End of the Brown Field? Regenerative Agriculture Brings Ecological Benefits

With 70% of UK land dedicated to farming, it’s vital that as much as possible delivers for both food and nature, especially in a country where farmland birds have declined 58% since 1970 and the farming sector is the leading cause of freshwater pollution.

As a way to make food production work with nature, the concept of regenerative agriculture, which emphasises the need to focus on soil restoration, has been attracting increasing attention from farmers, governments and corporates.

A new report by the British Ecological Society brings together the expertise of over 40 academics, practitioners and farmers across the UK to assess the evidence around regenerative agriculture approaches achieving positive outcomes like improving soil health, increasing biodiversity and minimising environmental damage.

The report finds that there is strong evidence that soil health and biodiversity can improve under regenerative agricultural practices but a whole systems approach is needed for the best results. Individual principals of regenerative agriculture used in isolation are rarely sufficient.