Mervyn Auchmuty

Success Story

Farming as a Way of Life

Growing up on the family farm, farming for Mervyn Auchmuty has always been his way of life; “I never became a farmer, I was always one”. Now, Mervyn and his father Robert are farming together on their picturesque 400-acre arable (tillage) and mixed livestock farm in County Roscommon.

Minimum Tillage (Min Till)

Mervyn was first introduced to the idea of ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ in 2013, through learning the concept of “minimum tillage” or “min till” (minimum disruption of the soil). The Auchmuty’s land is stoney and therefore difficult to plough, taking many man hours to do so. Removing ploughing from their workload meant less hours ploughing, picking stones, burning diesel, and preparing cropland. The advantages of ‘min till’ were clear for their land. For many, the idea of not ploughing or tilling arable land seems ludicrous, but Mervyn managed to convince his father Robert that it could be a good idea.

Strip-Tilling

And so, the father-and-son duo removed the process of ploughing their soil, and they invested in a “Strip-Till Drill” through the aid of a TAMS (Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes) grant. This Strip-Till allowed the pair to greatly reduce the amount of soil being tilled, only tilling the strips of land where crops were being sown. Mervyn explained the importance of minimum disturbance to the soil for keeping the soil microbes alive, which enhances the nutrient quality of the soil over time. Now the pair also use a “Direct Drill”, which does exactly what it says on the tin; directly drilling the crops into the soil without tilling at all.

Cover Crops

Another benefit to ‘Min Till’ is that most of the soil can remain covered with plants. Mervyn explained how the soil can degrade when there are no plants to cover it; due to factors such as the reduced ability for the soil to absorb carbon and the exposure of the soil to the elements (Sun, Wind, Rain). Therefore, cover crops play a crucial role in the period after crops have been harvested, to cover the bare soil with temporary plants to promote photosynthesis, carbon sequestration and good soil health. The use of cover crops is a practice which many tillage farmers do not observe, yet this changing, increased understanding of the benefits of cover crops through research, and the introduction of government incentives for cover crops are slowly increasing the use of this practice in Ireland.

Improved Root Structure

Mervyn has noticed how the root structure of his crops have improved since he began trialling Regenerative Agriculture practices back in 2013. Plant roots play a vital part in aerating the soil; allowing for better water absorption and providing vital nutrients to the soil.

Natural Fertilisers

The Auchmutys create natural compost with farmyard manure. This process for many farms is now a forgotten practice, as slurry is a more popular modern technique, even though it emits much higher amounts of greenhouse gases (methane, carbon dioxide) and toxic fumes (ammonia and hydrogen sulphide). The creation of natural compost calls for extra time and man hours from the farmers, but the natural benefits are clearly worth it for Mervyn and Robert.

Mervyn has experimented with seaweed and seed washes for naturally fertilising his cropland and seeds. Through his experimentation, he has found that treating seeds before planting leads to longer and stronger root systems and healthier soils.

Part of the Irish Regenerative Agriculture Community

In 2018, Mervyn joined the farmer-run regenerative agriculture group called “BASE Ireland”. Here, farmers share their experiences, ideas, and lessons of advice to other farmers trying out these alternative farming methods. The BASE (Biodiversity Agriculture Soil Environment) group allows farmers to educate each other, chat online, and host knowledge-sharing workshops.

As well as this, Mervyn has engaged in several NOTS (National Organic Training Skillnet) training courses and soil testing initiatives. He has learned a lot from videos on YouTube and through reading internet resources, and he does his part by sharing his knowledge and experience to other farmers through the BASE group.

Engaging in Regenerative Agriculture has kept Mervyn and his father Robert motivated on their farm. Each year, the duo trial new regenerative practices, which helps “keeps it interesting”. Mervyn hopes to continue to learn and trial at least one new regenerative agriculture practice each year.

