Regenerative Organic Agriculture Improves Soil & Fights Inequity – See How This Farm Is Pioneering the Practice

An immediate feeling of warmth and enchantment came over me as I made my way through the mulberry and olive trees between the old farmhouse and the cobb wood-fired oven at The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano, California. I took in abundant flora wandering through the Children’s Center. It felt like a secret garden. This was the area where The Ecology Center was first established, a now 14-year-old edible food forest.

The Ecology Center’s mission is to serve the region as both a farm and educational center. They are pioneers in what’s called Regenerative Organic Agriculture (ROA). In short, ROA focuses on the long-term health of the land in lieu of short-term profits. It rejects many of industrial agriculture’s detrimental practices, which have led to a loss of genetic crop diversity, inequitable working conditions, and have contributed to climate change.

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El movimiento ecológico de la UE advierte contra el greenwashing

IFOAM Organics Europe advierte contra el mal uso de declaraciones, etiquetas o iniciativas de comunicación sobre productos alimenticios, que contribuyen al greenwashing y dificultan la transición agroecológica hacia sistemas alimentarios sostenibles. Las afirmaciones y las etiquetas en los paquetes van desde la agricultura regenerativa, local, hasta la ecológica. Sin embargo, no todo lo que reluce es oro, o verde en este caso, y el creciente uso del término “agricultura regenerativa” es un buen ejemplo.

Si bien el razonamiento y el método de cultivo detrás de un reclamo como “regenerativo” pueden tener las mejores intenciones, se usa del mismo modo para propósitos de greenwashing. El movimiento europeo de agricultura y alimentos ecológico acoge con beneplácito la adopción de algunas prácticas regenerativas en la agricultura convencional y espera cooperar con actores regenerativos serios. Sin embargo, IFOAM Organics Europe está preocupado porque el uso del término está tomando formas que socavan el significado, los objetivos y el potencial de la agricultura regenerativa, incluida la agricultura ecológica.

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ASEED Europe Newsletter

Dear friend, comrade and supporter,

After a long cold winter, spring is finally here and we are very excited about it! We are planing more outside events in the coming months to be able to enjoy the nice weather and do more hands-on farming activities. The preparations for our biggest project of the year, the Food Autonomy Festival #7, have started and we can’t wait!

We continue to focus more on our Fossil Free Agriculture campaign, by trying to dismantle colonial, patriarchal, destructive food systems that destroy life! Enemy nr.1 remains, of course, YARA, Europe’s biggest nitrogen fertilizer company that is greenwashing their dirty practices more than ever.

Enjoy reading our newsletter, and we hope to see you soon at one of our upcoming events!

Love & Rage,
the ASEED team

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Rodale Institute, KWU y Quail Creek Family Farms se asocian para ampliar el acceso a la educación sobre agricultura orgánica regenerativa en el estado de Sunflower

Rodale Institute, una organización mundial sin fines de lucro dedicada a la investigación y la educación, está uniendo fuerzas con Universidad de Kansas Wesleyan y Quail Creek Family Farms (QCFF) para aumentar la programación educativa en Kansas centrada en modelos de agricultura orgánica regenerativa. Las prioridades de las organizaciones incluyen el desarrollo de un centro acreditado con sede en Kansas Rodale Institute Programa de Capacitación de Agricultores (RIFT), que establece un Rodale Institute Centro Regional de Recursos en Salina, Kansas y exploración de sitios potenciales para una instalación de producción local de la granja a la institución.

“Rodale Institute se compromete a ampliar las oportunidades para la próxima generación de agricultores estadounidenses e invertir en las comunidades agrícolas del país”, dijo Rodale Institute Director ejecutivo Jeff Moyer. “A través de este esfuerzo conjunto, Rodale Institute, Kansas Wesleyan University y Quail Creek Family Farms construirán una cartera de agricultores capacitados en prácticas agrícolas orgánicas regenerativas y establecerán un centro para la educación e innovación agrícola en Kansas”.

