As seen in Farm Weekly, 18/04/2024

In the last few years, there has been a significant increase in interest from farmers who want to pursue regenerative agriculture.

Lance Kennedy, from Irwin Hunter & Co says farmers are much more aware of the benefits of pursuing regenerative pastures, with an increased focus on biodiversity and incorporating four plant families: legumes, cereals and grasses, brassicas, and herbs.

Therefore, they opt to purchase mixes and, in many cases, ask for custom mixes.

He says biodiversity is undoubtedly one of the critical pillars to transcending towards regenerative agriculture.

Still, achieving this paradigm shift from conventional pastures takes a long-term view or strategy.

One of the most significant limiting factors is our rainfall reliability over the season and seasonal variability.

Taking a shotgun approach to multi-species pastures often provides a baseline for what will successfully grow in your environment.

This, however, could also be significantly influenced by your agronomic and grazing management practices, where over time, successful species could be preferentially grazed if stocking densities are too low, and additionally, more grazing-tolerant and persistent species will begin to dominate.

Therefore, farmers wanting to pursue regenerative agriculture must take a holistic approach and be mindful that embarking on a new initiative requires patience and a long-term investment that could take several years.

By incorporating legumes into their pasture systems, farmers can reduce the need for synthetic fertilisers and enhance the long-term sustainability of their operations.

This promotes a closed-loop system with the ultimate objective of the pasture system becoming as self-sufficient as possible, recycling nutrients and energy on the farm.

The most crucial aspect of regenerative agriculture is its holistic approach to farming.

Rather than solely maximising yields or profits, regenerative farmers prioritise the entire ecosystem's health - from the soil beneath their feet to the animals grazing in their fields.

By adopting practices such as rotational grazing, cover cropping and soil conservation, farmers can improve soil health, increase water retention and reduce erosion - all while producing high-quality forage for their livestock.

Like any new method, transitioning to regenerative agriculture involves a risk of failure or lower yields in the short term.

This can significantly deter farmers after facing environmental challenges, including climate and economics.

Low pHs, poor levels of organic matter and fertility, soil texture, including non-wetting and waterlogging soils, false starts and feed availability in spring to allow the plants to reseed, are risks that can all be mitigated to a greater extent by careful selection of species and varieties.

In conclusion, the importance of regenerative agriculture in Western Australia cannot be overstated.

By embracing practices that work in harmony with nature, farmers can improve their operations' productivity, sustainability, and resilience while providing valuable ecosystem services and nutritious food for our communities.

Irwin Hunter & Co has a wide range of quality pasture seed and Specialist Pasture mixes that have been created and blended to assist in the regeneration of our soils, to help target your farm requirements and needs, and are successfully grown all over WA.

Our range of mixes, which include our Self Regeneration Mix, SouWest Pasture Mix, Cover Crop Plus Winter & Summer Mixes, Interow Mix, Maximix and our new Nitro Mix, all have a diverse selection of species which, if allowed to come to seed in spring can provide excellent choices for farmers wanting to practice regenerative agriculture.

Irwin Hunter & Co can also Mix & Match your requirements, allowing you to combine a mix of various pasture species suited to your needs.

Irwin Hunter & Co has one of the widest ranges of pasture species in Western Australia that can assist you in creating as diverse a mix as you want.

Most of our pasture mixes are also an option for meeting one of the 'Carbon Farming' requirements of the ERF to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), resulting in soil carbon sequestration.

Contact your local farm supplier or Irwin Hunter & Co regarding their extensive range of pasture seed and mixes.