Regenerative Agriculture & Thousand Hills Beef
What Is Regenerative Agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture is a set of holistic land management practices and grazing strategies that seek to restore and enhance the natural resources that are used, rather than deplete them. Regenerative agriculture looks holistically at the agro-ecosystem to build soil health, increase clean and safe water runoff, improve biodiversity and ecosystem resiliency, and increase carbon draw-down. Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed cattle company, is one of a growing group of farmers, fully committed to regenerative agriculture. They have seen firsthand the way this approach can restore diverse grasslands, eliminate the need for synthetic fertilizers and chemical herbicides, and improve the nutritional value of meat – all while helping rural economies to thrive.
Organic Regenerative Pasture Grazing and the Rule of Thirds-
Soil destruction creates a vicious cycle, in which less carbon is stored, the world gets hotter, and the land is further degraded. Thousand Hills regenerative grazing process helps to solve this problem by applying the rule of thirds: graze a third, trample a third and leave a third. This promotes photosynthesis in the plant by forcing it to regrow, because once a plant is fully grown, it goes dormant and the photosynthetic process does not occur. This moves the carbon from the atmosphere into the soil which is fueled by carbon molecules, in return those microorganisms feed all the plants, those plants feed the animals, and then feed us. Healthier soil, healthier cows, and a healthier planet leads to a healthier you.
Soil Health-
Similar to the human gut biome, healthy soil depends upon a thriving community of healthy bacteria, fungi, and microbes to remain balanced. Microorganisms give the soil structure and help it to retain more water. Plants with healthy soil become more nutrient-rich, drought-tolerant, and resistant to pests. Meanwhile, these plants store carbon in their long, thriving roots.
Cattle play a vital role in soil health. Their hooves gently stir and aerate the soil; gentle nibbling triggers plants to absorb more carbon into their roots; fresh manure spreads seeds and contributes to the vibrant microbial communities in the soil. Through carefully planned grazing that mimics the patterns of wild animal herds, ranchers ensure the land is not overgrazed, while producing healthier crops with improved yields.
Problem: Today, we rely heavily on conventional agriculture, which is built upon a model of extraction. According to the Scientific American, the causes of soil destruction include chemical-heavy farming techniques, deforestation which increases erosion, and global warming. On average the US loses 545 million TONS of topsoil each year due to corn, and 5.8 TONS of topsoil are LOST PER ACRE. The UN conducted a soil survey that came up with a shocking discovery, if current rates of degradation continue, all of the world’s topsoil could be gone within 60 years.
Solution: Mother nature, left to herself, is adaptive, resilient, and regenerative. Regenerative agriculture has a mindset of looking at mother nature as a system, that holistically promotes working together to improve as a whole. Cattle have always been a part of that system. Herds of bison once roamed the land freely, grazing and moving as the forages were chewed down. Rotational grazing mimics this type of interaction with the land, by allowing the plants and soil time to rest and regenerate, but still having the positive impacts of animals grazing (manure as fertilizer and hoof action to stir up seeds).
Encouraging Biodiversity-
Regenerative organic agriculture encourages biodiversity by producing a rich blend of microorganisms, plants, and animals on the farm. Healthier soils mean stronger crops, and stronger crops mean less reliance on chemical pesticides.
Problem: There has been an ever-growing rivalry between agriculture and the environment. The problem is, that the environment is losing. Agriculture and food production is increasing, forcing production against nature. When putting a focus on the demand for producing food, it takes away from the great opportunity of having them work together for the better good of the people and the planet.
Solution: When farming in a way such as regenerative agriculture, the system functions more like a natural ecosystem rather than a monoculture field. Regenerative agriculture involves creating a system that has multiple species of insects, pollinators, forages, and birds that work together to naturally improve the ecosystem.
Conventional Farming-
The mainstream conventional farming approach separates livestock from the land. Animals fatten up on grain, while much of the soil is devoted to corn production in order to make the feed. Fossil fuels are required to raise and harvest feed, as well as spread manure. Corn plants absorb minerals from the soil – primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, but also boron, copper, iron, manganese, potassium, and zinc. Continually replanting corn strips the soil, rendering it nearly useless over time.
Regenerative agriculture links cattle and crops. The animals help feed the plants — while the plants, in turn, feed the animals. Responsible, sustainable ranching encourages plant growth and nutrient re-population with natural fertilizer. The cattle eat pest bugs and unwelcome weeds, while less land is devoted to feed production.
Problem: Savory Institute claims, 1/3 of the Earth’s land surface is grasslands, and of that 1/3, seventy percent are facing desertification. On top of wreaking havoc on our land, the UN FAO’s estimate if nothing is done there will be only 60 years left to farm due to the current rate of soil degradation, and globally it will cost approximately $24,000,000,000,000 (Trillion) by 2050 to maintain poor land. And even if we do maintain the poor land, the food will not contain the nutrition we need.
Solution: Research shows properly managed lands are both ecologically and economically beneficial for humans and nature. Regenerative agriculture holistic management is broken up into four parts, Planned Grazing, Land Planning, Financial Planning, and Ecological Monitoring. By properly managing the land and grazing we can regenerate topsoil, reverse desertification and gain all the benefits of doing such.
Regenerative Agriculture goes beyond organic standards, and gets at the root of how our lands and food supply will look in years to come. By supporting farms that have begun to adapt this beneficial system, we will be ahead of the game when it comes to the health and nutrition of the foods we eat.