Regenerative agriculture 101: Is it right for your operation?

2.5 min read

Two fields with a tree line in the background

Regenerative agriculture is a term we often hear, but what exactly it means and how it applies to our farm can be subjective. There are, however, core characteristics that cut across individual interpretations of regenerative agriculture.

Ontario farmer Blake Vince grows corn, soybeans and winter wheat on heavy clay soils in Ontario’s deep southwest. To him, regenerative agriculture means employing production practices that rejuvenate and improve soil health – soil's biodiversity, structure and organic matter.

He began implementing an active cover crop regime, including multi-species cover crop mixtures and planting into living green matter, over a decade ago and has seen notable improvements in the years since.

Better water infiltration has also been a major benefit, reducing Vince’s reliance on expensive drainage tile networks and improving the quality of water leaving his fields.

“If we’re not talking about improving soil and water, the conversation for me is a hard stop,” says Vince, emphasizing the importance of the connection between soil health and the health of our collective water resources.

More recently, Vince converted a section of his farm into native prairie grassland and a small cattle herd to graze and manure it. Here, too, water infiltration and soil structure have been improved. A side benefit has been the return of beneficial insects and avian species that need grasslands to thrive.

“Those things I didn’t anticipate witnessing over such a short period of time,” says Vince, adding that he also enjoys talking to bird watchers who now visit his pasture in search of rare species.

Making it pay

Vince’s approach to regenerative farming tracks with a core concept common across different definitions: investments should be made in the resource-generating yield, not just in yield generation. Dr. David Burton is a professor in the Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences at Dalhousie University. He calls this “paying attention to the state of the resource,” or the pursuit of systems that consider the maintenance of the resource a primary deliverable within the production system. This stands in contrast with systems that prioritize productivity alone.

Up-front investments in soil can help farmers weather harsh environmental conditions.

A challenge, Burton says, is that practices focused on building the resource (such as soil health) often cost money. Research quantifying the financial value of certain practices, like cover crop soil nutrient values, is needed to show that such investments bring returns. Organizations such as the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association also help spread the word about the benefits of regenerative practices. Some ongoing Living Labs projects, too, are also providing insights into the environmental and economic benefits of different regenerative practices.

“There needs to be value back to the producer to justify implementing some of these practices,” Burton says. He adds that up-front investments in soil can help farmers weather harsh environmental conditions in future.

For Vince, implementing regenerative practices was certainly not always easy. He says skepticism from community members was and is normal, and not everything he tried worked the first time. However, learning from like-minded people and establishing a wider community of like-minded peers helps drive his success.

“Finding myself in conversations with others who have similar pursuits and learning together from our successes and failures - that’s been the most awesome reassurance. Peer-to-peer learning has been the best resource I’ve had,” he says.

Article by: Matt McIntosh

Sustainability Success stories Cost of production