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Grassroots Solutions to the Global Food Crisis

In 2008, numerous experts -– from peasants to policy  makers – warned of a “perfect storm” of crises in the industrial food system. Our movements had already been raising the alarm about growing corporate control, financialization of food, resource grabbing, economic injustice, and destruction of the territories of small-scale food producers by large scale commodity agriculture, deeply dependant on fossil fuels and other mined inputs. Fifteen years later we see that crises are a recurrent phenomenon in the capitalist food system. Intensifying environmental impacts, resource wars and conflicts, rising debt, structural injustices and inequalities are compounding the effects on our peoples.

Food sovereignty remains our answer to the food crisis. Now more than ever our communities and countries need to focus on agroecological food production. As this edition shows, we have a multitude of praxis and political proposals for solutions, but we need to build our power to fight the extractive and profit driven corporations from overtaking our food system.

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La agroecología debe abrirse a otras dimensiones del cambio

Después de su última edición en 2021 en formato telemático, el Congreso Internacional de Agroecología, un evento muy consolidado y que supera el ámbito académico, retoma la presencialidad en un momento en el que, como dijo Ana Pinto ―del colectivo de jornaleras de Huelva― en una de las mesas, parece que hay más investigaciones sobre campesinado que campesinado. En el Estado español asistimos a momentos muy duros para los proyectos agroecológicos y vemos cómo cierran incluso algunos que han sido referente durante años, tanto de producción como de consumo. A esto se suman los efectos ya evidentes de la crisis climática sobre la agricultura, la incertidumbre sobre los precios de la energía y de las materias primas y la crisis alimentaria.

«La inseguridad alimentaria ya está en Europa, no es algo del futuro. La crisis energética en Reino Unido ha provocado que muchas personas no coman porque priorizan sus recursos para la energía», denuncia Michel Pimbert, profesor de la Universidad de Coventry.

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Ground Covers and Weed Management for Regenerative Farming and Ranching

This excerpt is from André Leu’s book Growing Life: Regenerating Farming and Ranching, and is reprinted with permission from the publisher.

A neighbor once asked me, “When are you going to spray out all your weeds?”

I replied, “Never, because we do not have any weeds. They are all cover crops that give us multiple benefits, such as increasing soil fertility, better water infiltration, and pest and disease control.”

Of course, he did not understand a word I said.

NATURE FIGHTS AGAINST BARE GROUND

Bare ground is the best way to encourage weeds, as most weeds are pioneer species. They rapidly germinate to cover disturbed and bare ground. Nature always regenerates disturbed soil by rapidly covering it with plants. Weeds are nature’s way of healing disturbed soil. Living plants feed the soil microbiome with the molecules of life so they can regenerate healthy soil.

This is the cover crop on our farm after the summer rainy season. The mixture of grasses and legumes are around 10 feet (3 meters) high, producing tons of rich organic matter, nitrogen, and other nutrients— the molecules of life—to feed the soil microbiome and our cash crops. Our neighbors regard these as out-of-control weeds and wonder why we don’t spray to stop them from growing so we can have “nice bare ground.”

Our current weed management strategies are designed to fight this powerful force of nature, and they are the reason most farmers are constantly battling weeds.

Instead, we must learn to harness this powerful force of regeneration by turning weeds into cover crops that give us multiple benefits.

Covering ground is the best way to prevent weeds, and the most logical way to do this is with ground cover species that benefit our cash crop.

The Concepts of Mutualism and Synergy

We need to throw away simplistic, reductionist approaches to agriculture. The natural world is complex and dynamic.

The simplistic dogma that all plants other than the cash crop are weeds that compete with the crop and lower yields is not correct. This dogma originated more than 10,000 years ago in the neolithic age when farming first started. Science and technology have progressed considerably since then, yet, remarkably, mainstream industrial agriculture is still stuck in neolithic mythologies when it comes to weed management.

