Our Philosophy + Regenerative Agriculture
As you look around the property, you may notice a few owl boxes poking up here and there. The owl boxes are a part of our holistic approach to farming. We are utilizing regenerative growing techniques and hope to be certified regenerative growers in the future.
What is regenerative agriculture?
We, and others, see regenerative agriculture as “an approach to agriculture which focuses on improving and revitalizing soil health. Poor soil stewardship has led to a decrease in topsoil available for food production. Because conventional farming practices have stripped so much carbon from the soil, regenerative ag now exists as a potential carbon sink to take in excess carbon contributing to climate change. The best way to enact this strategy is through sustainable agriculture practices like carbon farming.
Carbon farming is the practice of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting it into plant material and the organic matter that makes up soil. Carbon farming works through agricultural methods such as reduced tilling (or disturbing the soil), using organic mulch, composting, rotating livestock, and cover cropping to allow carbon sequestration to occur in the soil. A growing number of sustainable farmers are adopting these regenerative practices to mitigate climate change while producing healthful, delicious food for their communities.
The core principles of regenerative agriculture include:
- No-till farming: Growing crops without disturbing the soil to reduce erosion, improve soil health, and retain soil carbon
- Cover the soil: Exposed, unprotected soil gets baked by the sun, and all the beneficial microbes are killed off or removed when the soil is uncovered. Cover crops protect the soil, keeping it cooler, helping it retain moisture, providing an opportunity for beneficial insects to reside in the plants while the roots can feed the animals and microbes underground.
- Roots in the soil: Cultivating perennial plants allows us to have roots in the soil year-round. Additionally, cover crops help keep roots in the soil, a common saying among regenerative ag proponents. Roots in the ground help aerate the soil, and if the correct crops are putting down roots, they can provide the needed nutrients to improve the soil.
- Use of livestock: Sheep are the most common livestock used in vineyards. We integrate sheep into our vineyard farming practices seasonally as a method of natural soil fertilization.
- Diversity: Monocultures are detrimental to local ecosystems. Cover cropping and integrating native plants into our farming system have helped alleviate the stress of monoculture perennials by providing diverse habitats.
