WHAT IS REGENERATIVE FARMING?
TRANSITIONING TO REGENERATIVE FARMING REQUIRES A MINDSET CHANGE.
Most farmers would probably like to change, use fewer synthetic inputs and increase profitability, all while restoring and building their overall soil health and soil organic matter; unfortunately, change is difficult and has risks. Farmers are typically skeptical and risk-averse when it comes to change. Too many will grudgingly sacrifice their soils rather than change practices that have been long established.
“A lot of farmers are invested in the way their fathers and grandfathers farmed. We can’t continue to farm the way generations have in the past. We have to start farming in ways that solidify soil structure and organically replace nutrients in the soil.”
-Jay Hill (Farmer, 13,000 acres – irrigated & non-irrigated, alfalfa, grains and produce.
What is REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE?
Regenerative Agriculture has the ability to change the way we think about food production and create a more sustainable future for the planet.
If you google the term Regenerative Agriculture, there are multiple definitions. One example is:
Regenerative Agriculture focuses on improving the health of the soil which has been degraded by conventional farming practices such as excessive tillage of the soil, monoculture or limited crop rotations and excessive use of synthetic fertilizers and “rescue” chemicals such as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.”
There is no consensus or industry standard. What really defines an agricultural system as regenerative or not are the outcomes it produces.
WHAT IS
Accelerated Regenerative Agriculture
CaluSolv’s proprietary blend of water-soluble calcium, humates, and other ingredients accelerates soil aggregate formation. CaluSolv feeds the soil while also providing nutrients that can be used to feed soil microbes and plants.
When used in conjunction with recommended Regenerative Agricultural practices, healthy soils can be restored in less time than by adopting the practices alone.
The CaluSolv System. – The CaluSolv System is not complicated; it incorporates all of the individual components of Regenerative Agriculture and adds an “Accelerator.” Many professionals acknowledge that rebuilding soil to a healthy state takes eight to ten years. The first step to rebuilding healthy soil is to reverse compaction and restore stable soil aggregate structure.
When we use cover crops, manage the pH, utilize minimum or smart tillage, and correct the water-soluble calcium-to-magnesium ratio, we can reduce those eight to ten years to four or five. Our system has seen water infiltration rates increase by over 700% in as little as three years, all while decreasing NPK fertilization by over 80%.
MYTHS
REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE IS NOT PROFITABLE
The against transitioning from convention to regenitive agriculture is that producers cannot be as profitable due to reductions in yield.
The reality is that budgeting is a limiting factor in every operation. Producers have to allocate resources and the most successful producers allocate their resources to those areas that have the largest, long-term positive impacts on their operations. Regenerative agriculture has been shown to be the low cost agricultural production model. In any industry, the organizations with the lowest production cost model will be the most competitive. These companies are not revenue dependent.
Investments in changing to a regenerative agricultural mindset will lead to long-term positive impacts and a lower cost production model. Once the initial investment and mindset changes are made to invest in building soil health, these investments do not have to be purchased year after year like conventional inputs (annual operating expenses). In a study of Iowa farmers, just 40% believe that changing soil health practices improves profitability in the first year or two of adoption, but nearly 90% stated that investing in regenerative soil health practices improve long-term profitability.
Once the investment in regenerative agriculture is made, you realize the returns every year in lower input costs, increased drought and flood resistance and increased profitability. The gains are permanently earned. Let CaluSolv help guide you through the transition from a conventional, chemical based approach to farming to a regenerative, biological based approach.
REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE IS JUST ANOTHER TERM FOR ORGANIC
Many producers are hesitant to think about transitioning from a conventional model which is reliant upon synthetic inputs and rescue chemicals to what they believe is similar to an organic production model that requires a lengthy 3 year transition period of no synthetic inputs which will result in reduced yields, revenues and profits. Banks will not lend them the operating money necessary for their operations.
Switching to a regenerative agricultural production model does not require a no-input transition period and does not have to result in reductions in yield. It does require a change in mindset – from a revenue/yield dependent mindset to developing a plan to lessen dependence on synthetic inputs and rescue chemicals which unlocks and builds the fertility already present in your soil. Incorporating Calusolv’s recommended regenerative practices will also increase natural resistance to weeds and pests, further reducing costs. When the soil is healthy, it is possible to transition away from GM seeds, also reducing operating costs. The cost-saving benefits multiply in a regenerative system and all of this can be accomplished without sacrificing yield while increasing quality.