LABELS: Ireland, Crop Production, Livestock, Green Fertilisation, Biodiversity, Biodynamic Agriculture, Crop Rotation, Min Till

Paul Moore Tillage (Arable) Farmer

Success Story

Paul Moore is a Tillage farmer near Midleton, Co. Cork. He farms 56 hectares, growing crops such as Malting Barley, Beans and Oilseed Rape, with a small herd of cattle. In 2017, Paul began experimenting with ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ practices to see if it would work for his type of farming, and for his land.

About one quarter of Paul Moore’s land is farmed regeneratively, and as he begins to learn the techniques and see improvements, he hopes to transition more of his farmland to Regenerative Agriculture. Regenerative Agriculture Practices that Paul uses include:

• Strip Tilling: Whereby only narrow strips of land are tilled (where the seeds get sewn), with the areas in-between left undisturbed. This method improves water drainage and enhances soil health, which can lead to higher crop yields.
• Wildlife Margins: Area surrounding fields that are left uncut for wildlife to flourish unharmed. Native flowers are excellent for the health of our native pollinators and natural biodiversity.
• Beetle Banks: These are wide strips of uncut land amongst tillage fields that create habitats for beetles that feed on the pests that attack crops. Natural pesticides, if you will!

Since starting Regenerative Agriculture practices, Paul has noticed an increased number of “helpful” insects on his land. These insects include Ladybirds and certain Beetles, which are natural predators to the Aphid. Aphids are pests on tillage farms that are usually killed with chemical pesticides. The Aphid population on Paul’s farm is kept low due to the predatory insects. Paul explains that his main issue with using no pesticides is having to deal with slugs! He is currently experimenting with different ways of combating slugs naturally.

Government schemes such as the old “GLAS” scheme (now evolved to the “ACRES” scheme) have allowed Paul to gain some financial support for the use of cover crops, a regenerative practice. Cover crops ensure that bare soil, which releases carbon into the atmosphere, is covered between harvest and resowing. By covering the soil with plants, photosynthesis absorbs carbon and creates nitrogen to feed the soil and reduce emissions. This process not only increases the health of the soil, but also the quality of the future crops. The longer Regenerative Agriculture is used, the more resilient the ecosystem becomes.

For Paul, the benefits of this style of farming have reduced his workload and input costs. The transition period to Regenerative Agriculture can produce lower yields for a couple years as it takes time to get the soil conditions right for sowing. However, Paul thinks that this should not deter farmers from giving Regenerative Agriculture a try, due to the multitude of benefits (such as high quality soil and crops, improved water drainage, less input costs and reduced labour) that arise from long-term practice. Paul says that Regenerative Agriculture is a slow, yet empowering process. Farmers are empowered to make their own informed decisions, based on their knowledge of their land and the local environment.

LABELS: Ireland, Crop-production, Biodiversity, Minimum Tillage.

Andrew Bergin, Arable Farmer

Success Story

Andrew Bergin farms a 90-hectare regenerative tillage farm in County Kildare, growing a wide variety of crops from peas, beans, oil seed rape, winter wheat, spring wheat, barley and oats.

Spaces for Nature

Andrew has a variety of hedgerows and natural field margins across his farm to aid biodiversity and pollinator life. Andrew sees pollinators as an indicator of the health of the environment; “if you’ve pollinators, there are a lot of other things going right”.

No Ploughing and Minimum Tillage

In 2013, Andrew saw a demonstration for a new Strip Till machine, and he could immediately see the advantages; “the crops and ground seemed happier”.

Andrew moved away from ploughing that year with the transition phased over 4 years and all arable ground ‘no-till’ by 2017 . In 2022, a 20-year old direct drill was replaced with a new one with the help of a TAMS (Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes) grant . A direct drill machine does exactly what it says on the tin; directly drilling the seeds into the soil, whilst minimally disrupting the soil’s structure.

