<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/14/this-way-of-farming-is-really-sexy-the-rise-of-regenerative-agriculture>
"Hollie Fallick looks over Brading on the Isle of Wight, at a patchwork of
fields bordered by ancient oaks, which stretches to the Solent. “We still have
to pinch ourselves every day,” says the 30-year-old, as she surveys the 50
hectares (125 acres) she farms with her best friend, Francesca Cooper, 34.
The friends – who have five young children between them, were both vegan for a
period, and are lifelong environmental activists – are not typical livestock
farmers. And they don’t practise typical farming: instead they are part of a
growing global movement practising regenerative agriculture – or regen ag for
short.
“Really simply, regenerative agriculture is nature-friendly farming,” says
Fallick, who says she stopped being vegan when her health suffered. “It’s
thinking about the health of soil, animals, humans and how they all link
together.”
On Nunwell home farm, which sits alongside land the pair manage for the
Wildlife Trust and produces meat and eggs for their direct-to-consumer
business, chickens peck away alongside belted Galloway cows, nomadic pigs graze
on grass as well as kale and bean “cover crops” sown to boost nutrients in the
soil.
The idea is that by following the basic principles of regen ag – not disturbing
the soil, keeping it covered, maintaining living roots, growing a diverse range
of crops and the use of grazing animals – they can regenerate tired and
depleted soil and produce nutritious food. The work, they argue, is urgent. Up
to 40% of the world’s land is now degraded by industrial and harmful farming
methods, according to the UN, while a recent study suggested improving soil
could keep the world within the 1.5C heating target."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-endometriosis-poverty-mexico-indigenous-canada/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
