As seen in Farm Weekly, 01/02/2024

As we move into 2024, we are much more aware of the importance of how the widespread adoption of regenerative practices can have a positive impact on global environmental issues, including climate change and biodiversity loss.

Healthy soils and ecosystems contribute to the overall health of our farmland and local and global environment.

Regenerative pastures play a crucial role in sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation.

The concept of regenerative agriculture focuses on restoring and improving the health of our soils, enhancing biodiversity and promoting resilient ecosystems.

This in turn has a positive impact and numerous benefits making the overall management of pastures more efficient and cost-effective.

Regenerative agriculture is a beneficial approach to farming that seeks to revitalise and restore the land, while improving crop yields and overall farm profitability.

Benefits include

Enhanced soil health - cover cropping, rotational grazing, reduced tillage

Regenerative practices prioritise soil health, which is the foundation of successful farming.

Providing improved soil structure, organic matter, microbial diversity resulting in better water retention, nutrient recycling and overall productivity.

This means increased crop yields and reduced inputs reducing costs significantly.

Regenerative pastures improve soil health, structure and organic matter contributing to better water infiltration, reducing runoff which improves the water quality and conservation as well as reducing erosion.

Regenerative agriculture provides more resilience to extreme weather conditions helping plants withstand droughts and floods.

Carbon sequestration

Regenerative pastures help sequester carbon in the soil, with healthier soils ability to trap more carbon mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Rotational grazing of pastures and cover cropping can enhance carbon capture, promoting a more carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative farming system.

Most of Irwin Hunter & Co's pasture mixes are an option for meeting one of the "Carbon Farming" requirements of the ERF to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU's) resulting in Soil Carbon Sequestration.

Biodiversity

Regenerative agriculture encourages a diverse range of plant species, provides a "cover crop" and attracts beneficial insects.

It is this biodiversity that supports the health of your pasture ecosystem and provides a habitat for a variety of wildlife.

This diverse ecological community helps balance pest populations and your overall ecosystem resilience reducing the need for alternative interventions.

Livestock welfare

Rotational grazing promotes healthier pastures and in turn provides healthier nutritious forage and happier healthier livestock which in turn contributes to their overall health and wellbeing.

Long term sustainability

Regenerative practices are an investment in the long-term sustainability of farmland.

Building and maintaining healthy soils contributes to the longevity of agricultural operations and reduces the need for external inputs over time.

Where to start

If you are considering starting on the course of regenerative agriculture, then it is essential to lay the foundation for a long-term successful outcome.

This starts with correcting any issues you may have with your current soil health, and this is in particular regard to pH levels but also existing macro and micronutrient deficiencies.

Our recommendation is then to start from scratch and thoroughly desiccate or cultivate any existing pasture to ensure you start with a clean seed bed.

Planting an improved pasture mix with diversity that includes a combination of at least two of the main groups, legumes, cereals and grasses, brassicas and herbs, and combining these with different periods of plant physiological maturity will give you the best chance of sustainability.

Some species may not be best suited in the long term to your environment which will invariably decline in population and if the pasture becomes well established, these can be corrected with oversowing new species in coming years to further ensure diversity, being one of the essential components to successfully adopting regenerative agriculture.

Mixes blended for regeneration

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 individual 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 to your requirements giving you the option to combine a mix of various pasture species that is 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.

Self Regeneration Mix

Irwin Hunter & Co's Self Regeneration Mix with the inclusion of Safeguard, an ARGT resistant ryegrass base, provides the perfect solution to many WA farmers looking for an early flowering pasture of annual ryegrass and selected clovers that will set seed for regeneration in the following years and offers protection against ARGT, Annual Ryegrass Toxicity, at the same time.

Self Regeneration Mix is based around Safeguard ARGT resistant annual ryegrass that will successfully cross pollinate with Wimmera providing ARGT resistance to the following year's progeny, converting your Wimmera ryegrass to ARGT resistant over time (providing both pollinate at the same time).

Irwin Hunter & Co recommends Safeguard annual ryegrass for pasture regeneration in Western Australia as it flowers early while there are still good moisture levels in the soil, thereby increasing the chances of a successful seed set.

Self Regeneration Mix has the potential to provide grazing opportunities during the winter and early spring period before locking up for seed set.

Following an ARGT management program requires a medium term of 2-3 years to ensure a successful outcome.

For more information about ARGT and testing, contact the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

Contact your local farm supplier or Irwin Hunter & Co for more information regarding the extensive range of pasture seed and mixes.