Protecting the Soil through Cover Crops

Andrew ensures that cover crops, containing a mixture of plant species, are established as quickly as possible after harvest. Maintaining a living root in the soil at all times across the land protects the soil from damage and is a key principle of Regenerative Agriculture.

Cover crops greatly reduce the amount of carbon lost to the atmosphere, as well as making the soil more resilient to extreme weather conditions.

Protecting Ground Nesting Birds

Cover crops come with more benefits than soil health, due to the high rates of nesting birds and other wildlife that are attracted to the diverse landscape. Andrew stated that “the number of ground nesting birds has exploded” since he stopped ploughing, such as Skylarks and Meadow Pippets.

Taking Part in Farmer-Led Regenerative Initiatives

Andrew is part of a project called “Danú Farming Group”, that involves 12 farms who are doing a rigorous study of the process of transitioning from conventional to regenerative farming practices over a 5-year period. Andrew enjoys learning from other farmers and taking pragmatic steps to regenerate his land.

Andrew is also a member of the Irish farmer-run regenerative agriculture group called “BASE Ireland” (Biodiversity, Agriculture, Soil & Environment). Here, farmers share their experience with regenerative agriculture and also share advice to other farmers trying out these alternative farming methods.

Andrew believes that regenerative farming “would be very hard without the BASE community and the internet”. Indeed he doesn’t think he could have ever transitioned to regenerative agriculture without the knowledge on the internet and other farmers.

Andrew’s Advice to Farmers considering Regenerative Agriculture

Andrew encourages farmers who are interested in regenerative agriculture to start slowly, taking one field at a time, for example. For tillage farmers, he suggests hiring a contractor with a no-till drill to trial the minimum till practices on their land. If it works for them, then a gradual conversion to regenerative farming is the way to go.

Regenerative Agriculture: Empowering Farmers

Andrew describes how regenerative farming is “not prescriptive” or conventional in any way. It is about using your own judgement to assess what is happening with the crop, and to apply the practices that make sense to your specific landscape. For Andrew, regenerative agriculture and no-till farming has saved him an “enormous” amount of time and money.

Being Open to New Ways of Working & Different Opinions

Andrew states that engaging in regenerative agriculture involves “keeping a very open mind” and engaging with other people and farmers to discuss new ideas and opinions. Andrew expressed the importance of sharing information “in a non-confrontational way”. He discusses the importance of farm nature walks in allowing farmers to “take the day off to chat” with like-minded farmers who can share stories and ideas with one another.

Challenges to Regenerative Agriculture in Ireland

Andrew discussed how one of the biggest obstacles to regenerative agriculture is first a lack of information, and secondly, having to take the risk of converting to a new way of farming. He hopes that further research in this area will aid in reducing the risks for farmers in their trial-and-error conversion process to regenerative agriculture.

Andrew believes that regenerative techniques can benefit conventional farming in many ways, and he hopes that the Irish advisory bodies begin to recognize this as more research gets published.

Keeping Farming Fresh & Engaging

Since beginning his journey into regenerative agriculture, Andrew states that for him, “farming is a lot more engaging and interesting now”. Andrew has met a wide variety of “interesting people and younger farmers”, expressing how this social element to regenerative agriculture has a huge community and personal development benefit.

He finds it exciting to convince other farmers of the benefits of regenerative agriculture. Andrew recognizes that this less-destructive form of agriculture can look a “bit scruffy looking” at times, but beauty is very much so in the eye of the beholder.

Andrew intends to continue farming regeneratively and is “all the time striving to find better ways” of doing things.

