ENVR 1302 - Macy

  1.0 Introduction to Regenerative Agriculture Regenerative agriculture is a sustainable, alternative form of agriculture that focuses on soil health, animal welfare, laborers, and farmers (Patagonia, 2020a). This method takes organic farming and builds on it with the goal of sequestering carbon and in effect, reversing the impacts of climate change. In this way, regenerative agriculture attempts to work with nature to ensure that future generations may also prosper and maintain the ability to grow their food (Patagonia, 2020b). It has five major principles which include: 1) maximizing solar plant cycle, 2) increasing water cycle, 3) increasing nutrient cycling, 4) plant diversity, and 5) change of mindset (Envr Cowboy, 2019). This practice, which started with about 150 farmers in India, has proved incredibly efficient, but in order to see the necessary change to save our planet, there needs to be systems level change as well (Patagonia, 2020c).   2.0 Explore the Facts  Soil, specifica

History of Agriculture Pre-Modern Agriculture Animals require nutrients to survive Most populations originally nomadic hunters and gatherers Change from hunting and gathering to more complex systems happened 10,000 yrs ago Southwest Asia  Early holocene (9,500 B.C.) First instance of planted crops Grains, lentils, peas, lentils, vetch, flax Persian Gulf (Fertile Crescent) and China 7,000 B.C. Domesticated animals: Sheep and goats plus oxen for labor Americas 3,000-2,700 B.C.  Plants such as maize, potato, tomato, pepper, squash, and beans  Development of agriculture led to Settlements  Greater population density Armies to protect croplands More advanced agricultural techniques Crop rotation  Manure fertilization Terraced rice fields Cattle plowing Irrigation systems Agricultural exchange led to Globalization  Atlantic slave trade  From the 1800’s on Advanced breeding techniques Nitrogen and phosphorous crop fertilizers Vitamins for livestock Tractors Doubled crop production Utilized fo