By Oli Herrera

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

Farmers eye towards regenerative agriculture to fight dry summer

Aug 19, 2021 | 5:49 PM

VANDERHOOF—This dry summer is creating problems across the province with wildfires, but it’s also taking a toll on farmers. With the lack of rain, it’s tough for farmers to maintain their soil to produce healthy crops. On Thursday, farmers met together to discuss possible solutions.

It’s been a tough summer for rancher Larry Garrett of Garrett Ranches. One that closely resembles what he experienced a few years ago. He says that grasshoppers and the drought hurt his crop growth.

To fix this problem, Garrett has been practicing regenerative agriculture.

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“”The newest part of science is we need to add ruminates back to the ecosystem. A ruminate expels about 80% of what it eats as manure, so it’s a really key way to build soil health,” said Garrett.

A ruminate is a mammal–such as cattle–that can specially process nutrients from grass. They expel the nutrients through their manure and the nutrients return into the soil, which is a process called grazing.

This is all part of Regenerative Agriculture. A common practice that many farmers take part in.

Garrett has been practicing regenerative agriculture on his corn crops.

“The experiment with the corn is that big pile of biomass–which we’ve actually used a little bit of fertalizer and of course rain and soil to build that biomass. We’ll run that biomass through them cows and enrich the soil,” said Garrett.

This in turn creates healthier soil, creating healthier crop, and healthier foods. This practice also lowers production costs.

“Anytime we dont have to start the tractor, it’s cheap. The grazing thing we’ve done over 40 years, we figured we’ve reduced our tractor time by 25%,” said Garrett.

He’s sharing this information with other local farmers to discuss experiences and other possible methods to help with production. On Thursday, farmers met at Garrett’s field.

“That’s how we learn. Over the years, the extension services of ministry of agriculture, they used to have experimental farms, that’s all dwindled with government cutbacks. Now, the learning from one rancher to another. We can either hide our secrets or we share and we can grow and make things better for everyone,” said Alex Kulchar, Director for BC Cattlemen’s Association.

However, each farm handles different crops, weather, and soil conditions. Garrett says Thursday’s meeting served more as a roundtable discussion on what they can do to improve and help each other.