LABELS: Ireland, crop-production, green fertilisation, biodiversity, crop rotation, No-Tillage

Zannella’s Farm

Success Story

The Franco Zannella’s Farm is located in Candela, a small village in the province of Foggia (Apulia region, Italy). The farm has a surface area of 104 ha with 2 people as permanent staff. They are cultivating the following crops: durum wheat (Triticum durum L.), field bean (Vicia faba subsp. Minor), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). They apply soil conservation practices overall on the farm surface. Specifically, they have a sod seeding machine, therefore no-tillage management of the soil is carried out. Furthermore, they use some legumes for cover crop purposes, and they usually execute two-year rotations, alternating cereals, and legumes. The previous practices have been used from 2008 to the present (2022). They started to apply no-tillage because the soils of the farm became very poor with a low level of fertility as a consequence of deep soil works. The owner of the farm used to work as a tractor conductor for the plowing operations. He did not receive any training about the practice of soil conservation, but he learned the RA farming practices from agricultural websites and newspapers. Additionally, he did not receive any financial support to start soil conservation practices.

After the application of the RA practices, he experienced even higher grain yield compared to the previous years, better soil quality in terms of fertility as assessed by the number of earthworms in the first soil layers, a lower workload compared to the previous year, and a higher income; on the other hand, he pointed out the diffusion of weeds, especially Lolium, overall the field. For this reason, he decided to cultivate spring crops, such as sunflowers, but he highlighted the difficulty of growing sunflowers under no-tillage management. However, the farmer is very pleased to apply soil conservation practices as well as he wants to continue to apply them also because of the increasing costs of fuel.

LABELS: Italy, crop-production, no-tillage

Lanini’s farm

Success Story

The Giuseppe Lanini’s Farm is located in Mucigliano, a small municipality of Asciano in the province of Siena (Tuscany region, Italy). The farm has a surface area of 200 ha with 1 person as permanent staff and 2 people as temporary staff. In addition, the farmer works as a contractor and can cultivate 600 ha. They are cultivating the following crops: durum wheat (Triticum durum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and different kind of clovers, mainly squarrosum and alexandrinum. Besides, the farm also includes livestock with almost 700 sheep. They apply soil conservation practices overall on the farm surface. Specifically, they carry out no-tillage management of the soil. They usually execute a four-year rotation, settling clover as the first-year crop followed by three-year cereals. In addition, they manage legumes with cover crop purposes. Anyway, a part of the sewage produced by sheep is used as fertilizer, while the other is sold.

The previous practices have been used from 2014 to the present (2022). They started to apply no-tillage because they had a very high cost for cultivation and low revenues from the sale of agricultural products. He received training on the practice of soil conservation from the company that sold him the sod seeding machine. However, he did not receive any financial support to start soil conservation practices. After the application of the soil conservation practices, he experienced a similar grain yield compared to the previous years, but with a lower workload and lower costs, in terms of fuel. Additionally, better soil quality was obtained in terms of fertility as assessed by the amount of organic matter and the number of earthworms in the first soil layers. Because of the lower workload, he was able to cultivate more land as compared to the previous years. On the other hand, he pointed out the diffusion of weeds, especially Lolium, overall the field; he solved the problem using Lolium as hay and applying the pre-emergence herbicide. Altogether, the farmer is very happy to apply soil conservation practices and he doesn’t want to change anything.

LABELS: Italy, crop-production, livestock, no-tillage

Grappi’s Farm

Success Story

The Luchino Grappi’s Farm is located in Pienza, a small village in the province of Siena (Tuscan region, Italy). The farm has a surface area of 165 ha with 3 people as permanent staff. They are cultivating the following crops: durum wheat (Triticum durum L.), olive (Olea europaea L.), field bean (Vicia faba subsp. Minor), chickpea (Cicer aretinum L.), and different types of clovers. The farmer applies organic cultivation techniques over the entire cropped surface.

They apply some of the practices of regenerative agriculture (RA), i.e. the application of crop rotation as well as the use of cover crops. Regarding soil tillage, they usually perform conventional plowing, but also they substitute it with disk harrowing. In addition, it is an organic farm, hence it cannot cultivate the same crop for two following years, and legumes are commonly used as cover crops; the previous practices are applied to the overall field, and although they have never heard about regenerative agriculture they apply them. No training was received for applying them. After the application of crop rotation as well as the use of cover crops, they experienced an increase in grain yield, better soil fertility, and a lower weed problem.

