Soil restoration principles
Reading Time: 5 minutes
The goal is to restore agricultural soils to a healthy state – every farm is different, but the principles always apply.
Grazing management – the importance of farm cover
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Sufficient, good quality pasture is fundamental to sustainable pasture-based dairy farming, hence the importance of optimal grazing management.
Finding the water sweet spot
Reading Time: 3 minutes
The relationship between plants and water is delicate. Too little water can lead to plant stress, resulting in wilting. Too much can lead to risk of pathogen infection and loss of nutrients supporting the plant via leaching.
Paying back the carbon debt
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Rebecca Burgess, founder of the Fibershed project says that, “our soils have a carbon debt; the atmosphere is gushing with carbon. The carbon over our heads is literally in the wrong place” and this couldn’t be truer.
We need a major shift to regenerative farming
Reading Time: 5 minutes
True sustainable, regenerative agriculture will reverse the negative impact of conventional agriculture and result in sustainable food production.
FAQ about legumes and root nodules
Reading Time: 2 minutes
These are some questions I was asked by a farmer in the Tsitsikamma the other day about legumes and root nodules.
Tapping into the tons of nitrogen above the soil
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil provide an opportunity for farmers to tap into the huge amounts of nitrogen which are just sitting in the atmosphere, waiting to be unlocked.
A land managers’ responsibility
Reading Time: 3 minutes
The amazing thing is that all these ecosystem services support greater agricultural production. They can only be unlocked when the soil is viewed as a valuable natural resource that needs to be conserved.
Are cows really that bad?
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Taking all this into account, methane is a huge problem. But is it? Recent research has challenged whether methane should be treated in the same manner as carbon dioxide when it comes to its impact on climate change.
Keeping your eye on the prize
Reading Time: 3 minutes
I would challenge any farmer that desires to improve their farm to think about the “why” behind the regenerative agriculture approach. What is the prize?