Impact of Regenerative Farming Practices on Soil Health
The goal of this study is to investigate how regenerative farming practices impact the health of the soil. In order to provide the background science to support and guide farmers in adopting practices that have the most beneficial impact on their landscape.
This study is based upon a correlation between variables of farm management (such as pasture diversity, incorporating tree cover, stock density, grazing duration and pasture recovery between grazing) and how these variable relate to measures of soil health (such as the proportion of soil formed into aggregates, abundance of earthworms and diversity of terrestrial insect predators).
From this correlation it is expected that a series of farm management practices that have the most beneficial impact on soil health can be recommended to farmers.
In addition, the study will explore the novel use of collecting predatory terrestrial insects using pitfall traps as a bioindicator of soil health. It is anticipated that this bioindicator could serve as a useful tool for farmers wishing to monitor changes in the health of their soil over time – as they adapt and refine regenerative farming practices.
This study addresses a major limitation in adopting regenerative farming practices more widely around the world – the lack of good science to support these practices. This is largely due to traditional measures of agriculture not focusing upon measures of the diversity and abundance of living things associated with the soil. These living things build healthy soil that then supports the healthy growth of pastures, crops, livestock and the people that consume them.
To make this study possible we need to raise research funds to support this project. Please provide your support with a small NZ$10 donation to our crowdfunding campaign. Our goal is to raise NZ$40,000 to support phase 1 of the project.
This study is based upon a correlation between variables of farm management (such as pasture diversity, incorporating tree cover, stock density, grazing duration and pasture recovery between grazing) and how these variable relate to measures of soil health (such as the proportion of soil formed into aggregates, abundance of earthworms and diversity of terrestrial insect predators).
From this correlation it is expected that a series of farm management practices that have the most beneficial impact on soil health can be recommended to farmers.
In addition, the study will explore the novel use of collecting predatory terrestrial insects using pitfall traps as a bioindicator of soil health. It is anticipated that this bioindicator could serve as a useful tool for farmers wishing to monitor changes in the health of their soil over time – as they adapt and refine regenerative farming practices.
This study addresses a major limitation in adopting regenerative farming practices more widely around the world – the lack of good science to support these practices. This is largely due to traditional measures of agriculture not focusing upon measures of the diversity and abundance of living things associated with the soil. These living things build healthy soil that then supports the healthy growth of pastures, crops, livestock and the people that consume them.
To make this study possible we need to raise research funds to support this project. Please provide your support with a small NZ$10 donation to our crowdfunding campaign. Our goal is to raise NZ$40,000 to support phase 1 of the project.
Research Team
- Richard Pedley - Researcher (conducting Ph.D. thesis).
- Dr Maria Minor - Ecology at Massey University (supervisor)
- Dr Gwen Grelet - Regenerative Farming specialist at LandCare Research (supervisor)
- Dr Lydia Cranston - Agriculture at Massey University (supervisor)
Regenerative Farming
There is a strong trend in New Zealand, and internationally, towards adopting farming practices that have a more benign environmental impact and produce foods that are nutrient rich and organic However, information and support for farmers to adopt sustainable organic production is sparse.
Regenerative farming seeks to adopt practices that replicate the function of comparable natural systems, restore the health of the soil and preserve diversity. The development of sustainable business is a clear goal globally (and especially within New Zealand) so that trade and commerce can be supported, and quality of life maintained in a way that does not degrade natural habitats and honours nurturing the creative potential within people and supporting healthy workplace relationships.
Regenerative design is where the output of a system improves the health and resiliency of that system over time. This is achieved by positive feedback loops linked to production that function to strengthen that system. The characteristics of a regenerative system are having a functional diversity of inter-connected elements in ways that mirror the communities of plants and animals in ecosystems. A regenerative system is characterised by its complexity and inter-connectivity that replicates the function of natural ecosystems.