LABELS: Italy, crop-production, organic

Giuntoli’s Farm

Success Story

The Sante Giuntoli’s Farm is located in Troia, a small village in the province of Foggia (Apulia region, Italy). The farm has a surface area of 100 ha with 3 people as permanent staff. They are cultivating the following crops: durum wheat (Triticum durum L.), field bean (Vicia faba subsp. Minor), sunflower (Heliantus annuus L.), and chickpea (Cicer aretinum L.). They have also a small livestock breeding with 20 calves. They apply some of the practices of regenerative agriculture (RA) that are common to soil conservative practices. In particular, they apply a two-year crop rotation, alternating legumes and cereals. They also execute no-tillage soil management and use legumes as cover crops. They apply the abovementioned practices on the overall farm. Specifically, they started to apply previous practices in 2008, and they are still applying them in the present.

The farmer is an agronomist. In 1977, a Professor held a lesson about the benefits of sod seeding, therefore he was very passionate about it. Therefore. he started to apply it very roughly with old machines, but with the new machine for sod seeding ha has entirely converted his farm. He received training from some agricultural associations, but also from the company that sold him the sod seeding machine. However, he received financial support from some regional funds (330 €/ha). After the application of the soil conservative practices, he experienced an increase in gross production, soil organic matter, and soil fertility, but also a reduction of workload. On the other hand, he has had a problem with Lolium and he solved it with the use of a decision-supporting system (DSS). Altogether, the farmer is very happy to apply soil conservative practices.

LABELS: Italy, crop-production, crop-rotation

Bevere’s Farm

Success Story

The Roberto Bevere’s Farm is located in Lesina, a small village in the province of Foggia (Apulia region, Italy). The farm has a surface area of 36 ha with 5 people as permanent staff. They are cultivating the following crops: durum wheat (Triticum durum L.), common wheat (Triticum durum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and field bean (Vicia faba subsp. Minor). Nowadays they don’t apply no-tillage management as they have had some problems with the contractor that was carrying out fieldwork.  However, they apply a two-year crop rotation, alternating legumes, and cereals. In the past, they carried out no-tillage management in the overall field.

The no-tillage practice has been used from 2014 to 2019. They started to apply no-tillage because they are curious about the innovations. He did not receive training on soil conservative practices, but they have studied in some books. The farmer did not receive any financial support to start soil conservative practices. After the application of the soil conservative practices, he experienced a lower workload and lower costs, especially in terms of fuel, but also an improvement in terms of fertility. On the other hand, he obtained a lower grain yield with respect to previous years, but the lower yield was balanced by the lower costs for cultivation. Altogether, the farmer was very happy to apply soil conservative practices and in the future, he wants to re-apply with no-tillage management because of the high costs of conventional agricultural operations.

LABELS: Italy, crop-production, crop-rotation

Baccoleno Farm

Success Story

The Baccoleno Farm is located in Asciano, a small village in the province of Siena (Tuscany region, Italy). The farm has a surface area of 300 ha with 270 ha as a sowing area. The farm staff is composed of 2 people as permanent staff, 1 person as a temporary worker, and another person as temporary staff for the farmhouse. They are cultivating the following crops: durum wheat (Triticum durum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), oat (Avena sativa L.), field bean (Vicia faba subsp. Minor), Italian sainfoin (Hedysarum coronarium L.), Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), trifolium squarrosum (Trifolium squarrosum L.), Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.). The farm adopts the principle of conservation farming throughout the farm surface, so also applies some of the practices of regenerative agriculture (RA), i.e. no-tillage management, keeping the residues on the soil, precision agriculture to reduce the agrochemical input, crop rotation, and cover crop sowing.

