderator Friedrich Wenz explains five steps to strengthen the soil. Anno Lutke Schipholt from Randenhof in Siblingen SH and Urs Siegenthaler from Sigis Biohof Schwand also comment on this topic. The film was made during the Organic Arable Crops Day 2019 at Schwand in Münsingen/BE.
The five steps
- Balance between nutrients, the basis for soil life
- Loosening of the subsoil
- Vegetative soil cover throughout the year
- Surface decomposition
- Revitalizing foliar sprays
Original article
La version initiale de cet article a été rédigée par Jeremias Niggli et Raphaël Charles.
