Align Your Team For Regenerative Ag Changes
By Kathy Meyer
The term regenerative agriculture includes many conservation practices, but it doesn’t have a specific recipe. As a result, successful adoption is driven by the mindset of farmers and their team of employees.
Here’s some advice from Liz Haney, co-owner of Soil Regen and an ecosystem scientist based in Salado, Texas: “When shifting to more regenerative agricultural practices, you don’t need to do everything at once. Perhaps the lead farmer wants to make changes, and the person can’t do it by themself. He or she will need to bring the leaders of their employee team on board and include their trusted advisers.”
To onboard employees and a team, a good approach is to explain why there are changes being made, she says. Team members need to feel ownership and be involved in the transitions.
“It will make transitions easier and help team members get their heart into it,” Haney says. “This is especially true in larger farming systems. Collaboration with your team is key.”
New To The Neighborhood
Leading your team in your vision for using different agronomic practices might require building out your own professional network.
“Sometimes your neighbors may not be focusing on regenerative ag. Know that you aren’t working in a silo. Other people are pursuing this,” Haney says. “Seek out resources in regenerative ag community groups online, webinars and educational events.”
She says the first steps are foundational: Start with your soil test, keep your focus on your local agronomic conditions and be willing to try new things.
Mistakes Aren’t Setbacks
Progress might take time. To keep your team’s measure of success calibrated, make sure they have an awareness for the short-term and long-term goals.
“A goal of regenerative agriculture is to make measured improvements to soil health,” says Lauren Brey, managing director, Farmers for Sustainable Food, Green Bay, Wis. “Collect data and learn from your successes and failures. This creates a ripple effect of positive benefits across the land and for the farmer or rancher’s profitability. Use your data to quantify impact on your land beyond yield.”
She says other metrics to consider are greenhouse gas emissions, carbon and water quality.
How Soil Health Pays Off
“When you look at the big picture, ultimately regenerative agriculture practices will increase the value of your land over time,” says Jerry Hatfield, consultant and former agricultural research service laboratory director for Agriculture and the Environment, Ames, Iowa.
He says the benefits of the changes include building organic matter, improved nutrient cycling, better nutrient availability, improved water availability and less erosion.
“Efforts to improve soil health through regenerative ag practices will positively impact profitability over time,” Hatfied says. “The more you make a field uniform with regenerative farming practices, you can increase overall yield and productivity — the low-yielding parts of the field will disappear. Low-yielding parts of the field are where you lose money.”
Farm Manager of the Year Offers Solid Advice |
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If you’re a tenant talking to your landlord, Skye Root has some advice. Root, the 2023 Farm Manager of the Year for the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA), works with farmers across the U.S. to offer suggestions about implementing new or different agronomic practices. “I advise producers to start small and have a conversation with your landlords to explain why changes are being made,” says Root, who is based in Boise, Idaho. “Keep an open-minded attitude to let landowners know why. Many people tend to say what they are doing and not why. Get to the why.” The goal is to establish an ethos with your farming partner — the landlord. “It may be difficult to suggest that it’s going to cost an extra $25 per acre to start a new regenerative practice. Explain why it’s going to increase the productivity and value of their land. You can open the conversation for negotiation,” Root says. Just as every relationship and every farm are different as it varies across the country, he points out that the concept of regenerative agriculture can be interpreted differently, depending on the circumstances of the farm. From his view, it’s advantageous to show how it’s about practicing conservation and sustainability, while also achieving profitability. “For some people, it may be savings or improved productivity through better soil health, or it could be saving money on irrigation. Ultimately, it’s about improving the intrinsic value of the land,” he says. Root emphasizes the landlord relationship as a key measure of success in a farmer’s regenerative ag journey. “Producers learn the most through networking, trial and error. Track your progress with data, learn from it, and make incremental changes,” he says. |
Long-Term lens
The cultural changes add up to biological changes.
“I realized several years ago that soil health and human health go hand-in-hand,” says Jeremiah Durbin, crop consultant based in Winchester, Ohio.
Durbin works with farmers around the U.S. to manage farmland. He says he’s seen how changing agronomic practices improves soil biology, crop quality and the surrounding environment.
“I encourage farmers to reset their thinking beyond achieving high yields. Take a look at fostering biodiversity and keep living roots growing throughout the year to increase the density of soil nutrients. Better soil health results in more nutrient-dense food, and it’s the core of using regenerative farming practices.”
Climate change can also be mitigated by regenerative farming practices, Hatfield says.
“For example, keeping the soil covered and limiting tillage intensity can keep soil temperatures at less than 85°F versus 120°F to 130°F, which can happen in the Midwest and other parts of the country,” he adds.
External Demand Creation
There’s human-led demand for a higher focus on soil health. “Supply chain buyers, landlords and your local community are interested in these metrics, too,” Brey says. “There are the resources that can help you be a good steward of the land and follow a path of regenerative ag practices to increase sustainability and profitability.”
Successfully aligning your goals with team adoption for in-field practices and outcomes is paramount. As such, the teamwork toward regenerative agriculture can positively change your land, including its productivity, its value and its resilience.