In 2017, he started to apply conservative agriculture (CA) practices and he still applies those practices nowadays. He started to apply the CA practices on a part of the farm; after he detected that no yield differences were obtained with respect to conventional agriculture, all the farm surface was converted to the previous practices. He also detected lower costs as compared to conventional agriculture. He did not receive any training about conservative practices he was self-taught, obtaining information from agricultural websites and other farmers; no training was provided from the regional as well as from agricultural technicians.  However, he received financial support to start soil conservative practices from the Tuscany region through Rural Development Program (PSR). As I previously mentioned, he detected lower production costs resulting from lower fuel consumption as compared to conventional agriculture, lower wear and tear on agricultural machines, less labor use and more free time for the farmer, soil protection against erosion, and improved soil organic matter. On the other hand, he claimed about the lack of training on the previous practices as well as about the skepticism from other farmers; he overcame previous through the advice of other farmers and advice on agricultural websites. To sum up, the farmer is very happy to apply soil conservative practices, but he wants to introduce some changes in conservative practices methods because of soil compaction as the soil of his farm is very heavy and tenacious.

LABELS: Italy, crop-production, conservative agriculture

Farkasdiné Fekete Vilma

Success Story

The personality and farm of Farkasdiné Fekete Vilma significantly contributes to the development of the agricultural sector in Hungary. The farm, located in the village of Mezőörs, plays a prominent role in Győr-Moson-Sopron County. Farkasdiné Fekete Vilma is an extremely dedicated and responsible farmer.

The farm boasts a large land area, spanning 140 hectares. It is operated as a family farm, with her husband and sons, all of whom are agricultural engineers, and they do not employ seasonal labor. Vilma understands that farming is not an easy task and that proper manpower is essential for maintaining a successful farm. It seems that through effective labor organization and efficient resource utilization, she manages her farm successfully.

Over the past 5 years, the farm's activities have focused on arable crop cultivation and livestock breeding. During this period, they have grown several types of crops, including wheat, rapeseed, barley, sunflowers, corn, phacelia, and they also have 43 hectares of pasture. In terms of livestock, they raise and breed pigs and sheep. In addition, to add diversity, there is a small orchard on the farm. This diversity demonstrates that Vilma and her family understand the advantages of economic diversification in agriculture, which leads to a more secure and stable farming operation.

During the interview, Vilma revealed that her farm practices regenerative agriculture (RA) techniques. Regenerative agriculture is an approach aimed at restoring soil and the environment while promoting sustainable farming practices. It is crucial for farmers to recognize the benefits of RA, as it can have a significant long-term impact on agricultural production and the environment. Vilma and her family have been applying these practices for years, across the entire farm. RA practices include the use of organic manure, beneficial soil bacteria, cover cropping, crop rotation, and the planting of hedgerows. These measures not only increase the farm's efficiency but also contribute to soil quality improvement, prevention of soil depletion, and successful crop cultivation.

In order to implement RA practices, Vilma and her family not only learned from their parents but also gathered knowledge from various sources. While they didn't participate in specific RA training, they continuously educate themselves on issues affecting their farm, read agricultural literature, and consider the opinions of experts. One of her sons even obtained a Precision Agriculture engineering degree. This shows that the farmers are open to absorbing new information and constantly strive to improve their farm.

Thanks to RA practices, farmers also contribute to environmental protection and sustainable farming, which can have long-term benefits for both their farm and the environment. However, it's important to note that agriculture is always fraught with challenges, and the introduction of regenerative agriculture is not always easy. To overcome potential obstacles, they likely cooperated closely, relied on each other's support and experience.

Due to RA practices, environmentally friendly and sustainable farming, they contribute to nature conservation and biodiversity preservation. Furthermore, the restoration and preservation of soil fertility can lead to sustainable agricultural production in the long run, which is critical for the future success of the farm.

