Regenerative Agriculture

Regenerative Agriculture is described as the farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity – resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle. Specifically, Regenerative Agriculture is a holistic land management practice that leverages the power of photosynthesis in plants to close the carbon cycle and build soil health, crop resilience and nutrient density.

Practices

No Till

Tillage breaks up soil aggregation
and fungal communities while adding excess O2 to the soil for increased
respiration and CO2 emission. It can be one of the most degrading
agricultural practices, greatly increasing soil erosion and carbon loss. A secondary effect is soil capping and slaking that can plug soil spaces for
percolation creating much more water runoff and soil loss. Conversely,
no-till/minimum tillage, in conjunction with other regenerative practices,
enhances soil aggregation, water infiltration and retention, and carbon
sequestration.

Managed Grazing

Well-managed grazing practices stimulate improved plant growth, increased soil carbon deposits, and overall pasture and grazing land productivity while greatly increasing soil fertility, insect and plant biodiversity, and soil carbon sequestration. These practices not only improve ecological health, but also the health of the animal and human consumer through improved micro-nutrients availability and better dietary omega balances.

Our animals are rotated once or twice daily, depending on the quality of the paddock, following a 42-day rejuvenation period of the plants. Each paddock gets "mowed" and receives their daily infusion of natural fertilizer (manure). Our free-range laying hens run out to the pasture to collect the bugs & flies that gather around the cow pies, while also depositing their own brand of fertilizer (huge source of nitrogen). Chickens naturally scratch the ground, thereby spreading fertilizer across the pasture. Our animals ARE the fertilizer crew!

Soil Fertility & Ecosystem Diversity

Soil fertility is increased in regenerative systems biologically through
application of cover crops, crop rotations, compost, and animal manures, which restore the plant/soil microbiome to promote liberation, transfer, and cycling of essential soil nutrients. Building biological ecosystem diversity begins with inoculation of soils with composts or compost extracts to restore soil microbial community population, structure and functionality restoring soil system energy through full-time planting of multispecies cover crops and borders planted for pollinator habitat and other beneficial insects.

Waste products from the MushMansion, such as spent mycelium blocks, are added to the compost piles which get distributed throughout the pasture and garden.