It’s no secret that industrial agriculture pollutes the environment due to the over-concentration of manure and is one of the big emitters of greenhouse gasses. It also produces food that makes humans and pets that eat it sick.

It’s no wonder veganism is gaining popularity across the globe. Vegans believe that if we stop eating meat and shift production and demand of animal-source foods to plant-based ones, climate change will be reversed.  

Farmers who practice regenerative agriculture, however, disagree. In fact, the regenerative farming movement encourages people to eat more grass fed beef, especially if it’s produced under a specific management method. This usually goes by various monikers such as high density grazing, holistic planned grazing, mob grazing or cell grazing.

Angus McIntosh of Farmer Angus, a regenerative livestock farmer in Stellenbosch says: “Putting a stop to animal agriculture won’t reverse climate change. Animals are in fact the solution. If done in a way that is not destructive like conventional agriculture, and seeks to regenerate the soil, we will reverse the damage. The secret lies in the soil.”

In 2013, McIntosh became the first person globally to sell carbon credits for increasing the carbon contents of the pastures where his cattle graze. He explains that there are two ways that carbon is sequestered (stored) in the soil (which happens to be the safest place for carbon). First is during plant growth and the second is when the plant is grazed and root shedding or sloughing occurs. On his farm, they supercharge both these processes through heavy animal concentration on the pasture followed by a long (6 week) recovery. Because there is an enormous concentration of animals there is an enormous concentration of manure and urine which helps the grass to regrow. Second having a big herd in a small space ensures that all the plants are eaten and hence a lot of root shedding takes place during grazing. This is what is known as true regenerative farming.

According to a study from the Rodale Institute in the US, citing data from farming systems and trials, it concludes that we could sequester more than 100 percent of annual CO2 emissions worldwide if we start growing food following the regenerative farming way.

“Agriculture is the best chance for addressing climate change on a massive scale. If all farmers, landscapers and gardeners aimed to rather invest in building the soil and stop poisoning it with chemical fertilisers and other toxic poisons like glyphosate, we will begin to recapture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide, and reverse climate change,” concludes McIntosh.

It’s not known exactly how many official regenerative farmers there are in South Africa that are successfully producing crops and raising grass-fed livestock using these methods. It is however, thought that only 30% of South Africa’s crop production has attempted to introduce what is known as a no-till practice which is known to stop carbon from being released from the soil. This is however, not nearly enough to help reduce our countries carbon footprint. Hopefully the new Carbon Tax Act that was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 1 June 2019 will encourage more farmers to follow suit.

McIntosh offers his top 5 tips to convert from conventional to regenerative farming that has worked for him over the last 10 years. They are all ways to increase soil’s carbon content and water retention so less CO2 is released into the atmosphere.

1. Minimal tillage of the soil
2. Cover cropping
3. Crop rotations
4. No chemicals and fertilisers.
5. Incorporating livestock grazing.

For more information go to www.farmerangus.co.za

Source: Gwen Sparks, Enhance PR on behalf of Farmer Angus.