Regenerative Grazing Study Reveals Trade-Offs for Sheep Farmers
A new Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) study has found that while regenerative agriculture practices can improve soil health and reduce emissions on sheep farms, farmers often face trade-offs between environmental and economic goals. The article, “Regenerative agriculture improves productivity and profitability while reducing greenhouse gas emissions on Australian sheep farms,” has been published in Nature Food.
The study is a collaboration between TIA and Cranfield University in the United Kingdom. Over two years, the project closely examined regenerative agriculture practices on Australian sheep farms and the impact on boosting farm productivity and profit, improvements to soil carbon, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Regenerative agriculture is a broad philosophy that can include several practices, such as high stocking rates with livestock animals regularly rotated across paddocks, increasing plant and animal biodiversity, planting trees in grazing areas, reducing soil disturbance and avoiding use of synthetic fertilizers.