Vilma and her family seem satisfied with RA practices and intend to continue implementing them in the future. Their commitment to environmentally conscious farming and the positive results achieved on their farm reinforce their belief that they made the right decisions when they embraced regenerative agriculture. However, they note that they do not plan to change their existing RA practices or the range of crops they cultivate.

The case study of Vilma Farkasdiné Fekete is an excellent example of how sustainability and ecological approaches can bring significant benefits to the agricultural sector. The adoption of regenerative agriculture allows farmers to responsibly care for natural resources and contribute to environmental protection. Sharing and spreading such best practices can contribute to the broader development of the agricultural sector and the promotion of environmentally conscious agriculture.

In summary, the REGINA case study is an inspiring story of how agriculture can be improved and production can be made sustainable through the introduction of elements of regenerative agriculture. The collection and sharing of such good practices can contribute to the broader development of the agricultural sector and the promotion of environmental protection. The example of the REGINA farm proves that regenerative agriculture is not only a more sustainable farming method but can also be the key to the long-term success of agriculture.

LABELS: Hungary, crop production, livestock, biodiversity

Bezenye Agricultural Cooperative

Success Story

The agricultural company cultivates an area of 393.3 ha. The crops grown on their land are: winter wheat, grass (8 ha), alfalfa, winter barley, buckwheat (as a secondary crop), phacelia - also used as multifunctional field margins.

They carry out organic farming and the crops are cultivated in an environmentally friendly way using minimum tillage. Soil moisture loss is reduced by mulching, and green manure is applied to maintain and promote beneficial biological activities in the soil. In addition, it cultivates secondary crops (e.g. buckwheat) and maintains 8 ha of grassland. The backbone of nutrient replenishment is the use of foliar fertilisation and biostimulants.

Applying the practices of RA is considered to be the most beneficial from the point of view of environmental protection, and this type of farming is also an advantage in meeting consumers’ expectations for a more environmentally conscious approach. The difficulty they need to face is that there has been a reduction in yields, which slows down the returns, and that the more severe controls by the organic certification impose a greater administrative burden on the producer.

LABELS: Hungary, crop-production, organic

Farm Penko: Nurturing Regenerative Agriculture

Success Story

Farm Penko, guided by owner Matej Penko, is a promising entity in Slovenia's Notranjska region near Postojna. Spanning 53 hectares, the farm's pursuits encompass agriculture, cattle breeding, and nascent regenerative practices.

Matej, a young farmer with formal agricultural education, steers the farm's journey towards regenerative agriculture. A recent adopter, he seeks to bolster his understanding in this sphere, acknowledging gaps in his schooling.

In his two years of regenerative practice, Matej implements minimal tillage, green flooring, hedge preservation, and a three-year crop rotation. Barley, grass clover mix, hay, and alfalfa flourish under these principles. His impetus arises from cost reduction and hedge maintenance incentives advised by agricultural consultants. Ministry of Agriculture support further bolsters his efforts.

Benefits of regenerative agriculture, including reduced soil cultivation costs due to the absence of plowing and financial support, are evident to Matej. However, challenges arise from heavy soil, limited arable space, and crop-damaging wildlife. Matej's solutions involve creative land consolidation and diligent soil enrichment through manure application.

Farm Penko's trajectory remains fixed on regenerative agriculture, driven by its tangible benefits and Matej's contentment with this evolving farming methodology.

LABELS: Slovenia, livestock, crop-production

Farm Štefan Cigüt: Driving Regenerative Agriculture in Pomurska

Success Story

Farm Štefan Cigüt, led by Štefan Cigüt Jr., shapes agricultural excellence in Slovenia's Pomurska region near Moravske Toplice. Encompassing 380 hectares, the farm excels in crop cultivation and livestock breeding.

Štefan Cigüt Jr.'s dedication to regenerative agriculture spans a decade. The farm's diverse produce includes corn, wheat, barley, sunflowers, soybeans, alfalfa, clover and grass mixtures, triticale, and pumpkins.