The current ecological and biological sciences show a very different picture. In many cases, plants are mutualistic and synergistic. Mutualism is where two species assist each other and both benefit. Synergy is when this benefit is greater than the sum of the whole. Instead of 1+1 = 2—the usual result of addition—in synergy, 1+1 = 3 or 4 or much more. The benefits of the species working together are significantly greater than simple reductionist monocultures. Examples of this will be given later in this chapter.

The current dogma on weed management has led to some of the most destructive practices in agriculture, resulting in massive soil loss, the decline in beneficial soil biology, and the residues of toxic chemicals in our food, bodies, water, air, and environment.

Standard agronomy says that all plants that are not cash crops are weeds because they are competing for nutrients and water and therefore lead to lower yields. But instead of taking the reductionist approach of “nuking” all weeds with either tillage or herbicides, we can take a holistic, ecological approach to managing them. We can turn them into beneficial cover crops that will improve our cash crops!

Avoid Bare Soil

Weeds can be one of the most significant problems in many farming systems, but weed management causes some of the biggest mistakes in agriculture.

Bare soil must be avoided as much as possible because it increases water loss through transpiration and leads to increased soil erosion due to wind and water. Significantly, bare soil wastes all the solar energy that falls onto it. Soils need to be covered with living plants as much as possible to avoid these problems.

Nature hates bare soil and will do its best to cover it with plants. When these plants are not our cash crop, farmers often regard them as weeds and perpetually fight them. Remember the basis of regeneration? When an ecosystem is disturbed, nature will regenerate it once the disturbance stops. Instead of fighting nature, let’s work with it to make this powerful force work for us.

Managing Weeds

There are numerous methods to manage weeds. Currently, the spraying of toxic herbicides is the main weed control strategy in industrial agriculture. This has replaced the range of methods used in the past. Those management systems were far broader than just tillage, however much of this knowledge has been lost to the current generations of industrial farmers.

A range of new methods is being used to manage weeds, based on the current understanding of plant physiology and ecology. These systems use applied agroecology to increase biodiversity to manage weeds.

This chapter will cover both the new and traditional methods of weed control. It is important to understand that regenerative farming is about weed management rather than weed eradication.

Regenerative farming not only develops an approach to minimize weed problems so that weeds do not adversely affect the crop; it can integrate weed management into the whole-of-farm management system so that weeds can become cover crops and insectaries to increase the yield and quality of the cash crop. (Insectaries are covered in Chapter 4.)

Two important concepts to introduce are cash crops and cover crops. Cash crops are those crops that can be sold, traded, or eaten as agricultural produce. Cover crops, or ground covers, are crops that are managed to increase soil fertility and health, resulting in higher yields and quality in the cash crop.

The best management systems convert weeds into useful ground covers that should be seen as cover crops. Cover crops generate numerous benefits for the main crops. We are turning weeds from plants that have negative impacts on our crops into plants that assist our crops. In fact, in our systems, the larger the weed, the more organic matter it can produce and, when properly managed, the more benefits it can generate for our soil and cash crops.

Keep reading about Weed Management with your own copy of Growing Life – available at the Acres U.S.A. Bookstore!

Original article in Eco Farming Daily

Agricultura orgánica regenerativa y voluntad política para hacer crecer el movimiento

Michael Andrew pregunta a los expertos qué podría significar para el medio ambiente, la economía y la participación de Nueva Zelanda en un mercado global floreciente.

Un  dosel enredado de las escuelas verdes, los agujeros fiscales, las filtraciones de partidos y otras controversias preelectorales, a menudo puede ser difícil notar los nuevos brotes de nuevas políticas que se levantan para recibir un poco de luz solar. A veces son radicales, apoyados por un solo partido y prometen silenciosamente un cambio fundamental pero desesperadamente necesario en algún nicho de la sociedad.

Lo que es único sobre la gama de políticas agrícolas orgánicas y regenerativas es que, aunque podrían ofrecer una transformación radical de la industria agrícola de Nueva Zelanda, las encontrará mencionadas en no menos de las declaraciones previas a las elecciones de seis partidos.

