(gentle music)
- So in this series of videos,
we've talked about the principles
of regenerative agriculture.
Now we want to go from
principles to practise
and we want to talk about
how do farmers transition
to a more regenerative footing?
Now it's difficult to be prescriptive.
There isn't a rule book about
regenerative agriculture,
so I can't tell you exactly
what you need to do on your farm,
but if I give you some ideas to take away,
and I think a fundamental idea is
that whatever we're growing,
whether we're growing cabbages
or beef or wool or wheat,
what we're trying to do, is
we're trying to grow deep roots,
big roots because the
more we grow big roots,
the more we're paying
attention to the soil,
the more we're paying attention
to extracting maximum value
out of the full depth of soil,
and in that way we're trying to increase
the capture of water, we're
increasing organic matter,
we're increasing the
resilience of the system
which is really a key
adaptation to climate change.
So when we're talking about transitioning
from our normal business as usual approach
to a regenerative approach,
we've got to figure out
what that might look like
for our particular system.
So in the context of dairying for example,
I've worked with dairy farmers
in the south-west of Victoria
who have chosen to transition
away from the high reliance
on expensive external inputs.
Principally their reliance on nitrogen
to drive the productivity
of their rye grass pastures.
So the change there was not saying,
"I'm not going to use nitrogen anymore"
but rather changing the way
that the nitrogen was used.
So that involved a shift
from urea application
to the use of foliar
applications, liquid nitrogen,
in conjunction with compost
that was made on the farm,
from effluent and other
waste products on the farm
such as hay and silage.
The kind of changes
then that were observed
by the farmers were, more clover
coming back into the system.
The soils were softer and animal
grazing behaviour changed.
(gentle music)
And the key to this is observation.
Looking at how the system is responding
to the different changes
and taking cues from stock,
how is the grazing management changing?
How are the stock performing?
Are they showing any preference
to graze paddock over another?
And in a horticultural situation,
we're looking for changes in plant health,
in pest and disease
pressure, in product quality.
So it's really important
to take these concepts
and apply them to a small
part of the farm to a paddock
to a number of paddocks
and start trialling
something different here,
and that might be, longer
rest periods for grazing,
leaving longer residuals in a paddock
when we take the stock off
and seeing how the
system responds to that.
Over sowing with a range of
different pastures species,
reducing fertiliser
application rates and ideally,
supplementing with organic
input, spreading manures,
bringing in composts et cetera.
So how do we manage success?
Increasing organic matter
is gonna be a corner stone
of improving their health of our systems.
Profitability through reducing input costs
is a key measure of success.
Increasing yield ideally,
as part of that profitability increase
is a measure of success.
Animal health, growth
rates, reduced inputs,
reduced herbicides, reduced pesticide,
reduced fertiliser use,
and the farm functioning
as an ecosystem.
Are we seeing more biodiversity
coming into our system?
Are we seeing less pest
and disease pressure?
Are we seeing more bio-control
happening in our systems?
And finally, let's talk
about farmer wellbeing.
So if we have increased profitability,
if our farm is looking better,
if animals are looking better,
we're gonna start feeling
better about ourselves.
But wellbeing is a
difficult thing to quantify.
So when we're talking
about farmer wellbeing,
and talking about leaving
the farm in as good
or better condition, part
and parcel of that is,
changing our thinking
about how to achieve that.
So conventional thinking
about growing pasture,
or growing annual crops,
or perennial crops,
is about making the grass grow.
Making the grapevine grow.
Making the wheat grow.
Nature knows, how to
make these things grow.
It's been doing it for thousands of years
before we came along.
So the change in thinking that's required,
is saying "okay nature is doing this,
"it doesn't particularly need me to do it,
"but I can maybe do it
a little bit better.
"I can maybe increase
productivity a little bit
"by applying fertilisers"
But I think we have started
to over-rely on these inputs,
thinking that this is the only way,
we're going to make the grass grow.
Regenerative agriculture is not about,
not using these powerful tools.
Regenerative agriculture
is about sympathetic
and strategic use of these tools.
So it's about, yes use nitrogen
but maybe not quite as
much, or in a different form
that we've been
traditionally been using it.
Maybe using it, in conjunction
with organic inputs
and when we start doing
this and start seeing
how the system is responding to this,
perhaps with biodiversity,
with more clover coming back
into the system, with other plants
coming back into the system,
we're allowing nature,
to develop the system in
the way that nature intends.
When we can start working
with natural systems,
in this way, that's when real wellbeing,
when real feelings of
satisfaction start to arrive,
we realise we're working with nature,
and not against nature.
And I'm encouraged by one farmer saying,
that he doesn't live on a farm anymore,
he lives in an ecosystem.
(gentle upbeat music)
