By Zippy Duvall
I love springtime on the farm. Everything is fresh and green. Everywhere you look, you see life. It’s a time of renewal, of regeneration. Really that is what modern agriculture is about year-round. But springtime brings this cycle into full technicolor on the farm.
When I look out on my farmland, I am reminded that it hasn’t always been this lush and green. It has taken years of hard work and dedication to get us to this point. I am proud of how my family has worked to renew the soil and bring life back to these rolling hills. The story on my farm can be repeated hundreds, thousands, and even millions of times over. It’s the story of modern agriculture. While terms like climate-smart, sustainability, and now regenerative have become buzzwords, these are all words for what farmers have been doing for decades: protecting our natural resources and promoting soil health.
Let’s talk about the latest buzzword, “regenerative.” Regenerative agriculture focuses on farm practices that promote soil health. If you’re a farmer like me, you’re probably thinking, “That sounds a lot like what I already do every day.” And when we dig into modern agriculture, the practices associated with regenerative agriculture—like cover cropping, composting, and crop rotation, to name a few—are common practices.
While the term, regenerative, is growing in popularity, many people are not quite sure what it means. According to our research, there is a largely positive perception around the term, however, even if folks can’t quite define it. Soil health matters, and farmers agree. We know firsthand how important healthy soil is. It’s why we plant cover crops to prevent soil erosion. It’s why we rotate what crops we plant in a field to enhance nutrients in the soil. And it’s why beef cattle farmers like me rotate where our livestock graze to restore the soil.
Farmers are at the forefront of regenerative practices like these because we see firsthand what it takes to grow and sustain life. We know we have a big job to do, growing the food, fiber and renewable fuel that families at home and abroad rely on. As we innovate and adopt new tools and technology, we are also growing more with less. Farmers enjoy talking about efficiency, but unfortunately, that term gets misunderstood. It can have an impersonal tone to some. But efficiency is highly personal to farmers. We want to do our jobs better every day—caring for our land and animals—because of how much we care for our families and yours. For farmers, efficiency and regeneration go hand-in-hand. You cannot grow more, without first tending to your soil and ensuring it is healthy this season and for seasons to come.
Finally, we cannot talk about regenerative agriculture without recognizing the critical tools that help us do the important work of protecting our soil. Modern agriculture has come a long way from the days when my grandfather carried a plow to his fields and hitched it up to his mule. Today’s precision agriculture equipment is allowing farmers to monitor crop health down to the plant, use less water, and pinpoint pesticide and fertilizer application. And yes, let’s talk about pesticides. Farmers are committed to safely using these products, which often require extra training and certification. What’s more, many of us live on the same land where we use these products, so we know how important safety is for our families and yours. Without pesticides, our crop health would suffer, leading to more waste, and we would lose regenerative practices like cover cropping and no till.
Both conventional and organic agriculture have a role in the regenerative agriculture discussion. Regenerative practices are not one-size-fits all either. What I need to do on my farm in Georgia is going to look different from what is needed on a farm in New Hampshire or Idaho. Farms of all sizes play a role in regenerative agriculture too. Whether farmers are working with 100 acres or 10,000 acres, they rely on healthy soil and are committed to doing right by the land.
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