We follow these 5 important regenerative agricultural principals:

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE PRINCIPLE #1
Minimizing soil disturbance (physical, mechanical and chemical):

Physical disturbance to the soil breaks up its structure and introduces a sudden rush of oxygen, both of which create unsuitable conditions for soil microorganisms, causing many of them to perish. Not only this, it can also make the soil vulnerable to erosion as bare areas of soil are often exposed. No till cropping ensures there is only a small amount of disturbance as the seed is slotted into the soil without plowing.

Chemical disturbance through spreading chemicals onto the land in the form of fertilisers, herbicides or insecticides unsettles the balance of life and the soil’s ecosystem. The soil becomes dependent on fertilisers to provide it with readily available nitrates and other nutrients for the plants so at Argyle Acres, we use absolutely no synthetic fertilizers to allow our soil microorganisms to produce nitrates through nitrification. We also integrate chickens into our system to use the nitrogen from their feces to fertilize our soil, moving our chicken tractors daily to the places we need it. We also avoid pesticides to allow the ecosystem to work in harmony.

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE PRINCIPLE #2
Keeping the soil covered:

Exposed soil is vulnerable to erosion, which removes vital nutrients from the land, limiting future plant growth. Giving pasture longer recovery times allows the plants to get taller and thicker, providing more cover over the soil. When the livestock is moved into pasture, giving them a smaller area for a day or less means much of the forage which they do not eat is trampled.

This layer of organic matter (along with the organic matter from their feces) is cover for the soil when the plants have been grazed and provides less soil cover themselves. The organic matter also enables the pasture to grow more due to the nutrients it provides. Covering the soil also increases the water infiltration so the soil has a larger store of water and in periods of drought it can sustain crops or pasture for longer.

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE PRINCIPLE #3
Encouraging Diversity:

Diversity of all species should be encouraged, including that of livestock. Sheep and cattle target different plant species within the pasture, as well as provide different quantities of nutrients for the soil through their feces. Other livestock such as chickens or pigs seeks out insects, slugs, and parasites as well as the pasture itself, eliminating the need for pesticides and reducing the disease burden on the other livestock.

Plant diversity can be encouraged by increasing recovery times of the pasture, as many flowers, herbs and forages require a longer time to grow than many grasses. These different species provide a more nutritious feed for the livestock as well as using different nutrients from the soil and returning other nutrients, keeping the soil microbiology healthy.

Wildlife diversity is increased too as a bigger variety of food and habitats become available for them, including for insects and soil microorganisms. They break down organic matter, making nutrients readily available for plant roots to uptake and storing carbon in the soil.

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE PRINCIPLE #4
Keeping live roots in the soil:

Roots support the soil microbes and bind the soil together, providing a shield against erosion. The plants also use their roots to put carbon into the soil through the process of photosynthesis. Cover crops can be used in arable land over the winter when there is not a cash crop growing, it also provides cover for the soil.

Overgrazing can cause plant roots to die; ensuring the pasture has sufficient recovery time prevents overgrazing as the plant can grow deeper roots.

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE PRINCIPAL #5
Integrating animals:

Animals provide large levels of organic matter and, therefore, nutrients through their feces and trampling plants, allowing the plants to grow larger. This increases photosynthesis levels and nutrient content of the future crop (in an arable context). This produces more nutritious food, as well as provides food for livestock which, in turn, become food themselves, ensuring a rich, productive life cycle.

Steep ground and infertile soils make large areas of land unsuitable for growing crops for human consumption. These areas are most suitable for pasture. Being unable to digest grass, humans cannot eat it, so livestock are used to utilise it. Pasture can be harvested multiple times a year through livestock grazing or making hay to feed them indoors in the wetter months, ensuring the land is productive and its fertility improved.