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Village Head Wins Regenerative Farming Award

Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter

VILLAGE head for Ndlovu village outside Victoria Falls, Mr Abel Ndlovu is leading his subjects by example after he won the farmer of the year in Kachechete ward.
This comes after the community embraced the concept of regeneration pioneered by Igugu Trust, to revitalise communities to enhance their livelihoods through sustainable use of soils, pastures, forests and small grains.

Photo credit: IGugu Trust

Igugu trust was formed in 2017 to encourage care and well-being for communities and all living systems, and for the soil by providing trainings to Hwange community and other organizations on regeneration. The concept envisions a future with communal food sovereignty, individuals that are proud of their roots, deeply connected to their source of life, soil health, food systems, human health, climate health and economic viability, all dovetailing with the Second Republic’s vision for an upper middle income society by 2030.
Igugu Trust introduced the boma concept, where an un-transparent canvas sail is used to make a pen balanced on poles for the perimeter with the canvas is put right round.
Farmers tour Mr and Mrs Ndlovu’s field

Photo credit: IGugu Trust

Farmers tour Mr and Mrs Ndlovu’s field
This has helped re-fertilise fields that had become less productive due to over-farming and erosion.
Cattle are penned in a boma in the field to add manure to the soil.
Working with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Igugu Trust is promoting sustainable farming on 292 households in BH8, BH9, BH23, BH24 and BH25.
The objectives of the programme is to refertilise fields, encourage planting of small grains and multiply them through sharing seeds, encouraging youth participation, improving quality of life and foster development and food security for both people and animals.
The programme also encourages business cooperation, cultural development, building a future resource base and ultimately remove dependency on donors.

Photo credit: IGugu Trust

Mr Ndlovu, who is chairperson of all village heads in Ndlovu,  and his wife Ms Josephine Ncube started using the boma concept in November last year and on planting and used intercropping where they put together maize, groundnuts, cow peas and pumpkins which provided live mulching and reduced weeds.
“I feel very happy and uplifted to be the winner. When the programme came through I embraced it which shows that as a leader I am following guidelines given to us by experts.
“We have advocated for the programme to be embraced by everyone so that it works for us all. I once won as a farmer but I stopped serious farming when my field because infertile. When they brought the boma concept I reluctantly took it up and today it has given me results,|” said Mr Ndlovu.
He said he was happy that his subjects will be food secure through the concept.
The winning couple was given mash wire to fence their homestead as part of its prize.

Photo credit: IGugu Trust

Kachechete councilor Givemeagain Moyo shakes hands with one of Dimbangombe directors at a field day organised by Igugu Trust and Agritex
Senior Agritex officer in Hwange West Mr Memory Sibanda said judges focused on use of proper soil fertility management, land preparation plant population, timeliness of operations, weed management, record keeping and using conservation farming.
Igugu Trust founder and lead facilitator Mrs Precious Phiri said the idea was to create communities that are resilient.
“The whole concept is about regeneration where we are saying lets sustainably use our forests so that our cattle get grazing pastures which in turn will give us manure through use of bomas and ultimately we get good yields. Regeneration covers every aspect of life including us having to live in harmony and together in life,” she said.
Kachechete ward 3 councillor Givemeagain Moyo said development comes in a food secure community where everyone’s energy is directed to projects.

Monthly Newsletter – Vía Orgánica

For organic regenerative agriculture, fair trade,
social justice, sustainable living and sustainable production 

Seeds

At the Vía Orgánica Ranch-School we practice and promote regenerative agriculture from seeds. We have been working with open pollinated seeds for more than 13 years. The team that is currently in charge of seed production and conservation is formed by Maye García and her sister Rosita. Thanks to their work, more than 52 species of vegetable seeds, flowers, herbs and more are preserved.

