Regenerative Agriculture - How to achieve sustainable food production for increased profit and well-being

Inspired by Charles Massy’s best-selling book “Call of the Reed Warbler”, filmmaker Amy Browne set out across the dry farming country of South East NSW to meet Massy and the other trailblazing farmers bringing new life to their land.
Regenerative agriculture is one of the most promising wide-scale environmental solutions. This short documentary is a comprehensive journey through a variety of landscapes and regenerative farming techniques. ‘
From the Ground Up’ is a story of genuine change and inspiration – tracing the steps of individuals who transformed their practices following the life-changing realisation – that farmers have a unique opportunity to heal the planet.

12.10.2020 Could the solution to climate change be right under our feet? Here’s why regenerative agriculture might be the key to securing a safe and healthy future.

Unbroken Grounds explains the critical role food will play in the next frontier of our efforts to solve the environmental crisis. It explores four areas of agriculture that aim to change our relationship to the land and oceans. Most of our food is produced using methods that reduce biodiversity, decimate soil and contribute to climate change. We believe our food can and should be a part of the solution to the environmental crisis – grown, harvested and produced in ways that restore our land, water and wildlife. The film tells the story of four groups that are pioneers in the fields of regenerative agriculture, regenerative grazing, diversified crop development and restorative fishing.

What are the key differences between regenerative agriculture versus traditional industrial farming methods?

Traditional industrial agriculture tends to dominate, control and simplify and usually ends up destroying natural systems and their cycles and is driven by some of the world’s biggest multinational chemical and pharmaceutical companies. Key practices include monocultural cropping, the use of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, antibiotics, the manipulation of plant genomes and factory farming of animals (e.g. CAFOs). It is a key destabiliser of the micronutrients in our food, given that ploughing, chemical fertilisers and pesticides kill most of the soil biology so that all the huge range of micronutrients are not coming back in, resulting in ‘drug addict’ plants waiting for their industrial fix of just a few restricted nutrients.

Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil. Practices include recycling as much farm waste as possible and adding composted material from sources outside the farm.

Regenerative agriculture on small farms and gardens is often based on philosophies like permaculture, agroecology, agroforestry, restoration ecology, keyline design, and holistic management. Large farms tend to be less philosophy driven and often use ‘no-till’ and/or ‘reduced till’ practice. On a regenerative farm, yield should increase over time. As the topsoil deepens, production may increase and fewer external compost inputs are required. Actual output is dependent on the nutritional value of the composting materials and the structure and content of the soil.^[7]

Charles Massy, scientist, farmer and author of Call of the Reed Warbler and a leading proponent of regenerative farming transitioned his New South Wales farm after the devastating 1982 drought in Australia. As he says, “Regenerative agriculture covers a variety of practices form ecological grazing, to agroforestry to using biological inputs and cropping, things like permaculture, biodynamics … they’re all around regenerating how the landscape works … it consists of the biological replacements for the synthetic inputs in farming. We don’t have to kill things – we just have to nurture them. We humans can actually allow nature to improve herself via enabling her. Through improving your landscape health you improve its resilience – you ride out droughts and its ending up being a lot more profitable.”

Gabe Brown, Allen Williams and Neil Dennis were all going out of business with their conventional grazing – then nature forced their hand to try grazing without chemicals because they couldn’t afford them anymore. They are now the pioneers in regenerative grazing – replacing the specter of bankruptcy with resiliency. These ranchers regenerate their soils which makes their animals healthier and their operations more profitable. Robust soils enable rainwater to sink into the earth rather than run off; and retain that water, so the ranches are much more resilient in drought. Filmed in Starkville, Mississippi: Bismarck, North Dakota; Wawona, Saskatchewan, Canada
https://www.carboncowboys.org/

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