The Soil Will Save Us: Regenerative Agroecology After One Year
Our goal in setting up the demo farms was to showcase profitable and regenerative agroecology. We didn’t do quite as well as we wanted to in the profitability area (see part 1 of this article on profitability after one year). However, the news is excellent in the field of regenerative agroecology. And, that too without even trying too hard. That does not indicate any special skills on our part. It is solely due to the resilience and regenerative powers inherent in the soil.
Before we go further into the details, a few important items to note. Soil has physical, chemical, and biological properties. Soil tests identify only the chemical properties. Though relatively expensive, lab tests are an easy way measure soil conditions. Therefore, we decided to use it as a proxy for measuring soil’s health. For more on this, see Soil Test: Baselining Soil Health. However, it is critical not to forget why we are doing this.
Thanks to centuries of an extractive relationship with the soil (and water and air), we are staring into the abyss of global climate change. The only way out of this human-induced catastrophe is to change agriculture into a regenerative give-and-then-take exercise. This is the foundation of our agritech social enterprise. We believe strongly that “Regeneration Starts with the Soil on Demo Farms.” We are utilizing lab tests as a way to measure the impact of regenerative agricultural practices on the soil. But, that is only one part. We cannot lose sight of the whole in trying to measure the parts. To enrich the soil is to work on physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil as a whole.
With all that, how did we do on the soil tests after one year? Great! :-)
- Part 1: Profitability Troubles After One Year of Regenerative Farming
- Part 2: The Soil Will Save Us: Regenerative Agroecology After One Year (this article)
Soil Test Results from 2018 and 2019
Summary: Slightly worried about pH, feeling good about Nitrogen & Phosphorus, excited about Total Organic Carbon
One area of concern is the pH result. Soil’s alkalinity increased from 8.8 to 9.2. This despite the fact that soil’s organic carbon is showing considerable increase. After consulting with a few experts, one potential theory is that there is a decrease in sulfur (sulphate) level as well, which may indicate that salts are not flushed out of the soil. Main irrigation sources are a couple of deep bore wells, so those may be adding more salt to the soil as well. We have been advised to a) test the irrigation waters and b) add more brassicas to the crop mix.
The good news can be found in a few areas. Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) are showing a healthy increase. A major cost for all farmers is the subsidized fertilizers, which is usually a mix of N-P-K. And, here we have increased those without any external inputs. Of course, adding indigo to our crop mix may have helped with the increased nitrogen.
Another number that we are quite excited about is the Total Organic Carbon. Our soil’s Total Organic Carbon percentage leaped from a dismal 0.03% to 0.62%. This is one area where we were really keen to see a healthy trend upwards. For one, this indicates that soil is becoming healthy and can nurture plant and microbial life on its own. Even more importantly, the more carbon we are able to get into the soil, the better are our prospects to reduce the impact of climate change.
What are the practices we followed to get these results? Not in any particular order — no chemical input (fertilizer or pesticide), polyculture, cover crop, no-till practices, water rejuvenation, and agroforestry. We are novice farmers, so some of these practices are proceeding on a trial and error basis. Some of our methods such as agroforestry and water rejuvenation will take a couple of years to be fully established. Others such as cover crop and no-till are still not fully functional yet. However, all that said, these results are quite heartwarming. All this is just after a year.
Soil and its regenerative super power is humanity’s blessing. The sooner we realize that, the better it is for all of us. If there is anything that can save us from the disaster that humanity is facing in the form of climate change, it is the soil. The ones who hold the key to that incredible resource are the farmers in developing countries such as India where small landholding means that many million hands can drastically change the carbon equation for the better in a few short years. This has the potential to be the most efficient, low-cost, and low-tech way to address climate change. Soil can save us, but only if we let it do so.
Overall grade on regenerative agroecology: Pass! :-)
We hope to keep getting better and better and pass with flying colors next season.
[Note: We are not soil scientists, so are relying on external experts for our own learning. If you are an expert in this area, please feel free to add to our knowledge by commenting below. It will be helpful to novices like us.]
