According to the UN, approximately one-third of the world’s soils are already degraded. This degradation reduces soil fertility, making it increasingly difficult to grow food, and contributes to a vicious cycle of escalating fertilizer use and widespread erosion. The leading causes of soil degradation are monoculture farming, the overuse of chemical inputs, and improper tillage practices.
Principles of regenerative agriculture
Regenerative agriculture is a farming approach that focuses on rebuilding soil health, enhancing biodiversity, improving water cycles, and increasing the resilience of ecosystems in the face of climate change. Unlike sustainable farming, which seeks to maintain the current condition of the soil, regenerative agriculture aims to actively improve soil health over time.
The foundation of regenerative agriculture lies in enhancing soil health. This involves, among others, creating nutrient cycles that don’t rely heavily on synthetic fertilizers, improving soil’s water retention capacity and soil structure. These goals can be achieved through practices such as:
- Better farming and tillage techniques, direct sowing, minimal tillage
- The use of cover crops to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere,
- Crop rotation
- Proper use of organic fertilisers and composting
Challenges in regenerative agriculture
One of the challenges in regenerative agriculture is that the positive changes in soil health happen slowly, making it difficult to assess the effectiveness of any given practice over a short period, sometimes even within a few years. Unlike conventional farming, where changes like crop yield improvements or pest reduction can be observed within a single season, regenerative practices often require a longer timeline for benefits to fully emerge. This can be discouraging for farmers who may hope to see quicker results from their efforts and investments. The lack of immediate feedback makes it challenging to gauge whether specific techniques, such as reduced tillage or cover cropping, are having the intended impact on soil health.
Paul-Tech’s solution
This is where the Paul-Tech system becomes a game-changer. With Paul-Tech’s soil sensors, we can directly measure changes in the soil that are often too subtle to detect with the naked eye. The system’s soil nutrient readings provide insights into the efficiency of nutrient cycling without the use of synthetic fertilizers. Paul-Tech enables us to track improvements in the soil nitrification process with numerical data. This shows how soil bacteria convert nitrogen into NO3-N, a form plants can use.
Additionally, by monitoring soil water values, we can instantly observe changes in soil’s water retention and drainage capacity due to different tillage methods. Improving the soil water regime is especially important due to the increasing water shortage during the growing season.
Data-driven decision-making
With the Paul-Tech system, farmers can make decisions about the effectiveness of regenerative practices based on actual measurements. This approach not only accelerates soil restoration but also helps farmers adjust practices for optimal outcomes.
Explore our clients’ success stories, or book a free demo to see how Paul-Tech can make a difference. Together, we can create healthier soils and a more sustainable future.