Keep fertilising when starting your regen agriculture journey

Regenerative farming relies on restoring soil to its optimum health so it can sustain food crops without the use of synthetic inputs. But does that mean fertilisers have no place in a regenerative system? Lindi Botha reports.

- Lindi Botha

Regenerative agricultural practices hold many benefits for farmers and the environment as it creates a healthy, resilient system where water and nutrients are fully contained in the soil, providing a stable food source to plants.

The key principles of regenerative farming rest on enabling plants to form a symbiotic relationship with soil microbes. Plants release compounds from their roots that feed the soil microbes, which in turn then supply the plants with essential nutrients. Often, nutrients that are in a form plants are unable to absorb are broken down into an easily absorbable form by the microbes, making them essential to proper plant nutrition.

These processes are however interrupted by synthetic inputs like fertilisers and pesticides. Plants stop producing root exudates and instead absorb the artificial fertiliser. Soil microbes lose their source of food, and plants become reliant on fertiliser for growth. Foregoing artificial inputs is in theory the solution, saving farmers input costs while promoting a natural system. However, the state of soils on most farms is so poor that this cycle cannot sustain itself.

Farmers embarking on the regenerative path therefore spend much effort on building soil health though a range of practices, like adding compost, planting cover crops and allowing livestock to graze crop residues as their manure stimulates microbe populations. This is a long journey, and soil can take years to reach its optimum stage. In the meantime, farmers face a critical problem: lower yields and reduced income.