3 MAINTAIN SOIL SURFACE COVER

THE CORE PRINCIPLES OF REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

Soil health is one of the main focuses that Regenerative Agriculture principles aim to enhance. Why soil health? Regenerative approaches create diverse microbiological communities within the soil, which are supported by the ideal subterranean environment the farming system provides. These soil microbes in turn, are able to improve the overall soil function, deliver essential nutrients to plants and potentially improve the nutritional value of the produce. The following identifies the underlying principles of a Regenerative Agriculture system.

MAINTAIN SOIL SURFACE COVER

Providing the soil surface with ‘armour’ is able to bring a surprising multitude of benefits. Keeping crop residue, or growing cover / cash crops for as long as possible will;

Reduce wind and water associated runoff
Maintain soil temperatures
Reduce surface compaction
Reduce evaporation
Suppress weed growth
Provide habitat to some surface-dwelling organisms

Obviously, establishment of the following crop must be considered in this case, as excess surface material has the potential to cause practical issues with machinery. However, there is ever-increasing knowledge and equipment available to assist with this.