Regenerative agriculture prioritizes the health of the soil that sustains food crops. Coverdale Farm Preserve shows the way.
By Alexis Dempsey
At Coverdale Farm in Greenville, a small herd of cows plods through the grass as they graze in a large meadow. Outside a mobile chicken house, the birds scratch and peck at the ground in search of feed.
The action of all those hooves and claws aerates the soil, which is stabilized and nourished by a system of roots of perennial plants. The roots also store carbon dioxide that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. They also stabilize soils, which prevents erosion and sedimentation of local creeks. The soil filters rainwater as it trickles through the ground and, eventually, into our waterways and groundwater supply, which helps to keep the water clean and healthy.
These are just a few of the techniques and methods of regenerative agriculture, a philosophy and practice that aims to sustain the health of soils so that they remain productive and nourish healthy foods.
Regenerative agriculture is, says farm manager Michele Wales Quinlan, “the highest mountain that we want to climb as farmers in the world of ecological agriculture.”
It’s All About Soil
The term regenerative agriculture can have a place-based definition that is unique to the location and natural resources of the farms where it is practiced, Wales Quinlan says, but it is generally described as preserving the foundation of agriculture—soil—in a way that strengthens whole ecosystems.
At Coverdale, production of food is important, but sustaining soil integrity comes first. “Here, we’re producing vegetables, flowers, eggs, pasture turkeys, pastured eggs, but we say we’re farmers of the soil. That’s what we think about first,” says Wales Quinlan. “Our practices and our methodology are all about restoring and replenishing the natural resources.”
The practices of regenerative agriculture are very different from the monoculture of large farms that plant vast expanses of the same crop year after year, depleting the soil of nutrients and requiring replenishment with chemical fertilizers or manure.
Monoculture can also lead to the degradation of waterways and groundwater supplies by loading them with excess nutrients from fertilizers, causing large blooms of algae and plants that rob the water of oxygen that fish and other aquatic life forms need to live.
In contrast, Coverdale’s farmers ensure they have living perennial root systems everywhere possible, from fields to pastures, to decrease and possibly eliminate soil erosion. Those roots also store carbon, “one way of helping to mitigate the effects of climate change,” Wales Quinlan notes. And perennial grasses that feed livestock and provide habitat for various wildlife species.
Coverdale combines regenerative agriculture with Delaware Nature Society’s other work in conservation and education to share its knowledge and experience.
Spreading the Word
The best way to successfully promote regenerative agriculture to larger farms, Wales Quinlan says, is peer to peer.
“State and federal government agencies like departments of agriculture, conservation districts, and natural resources conservation services offer one-to-one representatives that come to your farm and help you create site-specific plans to help you employ conservation practices on your farm,” says Wales Quinlan.
The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) and the Rodale Institute also provide education and research on regenerative agriculture. “PASA has been a powerhouse non-profit organization that provides endless learning opportunities, advocates for funding, research, and offers an annual conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania,” Wales Quinlan says.
Coverdale offers a farm apprentice program that takes participants through a full growing cycle to demonstrate how to run a regenerative farm. The farm also offers educational programs for anyone interested in learning about farm work. There’s a teaching kitchen and a family program, Chicken Tenders,” that teachers participants about raising poultry be sending them home with chicks to care for for two weeks, says Wales Quinlan.
Programs such as these are important, Wales Quinlan says. “Our populations are growing, and we need to continue to produce food, but if we don’t change the way we produce food, we will continue to degrade our environment. And we will not be able to get it back. We have got to begin to restore and replenish these natural resources. We cannot continue to farm in an irresponsible way.”
Wales Quinlan says that it is possible to scale up regenerative practices for larger farms through to enhance or increase biodiversity above and below ground, manage soil and water effectively, improve and preserve carbon and water retention in the soil, and adapt for maximum resiliency and economic growth.
“There are simple steps that can be taken to begin working towards the environmental goals while still evolving your farm goals,” Wales Quinlan says. “Over time the environmental and agricultural goals align for a more fluid system. Working with nature is where patience and keen observation is required and the ability to adapt your plan from season to season.”
Coverdale Farm Preserve is trying to show that this form of farming can be successful financially while also being more beneficial for the environment and consumers. They are currently working on determining ways for farmers to use regenerative agriculture practices to make viable wages.
This also coincides with the accessibility of products from the farm.
“It’s important for people to understand where their food comes from, but it’s also important for us to make good food like this accessible for everyone,” Wales Quinlan says. “It’s expensive for us to produce this type of food, but we’ve got to make sure that there are pathways through partnerships with our government and other organizations that [allow our products to be] accessible to everyone, because everyone deserves good food.”
Learn More
Learn more about Coverdale Farm Preserve, including hours for the Marketplace.