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Regenerative agriculture focuses on restoring and enhancing ecosystems on farms by applying principles and practices designed to work with the land. It aims to protect and improve soil biodiversity, enhance climate resilience, conserve water resources, and increase carbon sequestration in the soil, all while making farming more productive and profitable without resorting to harsh chemical inputs.
Nitrogen (N) is one of the vital elements required for proper growth and development of plants. In the earth’s atmosphere, N is available in the form of nitrogen gas (N2) and mostly plants utilise N in the form nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium ion (NH4+) which are fixed through the biological process known as N2 fixation. As N is one of the elements most likely to be limiting to plant growth, this phenomenon provides an alternative to the implementations of chemical fertilisers as source of nutrients which have resulted in the ammonia volatilisation, leading to significant impact on global warming in the atmosphere which, further, diverts the focus of scientist to find out eco-friendly technology.
The picture shows a cross-section of a root nodule formed by the nitrogen-fixing bacteria Rhizobium in symbiosis with a plant from the legume family. Within the nodule, bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into a plant-available form. Several key minerals drive this vital process. Legume plants secrete flavonoids through their roots to attract rhizobia bacteria. In turn, the bacteria produce signalling molecules called nod factors that initiate the formation of nodules on the plant’s roots. The nodules house the bacteria and serve as an in-house nitrogen factory. The intracellular movement of calcium mediates the complex dialogue between the plant and bacteria.
With a biological system, fertility is returned to the soil, crops and farm animals. Restoring fertility is not a short term project, it takes time using the correct procedures, and you as the grower will gain knowledge and see tremendous benefits from your actions, including personal satisfaction, a healthier lifestyle and a better bank balance.
Firstly, contact us so we can come and take a soil sample. When you get your soil test results, you will also receive an Analysis of Sample plus an Action Plan. Our aim is to balance the soil chemical elements so that the transition to a biological system is much easier. The products recommended for this balancing are natural soil stimulants; some are registered organic products and all are soil building products. The first action you need to undertake is to balance out the calcium/magnesium soil ratio. The easiest option is to review the results in the soil report under “Percentage” in the “Adjusted CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) column.
Building a soil biological system is the simplest and easiest way to eliminate the use of fungicides and insecticides. As discussed in Reducing Production Costs, it is about feeding the soil and the plant with biological products, and as a benefit, building natural sugars within a plant (Brix level) to produce as high as possible Brix level for that crop.
Following on from our discussion about Reducing Production Costs: To understand crop yield and crop quality I believe that first, we need to understand what a plant consists of:: A healthy plant is made up of 80% water and 20% dry material. 80% Water- is self-explanatory, but quality water is an issue we may all face in Australia. 20% Dry Material: break down of 47% carbon, 43% oxygen, 4% hydrogen, 3% nitrogen and 3% soil nutrients. Now the first four elements, carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen all exist in the air.
When a biological system is in existence in your soil profile, the need to fertilise with biological products still exist, but your input costs are much lower due to the fact that the symbiotic relationship with the plant roots and the soil biology is working to build the soil food web. You may ask: How does this happen?
