UnEarth Magazine.

Words by Maddie Sully, Art by Lucy Brown.

It is the general consensus that our modern agricultural systems are unsustainable. The proliferation of industrialised monoculture farms may have met an ever-increasing demand for food, but only at the cost of the health of our soils. Agriculture is to blame for 80% of land degradation worldwide, whether it be salinisation due to irrigation, or infertility due to use of pesticides. Soil erosion and infertility are set to worsen as climate change extends periods of drought, and so the future of food security is up in the air. Even if climate change wasn’t a threat to our food security, our extractive production methods would need to change, because the soils where common farm methods are used are thinning rapidly, with life spans of under 100 years in some places. But sustainable change in this sector has been stagnant. After all, how do you change a system that feeds 8 billion people? 

Regenerative farming might be the answer to this enormous problem. It has been a buzzword over recent years – UnEarth published an article last year giving a brief overview on the topic, which you can read here. Over the summer, I was listening to the Regenerative Agriculture podcast when I stumbled upon the story of Tim Parton. Tim is a farm manager at Brewood Park Farm, and an advocate for regenerative farming techniques, but what grabbed my attention most about Tim was his self-assigned title; ‘biological farmer’.  

It is no secret that science and technology play a huge role in agricultural progress – take the early 20th century’s Green Revolution. But Tim Parton does not come from a science background, and he doesn’t align himself with the extractive technological processes used by industrial agriculture. Using just his passion for soil, Parton learned that natural microbial strains from organic matter can be applied into soils to improve the health of soil and increase water retention. He also makes his own compost, increasing the diversity of microbes within the soil further. By testing the tissues of his crops, he can determine which nutrients are lacking in the soil, and supplement with biologicals accordingly. In improving the health of his soils, they also sequester a higher quantity of carbon. Through understanding the biology of both soil and crop, Tim is able to regenerate his soil whilst maintaining stable yields, so there is no economic loss to using an environmentally centred method.  

Tim’s agricultural approaches are utilising modern science and technology, but the origins of regenerative farming are found within indigenous practices. Many Indigenous communities have long practised ‘polyculture’ where multiple crop types are grown alongside each other. The ‘Three Sisters’ technique has been used by indigenous groups such as the Haudenosaunee peoples for generations, growing corn, beans, and squash alongside each other, and has been observed to produce better yields than if the crops were planted separately, as well as deterring pests naturally. Crop rotation practices where different crops are planted and harvested as the seasons change maintains productive capacities of soils and bolsters nutritional content. 

Both methods mentioned increase resilience to climate change because the rate of soil erosion is reduced and fertility is increased, safeguarding yields against extended periods of drought. As our weather system becomes more volatile as an aspect of climate change, regenerative agriculture could be our saving grace. By combining indigenous knowledge with rapid improvements in science and technology, it is feasible to transition our farmlands from degrading processes to productive, sustainable ones. Implementing intercropping and polyculture on larger scales, as well as monitoring soil nutrient levels with methods like Tim’s, could be the first steps towards productive yields that do not sacrifice soil health, and could spark a global movement towards agricultural systems that value human and environmental health equally.