REGENERATIVE agriculture has quickly become the darling of the coffee industry. From trade show stages to corporate branding, the buzzword dominates discussions, promising to be the “next big thing” in sustainable production.
Agriculture must change from chemically intensive degenerative industrial systems to regenerative, biological, biodiverse, nature-based ones to regenerate our ecosystems, climate, health, and communities. Such systems improve resources, reduce, and ultimately avoid synthetic chemicals. It is not based on animal or plant cruelty. Instead, its foundations are biodiversity, plant biology, living soil science, and humane livestock systems.
A two-year study by Weijing, et al published in Scientific Reports shows biochar and bentonite improve sandy soil health, increasing water retention, nutrient availability, and crop yield by 36.6%. They also enhance carbon sequestration, offsetting 100 million tons of CO₂ annually, offering a sustainable solution for agriculture and climate resilience in degraded lands.
North Waikato organic beef farmers, Hamish Browne and Robyn Budd, are now in their eighth year of farm ownership and bring very different skills to their new roles as farmers. Brought up on a dairy farm, Browne took a farming course but couldn’t see a path to farm ownership and changed to a mechanical diesel apprenticeship.
The journalist John Vaillant’s book “Fire Weather” begins in the spring of 2016 in the boreal forests surrounding the remote Canadian city of Fort McMurray, where a fire is growing. Although wildfire is a regular part of life in northern Alberta, this fire was destined to be different. “A new kind of fire introduced itself to the world,” Vaillant writes.
The Kampala Declaration, a 10-year strategy adopted at an AU summit, shifts Africa’s agricultural policy to focus on sustainable and inclusive agrifood systems, setting ambitious goals for resilience, investment, and governance by 2035.
The Yurok Fisheries Department has completed a major milestone in the restoration of the Klamath River ecosystem. Following the removal of dams along a 38-mile stretch of the river, the department’s Revegetation crew recently hand-sowed 11,500 pounds of native plant seeds between the former Iron Gate Dam and JC Boyle Reservoir.