Key concepts behind regenerative design are described below:
The momentum behind adopting these strategies is the increasing recognition that conventional methods of farming are doing harm to our environment, to livestock, and to people. The agricultural sector in NZ contributes 48% of our greenhouse gas emissions. The Ministry for the Environment’s 2019 Environment Aotearoa report states that waterways in farming areas are polluted by excess nutrients, pathogens, and sediment.
NZ is not alone in facing these challenges. The environmental effects of conventional farming on an industrial scale are being felt across the world, threatening the stability of our planet’s climate and natural capital, placing the global food system at a critical juncture.
Regenerative agriculture on the other hand is not just about reducing harm - but seeks to improve the health of the land, waterways, the animals that live on it, and people that benefit from it. Taking a whole-system approach, it encourages farmers to pay close attention to what individual pastures, fields, gardens, and plots of land need in order to function more like natural ecosystems, while simultaneously seeking to improve farmer wellbeing and animal welfare.
Impact Of Project
New Zealand farmers are regarded internationally as some of the most accomplished stewards of their land, from which they produce food for Kiwis and international markets. Yet farmers face new challenges on several fronts from climate change, new environmental standards and changing consumer trends.
I perceive a major challenge in New Zealand agriculture is to build upon the success and international reputation of its "clean and green' pasture-based farming systems - by adopting regenerative farming practices that create healthy agricultural ecosystems.
This requires an understanding of how to adopt practices aligned to restoring the health of these agro-ecosystems and allow them to beneficially integrate with surrounding natural systems, produce high quality and nutrient-dense food that supports optimal human health, and to sequester carbon through soils with a rich diversity of fauna and flora.
The missing factor, however, is the ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of various farming practices on the health of that site. This study aims to empower farmers with good data on the impact of their farming activities on the health of that agro-ecosystem.
Currently, there is not a good measure of agro-ecosystem health that can be applied across a wide variety of sites, is easy to sample, and is adaptable and responsive to pasture systems that adopt regenerative farming practices. A biological health index that demonstrates how farming practices that restore the health and resiliency of this system is required to move with confidence towards regenerative farming methodologies.
The goal of these studies is to provide farmers with a whole-farm assessment of health that can empower farmers with good data on how their practices are either restoring health of their farm site – or diminishing that health. With this data they can move with more confidence towards regenerative farming methodologies and market their produce accordingly.
Regenerative farming practices typically have an indirect impact upon what is traditionally measured for agricultural productivity. These practices typically involve a more diverse pasture, greater extent and diversity of tree cover, more tightly controlled grazing patterns and bred characteristics selected for resilience rather than fast growth.
These practices aim to replicate the natural function of grazing systems a major goal is to improve the health and resilience of that system via greater biodiversity and more beneficially interaction between productive elements of a system. Regenerative design seeks to integrate carefully selected productive systems so that they harmonise together to create functionally complex systems that have a productive and sustainable yield of resources. Changing farming practices so that these spaces beneficially integrate with natural areas and preserve their heath and function is a pivotal issue for addressing the mounting pressures from climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecological degradation.
This project will help farmers gain greater clarity around regenerative farming practices in support of restoring agro-ecosystem health. They can then make year by year comparisons between pasture trials with different foliar species and grazing patterns – to determine the sweet spot between agricultural productivity and agro-ecosystem health.
There is a strong trend in New Zealand, and internationally, towards adopting farming practices that have a more benign environmental impact and produce foods that are nutrient rich and organic However, information and support for farmers to adopt sustainable organic production is sparse.
Regenerative farming seeks to adopt practices that replicate the function of comparable natural systems, restore the health of the soil and preserve diversity. The development of sustainable business is a clear goal globally (and especially within New Zealand) so that trade and commerce can be supported, and quality of life maintained in a way that does not degrade natural habitats and honours nurturing the creative potential within people and supporting healthy workplace relationships.
Regenerative design is where the output of a system improves the health and resiliency of that system over time. This is achieved by positive feedback loops linked to production that function to strengthen that system. The characteristics of a regenerative system are having a functional diversity of inter-connected elements in ways that mirror the communities of plants and animals in ecosystems. A regenerative system is characterised by its complexity and inter-connectivity that replicates the function of natural ecosystems.