Seed Production

To produce our seeds we start with another open pollinated seeds that we obtain in ecological fairs or in exchange with growers. When the crop targeted is going to produce seeds, we take care of its irrigation and fertilizer. We wait for the crop to mature, and we let it flower. During this process, insects arrive to participate in the pollination process along with the wind. When the flower has been pollinated and the seed begins to develop and mature, Maye and Rosita are on the lookout of the precise moment to collect the seeds, taking into account the selection of the best, the healthiest and even the tastiest plants. 

Seed Conservation

Once seeds were collected from different plants, the drying process begins. Sometimes the girls use completely dry ash, sometimes epazote or dried herbs to preserve the seeds. They are kept in glass jars with their name, variety and date of collection. These jars are placed in a small seed house built of adobe to keep the seeds longer for their freshness.

The best way to maintain our seeds is to sow them every time they are in season, this way you update the climatic information of the place where they grow and redesign their capacity of tolerance and adaptability.

We invite you to see our seed conservation workshop and do not hesitate to visit us.

Come visit the Agroecological Park, located in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Learn how an ecological farm is managed in action. You can ask for our guided tour, rent bicycles, packages with lodging, restaurant service, workshops and activities for kids and adults. Come with your family, friends or school.

Walk the trails and stations of the ranch, know the ideal spaces for your events, meetings, retreats, trainings and more; ask for our packages.

This season you are on time! Purchase your open pollinated seeds now and start your garden or make a nice gift. Don’t stop planting, the best season to produce vegetables, flowers, herbs, etc. is just beginning. We also have organic fertilizers for sale to improve your soil and the development of your plants.

Visit our seed production and conservation workshop.

Billion Agave Project
Infographics

Seasonal Crops

Recipe of the month

Nopalitos de cerro salad
(Cactus from the hill salad)

Ingredients: 
– 5 nopales de cerro
– 1 tender onion from the garden with tail
– 5 sprigs of coriander

Procedure

With the help of a grill or comal, roast the previously peeled and cleaned nopales. 
Cut them into squares and add them to a container, chop the onion with a little tail, chop the cilantro and add a pinch of grain salt and a few drops of olive oil. 
Accompany your nopales in a nixtamalized tortilla with a good ranch cheese, a Creole avocado in season or some pot beans. 

Meet Our Producers

Producers of Xichu

In the north of the state of Guanajuato you can find a beautiful place where several families keep their fruit orchards, one of them is the family of Mrs. Virginia who keeps her delicious and juicy apples with a special flavor among other fruits such as citrus, pears, peaches and even very tasty apple bananas. You can find all these fruits every week at the Vía Orgánica store and at the organic market in San Miguel. Come and learn more about Virginia and her family.

Inspirations

Opposition to transgenic foods, Peasant Struggle and Mother Earth.

These themes have their international days in the month of April. The Day of Opposition to GMO Food will be on the 8th, the International Day of Peasant Struggle is celebrated on the 17th and the World Day of Mother Earth on the 22nd. These are days that represent very important struggles that directly affect all of us and our Agroecological Ranch Vía Orgánica.

We share with you this documentary entitled The World According to Monsanto that covers these issues and more, a work that explains our struggle and the importance of our project and many more that focus on teaching GMO-free agroecological methods that can be replicated around the world.

April Activities
May Activities

EVERY FRIDAY WE TAKE YOU TO THE VÍA ORGÁNICA RANCH!

*Includes transportation, food, mini tour of the orchard, and demonstration of making tamales. 
RESERVE ON THE FOLLOWING PHONES: 
Office: 44 2757 0441
Whatsapp: 41 5151 4978 

DON’T FORGET TO VISIT US!

Remember that we are open from 8 am to 6 pm
Carretera México/ Querétaro, turnoff  to Jalpa, km 9
Agroecological Park Vía Orgánica.
For information on our products, seeds and harvest,
call our store at 442 757 0490.
Every Saturday and Sunday nixtamalized tortilla with Creole and local corn!
Enjoy our sweet and sour kale chips for children and not so children!

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