Farming with regenerative agriculture: A day at the Bottens Family Farm

Reimagining regenerative agriculture. It was amazing to see how regenerative agriculture was practiced on a farm at the Bottens Family Farm, Moline, IL. The Bottens family has five generations of experience with all kinds of farming practices. They understand firsthand that soil health is important for improved crop yield. Monte Bottens, the current farmer, is a long-term thinker, like 50 years ahead. He really cares about the farms’ soil health and uses farming practices that nurture topsoil and its microbiome. Among these practices is no-till farming. Tilling encourages erosion and soil loss, and it can take 15–20 years to bring the topsoil back to health and make it productive again.

What is regenerative agriculture? According to Wikipedia, “Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil. We will tell you the four regenerative agriculture practices that really stood out for us at the Bottens Family Farm.