Anya Fernald’s Post

🌱 Exciting announcement - We are joining forces with Bayer | Crop Science to drive regenerative practices in agriculture across Europe 🌱 We're delighted that Bayer will be using Sandy, our natural capital navigation software, to measure and monitor farm level carbon as part of their European Carbon Initiative. This encompasses multiple tailored projects with large companies from the food supply and agricultural value chain across several European countries, all aimed at emissions reduction and carbon sequestration. Read our latest blog to learn why Bayer has chosen Sandy's state-of-the-art platform to help ensure reliable monitoring, reporting and verification of the initiative's on-farm results. 👇 https://lnkd.in/e5R_jGDB #Regenerative #NaturalCapital #Sustainability #CarbonAccounting #CarbonReporting

I agree this article provides a good perspective on regenerative agriculture, though I wish we could improve the framing of "is it good or bad?" Making agriculture more sustainable is much more complex than other areas of climate action. It's not as simple as transitioning away from fossil fuels. Beyond GHG emissions, there are water impacts, biodiversity losses, soil health, weather considerations, the list goes on. No one single solution is going to solve for all of these things. We need to reconsider framing as a both/and, and accept that the issue is not binary and requires multifaceted solutions, of which regenerative agriculture is one. #regenerativeagriculture #sustainability #climate

This article is written by people who don't really understand the details of these practices and continue to silo practices when they are actually so varied. Covercrops are not just the inclusion of radish or turnip. To observe results, it takes more than a few years, especially after decades of soybean cultivation and extraction. The practice of covercrops is a multiyear approach with a diversity of crops (up to 17 different species) legumes, clovers vetch... restore to then regenerate. It's not a overnight solution. Imagine that you beat someone up and then leave them in the gutter. You do it again and again and then you pick them up, give them a shower, a meal and then say "ok you're all better now - go run a marathon!" That's basically what the scientists here are doing in asking the soil to be the climate solution. That person can run a marathon but they need support, conditioning, food and love. And now for someone like @Jonathan Foley ( who also doesn't let folks tag him in posts) to state this article is "a good and balanced review" is not helpful. The fact that the article then goes on to site no till practices as a solution by linking it to diesel fuel savings shows the lack of knowledge they have about what the practice is actually doing. The cow and rotational grazing piece is the one that people like Jonathan Foley is supporting, as his Ted talk and other articles he sites like to "demystify the solution." When in truth they are lumping all cows and practices together when they could not be further from one another. CAFOs' are the methane producing and degenerative systems that should go into their own catagory all together Then put standard grazing into another Then have rotational mob grazing into another. The regenerative practices that n rotaional grazing are being brought into metrics with the other two and it's so much more dynamic than that. Follow Seth Itzkan or Cate Havstad-Casad or White Oak Pastures to educate and understand. Methods practiced in different scales and with a different approach shows RA is not overhyped.

How can we begin to think more sustainably? Can industrial fossil based agriculture transform? #EarthDay #LinkedInNewsAustralia #ClimateChange #EcoFriendly #Sustainability https://lnkd.in/gjbZg3Dc?

By 2050, the world's population is expected to reach 9.7 billion, placing immense strain on food production systems. José Graziano Da Silva warns that traditional farming methods won't suffice; a "greener revolution" emphasizing sustainable agriculture is necessary. The AgTech industry, leveraging AI, is poised to lead this transformation towards more efficient and eco-friendly farming practices. https://lnkd.in/eXKUsYvF How can advancements in AI-driven agriculture balance the need for increased food production with environmental sustainability? #SustainableAgriculture #AIinAgriculture #FeedTheWorld #AgTechRevolution #ClimateSmartFarming

Evaluating the Potential of Regenerative Agriculture in Addressing Climate Change Can regenerative agriculture solve some of the issues of climate change? While proponents claim that practices such as improved soil health, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity enhancement can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to climate impacts, critics argue that the scalability, consistency, and overall effectiveness of these practices remain uncertain. Concerns about the economic viability and widespread adoption of regenerative techniques present further challenges. However, a recent study evaluated the effectiveness of seven regenerative practices for carbon sequestration, such as planting cover crops, using non-chemical fertilizers, applying pest management, integrating animals, and not tilling cropland. Remarkably, that study found that all seven practices did indeed increase carbon sequestration.

One of #Bayer’s strategic priorities is to help shape regenerative agriculture by investing in innovations that increase food production, farm incomes and climate resilience, while also protecting and restoring nature. Bayer is working on the decarbonization of the food value chain focusing on farmers’ activities and connecting them with companies from the food value chain. The idea is to reward growers for adopting regenerative agriculture practices like using cover crops, tillage reduction, crop rotations and precision nitrogen application. These activities sequester carbon in the soil while improving soil health, resilience and productivity as well as limiting emissions. #bayer #sustainableagriculture

By 2050, the world's population is expected to reach 9.7 billion, placing immense strain on food production systems. José Graziano Da Silva warns that traditional farming methods won't suffice; a "greener revolution" emphasizing sustainable agriculture is necessary. The AgTech industry, leveraging AI, is poised to lead this transformation towards more efficient and eco-friendly farming practices. https://lnkd.in/ePT4MaWN How can advancements in AI-driven agriculture balance the need for increased food production with environmental sustainability? #SustainableAgriculture #AIinAgriculture #FeedTheWorld #AgTechRevolution #ClimateSmartFarming

Talking point: The Future of Food As a regeneration advocate, especially regarding agriculture...it feels disheartening to come across opinion pieces like this one, but I'm also open minded to learn and understand other's perspectives. Can regenerative agriculture solve our future of food? I believe yes. This author seems to think regenerative agriculture means more earth destruction to make way for farmland - but does he understand that regenerative agriculture seeks to REGENERATE the land it operates within? This is a climate win, even if it means expansion. Quote from the article that stood out to me as most painful to read: "Old MacDonald-style farms where soil is nurtured with love and animals have names rather than numbers may sound environmentally friendly. But their artisanal grains and grass-fed beef are worse for nature than chemical-drenched corn and feedlot-fattened beef because they require much more land for each calorie they produce." https://lnkd.in/dSBgqeRQ

The journey has already begun. Farmers around the world are transitioning to regenerative agriculture right now. We might not have all the solutions yet to deliver a full-fledged regenerative agricultural system for every farm in every region, but the benefits are already visible even with only a contour of such a system. Brazilian farms participating in Bayer’s PROCarbono Program are living and thriving examples of this. They are pioneers fighting climate change, fostering soil health and achieving higher yields all at the same time. Learn more about #RegenerativeAgriculture and the impressive outcomes achieved today in #LatinAmerica by Maurício Rodrigues: https://lnkd.in/edbBE7ja