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Regenerative Agriculture - Show me the Evidence

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Sustainable Agriculture

Recently it seems everyone is talking about regenerative agriculture.  Especially in the wake of the droughts experienced in the eastern states with claims that regenerative systems remain viable where traditional management systems have failed.

Proponents hold that a holistic systems approach to soil health through increased biodiversity, ground cover, organic carbon and microbial functionality improves:

·       Farm resilience to climate fluctuations,

·       the health benefits of food produced within such systems,

·       is financially profitable; and

·       increases the health and wellbeing of the farmers who manage these systems. 

There is however very little ‘hard evidence’ to support these claims, a point often raised by critics who question the myths versus the realities surrounding this approach to farm management.

Recently two independent studies have been published on the profitability of regenerative agricultural systems in NSW, one by ABARES (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences) and the other by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP).

The regenerative graziers that contributed to the NESP study were more profitable when compared to all sheep/beef/mix industry farms in a similar geographic region. Findings have also indicated that income generation is more stable over time and less reactive to seasonal fluctuations such as drought.  The NESP study found a positive correlation between the health and biodiversity of farming systems to farmer wellbeing.

While these studies in themselves cannot claim to have proven the case for regenerative farming, they are an important step in creating the evidence base that would be required to see these practices adopted across the mainstream industry.

For further information on regenerative agriculture in the Wheatbelt please contact Wheatbelt NRM Regional Agricultural Landcare Facilitator (RALF) Jacquie Lucas on (08) 9670 3113.

The reports are attached below.

Downloads
Independent studies - regenerative agricultural systems.pdf
14th November 2018