Why is Regenerative Agriculture So Important?

Let’s phrase the question in a different way. If we were to ask you if healthy people and a healthy planet are important, then the answer would be an easy “yes.” 

Well, healthy soil leads to healthy crops, which leads to healthy people and a healthy planet—and we build and grow the first two through the use of regenerative agricultural techniques. 

This is a way in which we give back to the world as we work in tandem with Mother Nature (never try to outwit her! Won’t happen) to provide people with the delicious and nutritious crops they need for flavorful meals and good health. We do all of this in ways that also contribute to the regeneration of our planet. During this process, we use certain techniques—ones that our great-grandparents would have referred to with a much simpler name: farming. 

We Love to Talk About Our Healthy Soil

At our farm, we build up our soil by planting multi-species cover crop seeds in fallow fields. They’ll release the legacy minerals they don’t need for nourishment, which will be transformed into a chemical form that plants can use for a food source.

To build healthy soil, we use multi-species cover crop seeds. We plant them so they’ll release legacy minerals that naturally occur in soil. Then, these minerals transform into a chemical form, one that plants can use as their own food source. 

As an overview. Bob Jones, Jr. and his farm team strategically pick what cover crops to plant in a certain field in the autumn. These fields will lay fallow for the following year. In other words, our farm team won’t be putting any pressure on these fields to perform by growing the crops we provide to people. This soil is, instead, taking a cherished break while other fields are being used to grow our farm-fresh vegetables. 

Then, in the fields with the cover crops, we watch for leaves and blades to emerge from the soil. If you’ve seen a solar energy system on a home before, these leaves will serve as tiny solar panels. Here’s how it works. Throughout the year, there is sunlight—not always much warmth in the winter, mind you, but the light is available for these organic solar panels to collect. Through the amazing process of photosynthesis, plants will then convert this light energy into chemical energy that they can use in their own growth.

Early on, these plants will use just about a third of the chemical energy for their own needs: their own nourishment. Then, the remainder of the energy is “exudated,” meaning secreted from their roots into the soil. This exudation then nourishes the soil. 

As the cover crops begin to flower, they now need about half of the chemical energy to use as their own food; the other half will go into the soil. At this point, our farm team gently works the budding cover crops into the soil of our fields. As they decompose, the cover crops will further feed the soil with each of the dozen or so types providing a uniquely diverse enrichment. 

“The plants,” Bob, Jr. says, “feed the soil and the soil feeds the plants.” This is a form of natural synergy—and the plants we grow and provide to families like yours at Farmer Jones Farm benefit from being grown in this healthy environment. 

We believe that it’s important for people to know where their food is grown, and how, and this post provides an overview. Plus, you can discover how this type of farming can help people around the globe as supply chains struggle: Regenerative Farming to the Rescue During Today’s Food Shortages.

Benefit From Regenerative Farming

This article gives you a glimpse of why regenerative agriculture is so important for people and the planet—and we’d love for you to taste the difference by ordering one of our vegetable delivery boxes. Or stop by our farmer’s market during open hours. We’d love to chat with you!