sustainable. Regenerative agriculture
comprises a system of holistic
land management practices that
leverage the power of photosynthesis
by plants to help reverse
climate change. How? By building
soil organic matter, avoiding costly
synthetic inputs, keeping living
roots in the ground, maintaining
plant species diversity, and integrating
livestock, thereby enhancing
carbon drawdown and vastly
improving the water cycle. Added
benefits include more nutritious
food, improved wildlife habitat,
more humane animal husbandry,
and expansion of pollinator sources.
This naturally enhances the
farmer’s bottom line by decreasing
the costs of inputs which increases
net profit.
Because of climate change,
Maryland’s weather is becoming
more variable. Our average temperature
is rising, increasing heat
stress on animals and the prevalence
of crop pests and diseases.
We’re likely to see more erratic
precipitation, including longer
lasting or more frequent droughts,
as well as heavier rainfall events.
Changing how we farm can help us
become more climate-resilient and
able to cope with that variability.
Regenerative agriculture improves
soil aggregate stability (see box
below) which means the soil can
hold more air and more water,
and contains more organic matter.
Heavy rains are prevented from
becoming torrents of water running
over the land, and moisture is
beneficially held within the soil to
better handle any future drought.
Increased organic matter helps
the soil’s microbiology to thrive
with more of the nutrients plants
need to prosper. More and more,
we’re learning that the interconnecting
network of bacteria and
mycorrhizal fungi in our soil is key
Soil aggregates are microhabitats for microorganisms in the soil. They are the building blocks
of soil texture and are held together with organic matter, plant root exudates and bacterial
and fungal microorganisms. Soil texture is also dependent upon the relative percentages of
naturally occurring particles of sand, silt and clay. We can benefit the soil aggregate stability
by increasing organic matter and holding onto the soil structure by not plowing it—which
boosts the exchange of nutrients between plants and microorganisms within the soil.
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