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More Farms Offering Farm Stays Identify as Regenerative. What Does That Mean?
Scottie Jones
3 min read
What does it mean to be regenerative and why is this word popping up in everything from travel to lifestyles to farming?
Sheep seen from the sky at White Oak Pastures
Well, it seems we have started to acknowledge that we have lost something of value. Regenerative means “able to or tending to regenerate—to regrow or be renewed or restored, especially after being damaged or lost”.
As regards farming, U.S. agriculture took a trajectory in the 20th century toward commercialization, use of chemicals, and monoculture, with an eye towards efficient mass production of commodities. The long-term, detrimental effects on the land (and the people) were not measured or challenged.
The effects began to show up in the last quarter of the 20th century and, in some ag circles, incremental changes started to be made. Today, there are a growing number of family farms focused on regenerative practices as they renew, regrow, and restore the land and a new (old) food production model.
This is what we now know. Regenerative farming can:
Chickens on pasture at The Blue Horn Farm
Which leads us to farm stays on regenerative farms. There are educational and developmental benefits of taking your child (or inner child!) to stay on a farm. What can you expect to see on regenerative farms?
Graphics courtesy of Regenerative Farmers of America
Greenhouse at Belle Meade Farm
Arial view of rotational grazing at The Blue Horn Farm
Sheep seen from the sky at White Oak Pastures
Well, it seems we have started to acknowledge that we have lost something of value. Regenerative means “able to or tending to regenerate—to regrow or be renewed or restored, especially after being damaged or lost”.
As regards farming, U.S. agriculture took a trajectory in the 20th century toward commercialization, use of chemicals, and monoculture, with an eye towards efficient mass production of commodities. The long-term, detrimental effects on the land (and the people) were not measured or challenged.
The effects began to show up in the last quarter of the 20th century and, in some ag circles, incremental changes started to be made. Today, there are a growing number of family farms focused on regenerative practices as they renew, regrow, and restore the land and a new (old) food production model.
This is what we now know. Regenerative farming can:
- Sequester carbon into the soil and help fight climate change
- Improve the nutritional quality of veggies, fruits, and even meats & dairy
- Create higher yields to grow more food on smaller areas
- Create biodiverse, resilient landscapes
- And so much more!
Chickens on pasture at The Blue Horn Farm
Which leads us to farm stays on regenerative farms. There are educational and developmental benefits of taking your child (or inner child!) to stay on a farm. What can you expect to see on regenerative farms?
- Passionate Farmers!
- Trees, cover crops, and biodiverse landscapes
- Animals grazing in pastures rather than confined in one area
- Innovative ways to work WITH nature rather than against it (actually closer to the farming methods of the native Americans and early settlers…we just think of it now as innovative because it was lost generations ago)
Graphics courtesy of Regenerative Farmers of America
Greenhouse at Belle Meade Farm
Arial view of rotational grazing at The Blue Horn Farm
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