Regenerative Insights - from a Farm Tour
In October, our team had the opportunity to visit a wonderful regenerative farm here in California, and got a close-up look at the five key principles that constitute a regenerative agriculture system:
Keep the Ground Covered - Use cover crops to keep orchard floors covered. Cover crops are non cash crops that cover the soil between two cash crops. Cover crops shield the soil and enrich it with beneficial nutrients.
No Till/Minimal Till - Tilling disturbs the natural chemical and physical properties of the soil. By avoiding this practice, the structural and chemical integrity of the soil remains untouched and provides the healthiest soil for the almond trees
No Synthetic Pesticides, Herbicides or Fungicides - The use of these chemicals not only disturbs the soil chemistry, but they also can be harmful non-target organisms
The particular farm we visited saw caterpillars on a farm that had not seen them for years. It was a sign that the ecosystem was slowly returning to its former state.
Integrate Livestock - They used sheep to graze the orchards and contribute to the soil fertility as well - a symbiotic relationship that promotes biodiversity of the land
Increase Biodiversity - By including cover crop between the orchard rows, this farm increases the vegetational biodiversity. By including sheep into the orchards, they increase the overall biodiversity of the farm’s ecosystem.
If you are interested in purchasing regenerative agriculture almond products, reach out to us!
