Worn-out soil is not an issue in NI

In the last few years, a number of different buzzwords have entered into the lexicon of farming, none more so than the terminology of “regenerative agriculture”.

Last Saturday saw NI’s first dedicated regenerative agriculture event (see p11) with the Fields Good festival at Glenarm, Co Antrim.

No doubt, there are many farmers interested in knowing more about the topic and there are things we can all learn around sustainable management of the soil.

But at the same time, the main principles of regenerative agriculture are already being applied in NI and it is in other parts of the world where farmers need to take on the concept. Those principles include things like avoiding ploughing, using cover and companion crops in arable rotations, and putting livestock into fields to return organic matter back to the soil.

Given 95% of agricultural land in NI is down to permanent pasture, the most of which is grazed and fertilised by livestock, we do not have the issue of depleted carbon in our soils as seen in the likes of eastern England or the US.

Problem

The keynote speaker at the Fields Good event, US rancher Greg Judy, is utilising cattle to return life to worn out soils – he is solving a problem we do not have in NI and is working in a climate completely opposite to here.

It is therefore difficult to see how DAERA could offer specific support to regenerative farming when it lacks any real point of difference from mainstream agriculture.

For those farmers who might want to go down the route of minimal chemical inputs, surely their best approach is to try to re-invigorate the organic farming movement in NI.

The market might be relatively small, but unlike regenerative farming, it is a concept that consumers understand. It is also something that has successfully availed of government support in the past.

In the Republic of Ireland, €256m has been set aside for an organic farming scheme, so there is the basis to argue for an equivalent in NI.