B+LNZ global market intelligence and research manager Hugh GoodHugh Good says New Zealand needs to follow market signals from overseas as it looks at what regenerative agriculture means in NZ.
Proponents of regenerative agriculture should think carefully about tightly defining what it is, a researcher involved in a series of new reports on the practices says.
BHU Future Farming Centre head Dr Charles Merfield, who was part of a webinar that discussed five recently released reports by the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge, says one of the advantages that regenerative agriculture currently has is that it’s not hemmed by an overprescriptive definition.
Instead, he says it’s allowed to be fluid so can be explored and then adapted.
“I think it could be a bad idea for regen to start getting too tightly defined (with) too many standards constraining it – that could limit its potential,” Merfield said.
Merfield points to lessons that can be learned from organics, which he says has ossified.
“We have seen very little change in organics over the last two decades because it’s trapped in the structures it’s created,” he said.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) global market intelligence and research manager Hugh Good says it is important that whatever way regenerative agriculture is defined in NZ, it aligns with international supply chains.
He says in the US, the Savory Institute’s EOV (Ecological Outcome Verification) is one form of assessment that is being looked at, while NZ has just introduced the NZ Farm Assurance Programme Plus (NZFAP+) standard.
“We need to work with what the market wants, expects and understands and then align our systems locally,” Good said.
Good says one of the challenges that needs to be overcome in NZ is the negative view of regenerative agriculture held by some people who see it as being told that what they have been doing is wrong and they need to start again.
He says it’s a lot more nuanced than that and it’s not about starting from scratch.
“It’s about ‘well okay, let’s measure what you are currently doing, record what you’re currently doing, and actually, there’s a lot of potentially good practice in what you are already doing’,” he said.
Once those good practices can be recorded, attention can switch to identifying gaps and working towards filling them.
Quorum Sense manager Sam Lang says the research found that regenerative agriculture was viewed by people in a variety of ways.
“The goal from that perspective is just to be moving forward,” Lang said.
“Maybe markets or regulators might set some actual hard numbers there but from a practitioner perspective it’s a goal or outcome-oriented thing.”
He says there are people who connect most strongly to the principles, the philosophy, and for some people it’s about practices.
“Often the conversation gets drawn to practices, but picking up a whole bunch of practices that might not be appropriate for what you’re doing can create bad outcomes,” he said.
“A lot of the best management practice in NZ is actually creating some positive outcomes in many areas so let’s celebrate that, acknowledge it and build off it.”
The five reports include an outline of some of the regenerative principles applied in NZ, and the outcomes and research needed by representatives of four key agricultural sectors (dairy, sheep and beef, arable and viticulture).
The outcomes being sought by representatives of these sector groups included: decisions based on long-term outcomes; achieving pride in farming; increasing profitability rather than merely increasing production; continuous learning; and positioning NZ as a world leader in regenerative agriculture.
The reports were produced by a research project led by Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research senior researcher Dr Gwen Grelet and Lang.
The regenerative agriculture project will produce a total of 20 reports this year, with subsequent reports to be released weekly through November.
Grelet says regenerative agriculture is not a magic bullet, but its popularity and incentives for adoption from some of the world’s largest food companies mean it also has potential for driving the transformation of NZ’s agri-food system.
“Now is an exciting time for scientists and farmers to work together towards a better understanding of regenerative agriculture and what benefits may – or may not – arise from the adoption of regenerative agriculture in NZ,” Grelet said.
