Learn about Regenerative Agriculture
COURSE CONTENTS
Ten lessons as follows:
1. Scope and Nature of Regenerative Agriculture
- Environmental impacts of traditional agriculture
- Pollution - land and water
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Decreased biodiversity
- Why regenerative agriculture matters
- Sustainable agriculture versus regenerative agriculture
- Principles of Regenerative Agriculture
- Corporate initiatives
2, Functional and Integrative Level Systems
- Functional regenerative agriculture
- Improving soil health
- Soil microbiome and soil health
- Regenerative practices
- Cover crops
- Zero tilling
- Rotating crops
- Organic composts
- Synthetic inputs
- Carbon sequestration
- Organic carbon
- Integrative regenerative agriculture
- Design and redesign
- Permaculture ideas embedded in a system of regeneration
- Energy flow
- Imbalances
- Wildlife habitat considerations
- Increasing biodiversity
- Increase biodiversity below ground
- Increase biodiversity above ground
3. Integrative and Evolutionary Level Systems
- Introduction
- Systemic level
- Case study
- Humans in the ecosystem
- Social impact
- Antifragility concept
- Adaptive and agile
- Creating a microclimate
- Capital inputs
- Evolutionary level
- Storying land
- Supply chains/ Supply webs
- Supply webs and big agriculture
- Defining a bioregion
- Defining an agroecosystem
- Connect the land to its larger agroecosystem and bioregion
4. System Inputs: Climate, Topography, Nutrients
- Climate
- Pressure, temperature, rainfall
- Soils and climate
- Topography - soils and slopes
- Broad ranging topography
- Soils and parent material
- Soils and nutrition
- Nitrogen
- Nitrogen cycle
- Nitrogen fixation
- Ammonification
- Nitrification
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- Fertilisers - synthetic, organic
- Organic materials
- Plant materia;
- Dead animals
- Manure
- Garbage
- Hay, straw, paper, sawdust
- Carbon
- Biochar
- Mineralisation
- Chemoautotrophic organisms
5. Soils and Soil Regeneration
- Introduction
- Soil types
- Soil classification
- Soil horizons
- Organic matter
- Soil absorption
- Soil desorption
- Introduction to soil health
- Presence of organic matter
- Facilitate water resilience
- Permeability
- Balance & Diversity in the microbiome
- Life forms
- Monocultures and threat to soil and crop health
- Approaches to regenerate soil and improve soil health
- Cover crops
- Limited disturbance - no or low tillage
- Controlled traffic farming
- Carbon retention
6. Livestock and Grazing Management
- Introduction
- Integrating livestock
- Habitat restoration
- Assisting carbon sequestration through grazing and increasing photosynthesis
- Pest control
- Reducing impacts - soil compaction, tillage, animal control
- Effects of regenerative grazing on biodiversity
- Challenges
- Compaction
- Aquaculture
- Regenerative grazing management
- Rotational grazing
- Orchard grazing
- Holistic planned management
- Organic livestock management
- Complimentary Grazing
7. Agroforestry and Silvopasture
- Introduction to agroforestry
- Incorporating trees and perennials
- Benefits of agroforestry
- Silvopasture
- Silvoarable
- Value of trees in agriculture
- Carbon sinks
- Carbon credits
- Agroforestry and regenerative agriculture
- Erosion control
- Lowering water tables
- Windbreaks
- Timber, firewood
- Fodder
- Honey production
- Wildlife habitats
- Firebreaks
- Increased rainfall
- Challenges of agroforestry in regenerative agriculture
- Financial considerations
8. System Outputs: Social, Economic and Global Trends
- Sustainability and maintenance
- Potential outcomes of regenerative agriculture
- Physical outcomes
- Increase crop health and resilience
- Improve soil health
- Create circular system
- Carbon sequestration
- Improve social and economic wellbeing of communities
- Improve food nutritional quality and human health
- Food access and security
- Improving food safety
- Increasing farm profitability
- Socio economic communities influencing adoption of agroforestry
- Carbon economics
9. Implementation and Whole Farm Planning
- Implementing a regenerative agriculture system
- Assessing natural components
- Analysis and planning
- Topsoil
- Water
- Determining business opportunities
- Developing a business case
- Cash flow
- High cash flow crops
- Long term crops
- Cash flow concerns
- Marketing direct to the customer
- Organic vs non organic
- Support and funding
- Goal setting and planning
- Introducing and monitoring change & Project Management
- Benefits of Sustainable change
- What factors impact on sustainability goals
- Project managing regenerative agriculture
10. Special Project (PBL) Regenerative Agricultural Enterprise Proposal