Key concepts behind regenerative design are described below:
- Systems-thinking: a process of understanding how things influence one another based upon the diverse inter-connections of natural systems. These interactions act to recycle resources within that system and slow the dissipation of energy by creating multiple opportunities for energy transfer between elements of that system.
- Synergy: describes the harmonious relationship between the elements of a system that create outcomes that are greater than the collection of the individual outputs of that system. This is achieved by collaboration between the elements of that system that mutually re-enforce each other in ways that creates a harmonic resonance that amplifies the observed outcomes.
The momentum behind adopting these strategies is the increasing recognition that conventional methods of farming are doing harm to our environment, to livestock, and to people. The agricultural sector in NZ contributes 48% of our greenhouse gas emissions. The Ministry for the Environment’s 2019 Environment Aotearoa report states that waterways in farming areas are polluted by excess nutrients, pathogens, and sediment.
NZ is not alone in facing these challenges. The environmental effects of conventional farming on an industrial scale are being felt across the world, threatening the stability of our planet’s climate and natural capital, placing the global food system at a critical juncture.
Regenerative agriculture on the other hand is not just about reducing harm - but seeks to improve the health of the land, waterways, the animals that live on it, and people that benefit from it. Taking a whole-system approach, it encourages farmers to pay close attention to what individual pastures, fields, gardens, and plots of land need in order to function more like natural ecosystems, while simultaneously seeking to improve farmer wellbeing and animal welfare.
Impact Of Project
New Zealand farmers are regarded internationally as some of the most accomplished stewards of their land, from which they produce food for Kiwis and international markets. Yet farmers face new challenges on several fronts from climate change, new environmental standards and changing consumer trends.
I perceive a major challenge in New Zealand agriculture is to build upon the success and international reputation of its "clean and green' pasture-based farming systems - by adopting regenerative farming practices that create healthy agricultural ecosystems.
This requires an understanding of how to adopt practices aligned to restoring the health of these agro-ecosystems and allow them to beneficially integrate with surrounding natural systems, produce high quality and nutrient-dense food that supports optimal human health, and to sequester carbon through soils with a rich diversity of fauna and flora.
The missing factor, however, is the ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of various farming practices on the health of that site. This study aims to empower farmers with good data on the impact of their farming activities on the health of that agro-ecosystem.
Currently, there is not a good measure of agro-ecosystem health that can be applied across a wide variety of sites, is easy to sample, and is adaptable and responsive to pasture systems that adopt regenerative farming practices. A biological health index that demonstrates how farming practices that restore the health and resiliency of this system is required to move with confidence towards regenerative farming methodologies.
The goal of these studies is to provide farmers with a whole-farm assessment of health that can empower farmers with good data on how their practices are either restoring health of their farm site – or diminishing that health. With this data they can move with more confidence towards regenerative farming methodologies and market their produce accordingly.
Regenerative farming practices typically have an indirect impact upon what is traditionally measured for agricultural productivity. These practices typically involve a more diverse pasture, greater extent and diversity of tree cover, more tightly controlled grazing patterns and bred characteristics selected for resilience rather than fast growth.
These practices aim to replicate the natural function of grazing systems a major goal is to improve the health and resilience of that system via greater biodiversity and more beneficially interaction between productive elements of a system. Regenerative design seeks to integrate carefully selected productive systems so that they harmonise together to create functionally complex systems that have a productive and sustainable yield of resources. Changing farming practices so that these spaces beneficially integrate with natural areas and preserve their heath and function is a pivotal issue for addressing the mounting pressures from climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecological degradation.
This project will help farmers gain greater clarity around regenerative farming practices in support of restoring agro-ecosystem health. They can then make year by year comparisons between pasture trials with different foliar species and grazing patterns – to determine the sweet spot between agricultural productivity and agro-ecosystem health.