Discussing Regenerative Farming with Catalan Can Font Orgànic Farm
Halfway between Figueres and Cadaqués, in the North of Catalunya, lies Can Font Organic Farm, which encompasses 45 hectares of crops, a few chickens, and 210 sheep (10 owned) grazing around olive trees, almond trees, cereals, and a vineyard. Francesc Font and Nuri Madeo, together with their children, run their family farm and are doing astounding work to integrate regenerative farming practices into it.
Chapter I. Knowledge transmission
6 years ago, Francesc, a ninth-generation farmer, took on Can Font from his father’s hands, and together with his family decided to move towards an agriculture model which is more respectful with the planet and people. They explored the unexplored with a strong personal conviction and with the hope that results can show that regenerative farming was the correct choice to ensure the survival and growth of their family farm. From our interview with Nuri, it was clear that it was not an easy path, as there was not a clear recipe that ensured success; they were forced to find their own way to learn and apply regenerative farming practices to their own familiar project. And they did. Knowing that regenerative farming literature was scarce and sparse, the family moved to Australia for 3 months where they lived and worked with Darren J. Doherty, a pioneer in regenerative agriculture and sustainable farm planning in more than 3.000 projects over 55 countries. They continue learning from well-known experts in the field such as Dr. Pilar Andrés or Joel Salatin among others to gather more information and improve their farming methods.
Later, understanding that the lack of literature about regenerative farming is still a major challenge and that their experience was valuable for other farmers who want to convert to sustainable farming methods, they published “Arrelats a la Terra” in 2020 and other excellent books, and collaborated in conferences, like the one with J. Doherty about regenerative and organic farming. Recently, in the first half of 2022, they launched their own online academy, TheRegenAcademy.
Chapter II. Embarking onto the regenerative farming journey
Convincing farmers to change their established farming practices and open their mind to embrace sustainability farming is the hardest task. Particularly not easy when dealing with farmers who are used to follow conventional methods during their entire working lives. One should overcome the generational change barriers and their own fear barriers to the unknown when converting their model. Also, one should expect that at least three years are required to regenerate the soil and clear it from the chemical traces left by conventional practices. Thankfully, logistical costs do not necessarily have to increase after the conversion, although some machinery should be adapted to maintain a healthy top-soil. Also, there are funds and subsidies focused on helping farmers to embrace sustainable agriculture. In that sense, in Catalunya, farmers can register to the Consell Català de Producció Orgànica (CCPO) and get paid during a 3-year period over the conversion with funds coming from the European Union. The Consell Català de la Producció Agrària Ecològica (CCPAE) visits at least once a year to control the work done by doing chemical tests over the soil. Farmers who register as organic producers and follow the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can also get subsidies.
After a 6 years journey, Can Font farm is now a great example of agricultural conversion. They state that their level of production has reached the conventional one offering a better quality product (i.e. their olive oil contains more dissolved minerals and nutrients). Hence, they can sell their products at higher margins than before being more respectful with nature and people. As of today, Can Font is not dependent upon chemical fertilizers and has reduced up to 90% the use of phytosanitary products, therefore being less impacted by the price volatility of pesticides and fertilizers. Many farmers do not realize that their soil is getting worse due to the use of fertilizers to compensate for the lack of nutrients. These products are very expensive and can create an unhealthy and costly dependency. Can Font also incorporates other regenerative practices like the use of green covers or the adoption of animals that graze covers and offers natural fertilizer to the land. In the 50s and 60s it was a common practice to separate agriculture from livestock, but mixing both in a circular way has also its own benefits. In the following video, Francesc explains in her own words their regenerative agricultural journey to the European Commission and to farmers (see video).
Chapter III. Can Font’s Production.
Can Font produces olive oil, olives, almonds, cereals, and wine. The nature of the products minimizes the risk of spoilage and makes it easy to forecast productions and sales income (if no climate adversities or plagues strongly affect the harvest). These factors mean that special demand forecasting tools are not needed.
Their production is too small to sell to large supermarkets, which is why Francesc and Nuri rather sell their production to local shops. Having control over the price is key for them to value their product and highlight their increased quality properties. The couple used to work with a cooperative that communicated to them the purchase price every half a year for products like grapes and olives. Nowadays, Can Font is not part of the cooperative anymore which allows them to define the prices of their production, especially when it is a final product such as in the case of olive oil. On the other hand, they assume within their duties not only the productive but also the commercial part.
Lessons learned by Can Font together with other successful experiences inspired our Guide to conversion to regenerative farming. For more information on Can Font Organic, visit their website (Spanish).
