Agriculture is a powerful force in shaping our planet. It contributed to both the rise of modern civilization and some of the largest challenges humanity faces like climate change, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation. However, with approximately 45% of the land in the United States dedicated to agriculture, it can serve as a way to regenerate ecosystem functions and services it has eroded. Farmers are turning to ‘regenerative agriculture’ as a way to restore agroecosystems and to create a cultural shift in what agriculture can be. While there is anecdotal evidence of the benefits of regenerative agriculture, more evidence is needed to create a robust understanding of the impacts of regenerative agriculture on the land, farm financial health, and farmer personal wellbeing.
Here, we aim to understand the long-term impacts of transitioning fields from conventional practices to regenerative practices on real farms. We are monitoring the changes in soil C, soil health, and invertebrate and bird biodiversity over ten years on 28 fields in 12 farms spread throughout 5 states (MN, WI, IL, NE, MT). Our study also monitors financial health and personal wellbeing, but here we focus on the ecological indicators. I will also present a case study of a farm where we sampled a reference pasture site to understand the ecological potential of their land.
Our study currently provides baseline data for understanding the holistic changes to farms transitioning land to regenerative practices. This data provides a unique opportunity to understand changes to real farms where farmers are faced with management decisions that not only impact the ecology of the land but also their own livelihoods - a factor missing in most field trials of agricultural practices.