Regenerative principles were adopted to amplify soil fertility, bolster structure, and augment humus content. Vitality preservation and sustainable farming practices spurred this transition. Štefan's education on regenerative agriculture via the Slovenian Association for Conservation Agriculture enriched his approach.

The farm thrives with continuous plant coverage or residue, culminating in enhanced soil quality and heightened organic matter in the upper strata. Minimal soil interventions lead to reduced machinery passages and minimized compaction—a cornerstone of their success.

Štefan underscores that regenerative agriculture's impact extends throughout the agro-ecosystem. Permanent practice, implemented over years, ensures its effectiveness. The farm's satisfaction with these techniques underscores their adaptability to agricultural needs.

Farm Štefan Cigüt exemplifies the harmonious synergy of progressive practices and farming sustainability, marking a transformative journey in the Pomurska landscape.

LABELS: Slovenia, livestock, crop-production

Organic Farm Žnideršič: Pioneering Sustainable Agriculture

Success Story

Organic Farm Žnideršič, led by Toni Žnideršič, exemplifies sustainable farming in Slovenia. Spanning 80 hectares, the farm focuses on regenerative practices for milk, meat, cereals, viticulture, and forestry.

Farm Žnideršič employs regenerative methods that limit soil interference, resulting in improved soil health over two decades. Utilizing circular harrows and a specialized loosener, the farm eschews plowing in favor of minimal cultivation. Winter crops like clover, corn, triticale, barley, and more are sown for greening and ground cover, forming a comprehensive rotation. Organic farming principles guide their fight against weeds through crop rotation, ensuring continuous vegetation cover that serves both animal feed and soil health. The farm's approach reduces costs, fosters environmental benefits, and sustains organic quality.

Toni Žnideršič's commitment to learning and innovation drives the farm's success. Challenges like mechanization gaps are met with persistence and observation. As a beacon of sustainable agriculture, Žnideršič harmonizes tradition and innovation for a promising farming future.

LABELS: Slovenia, crop-production, organic

Farm ŽIPO Lenart: Leading Regenerative Agriculture in Slovenia

Success Story

Farm ŽIPO Lenart, under CEO Miha Krajnc's leadership, is a trailblazing agricultural enterprise in Slovenia's Podravska region. Spanning 860 hectares, the farm pioneers regenerative agriculture to grow crops and support livestock. The farm primarily produces corn, wheat, barley, oilseed rape, soybeans, and occasionally other crops. About 26 hectares follow organic practices, contributing to feed for beef cattle and pigs. The farm annually breeds around 1,400 cattle and 3,500 pigs.

Beyond traditional farming, the farm engages in grain purchase, storage, drying, and agrobiomass processing. It produces animal bedding and calf feed, employing 11 permanent and 10 seasonal workers.

A standout aspect is the farm's commitment to regenerative agriculture for eight years. Beginning in 2015 with minimal tillage, the approach involves soil loosening to 20 cm depth, saving energy, time, and improving soil quality. Despite benefits like reduced labor and enhanced soil structure, challenges like weed and pest management arise. However, the farm remains dedicated, focusing on solutions and refining its regenerative practices.

Farm ŽIPO Lenart stands as a beacon of sustainable, efficient farming, embodying innovation, diversification, and a profound commitment to regenerative principles.

LABELS: Slovenia, livestock, crop-production

Derdák Gábor, Young Farmer, Egyházasfalu

Success Story

The young farmer, who operates his farm on 60 ha, lives in Egyházasfalu, on the western edge of the Kisalföld. In 2015, they started the generational change, so Gábor continuously takes over the family farm from his father, who cultivated the fields with the care of a good farmer based on observations and customs. These are practically the same as the basic principles of the management practices referred to today as RA. Agriculture was passed down from generation to generation, which Gábor supplemented with higher education. From the beginning, he used the different RA practices throughout the area. As the vice-president responsible for rural development of the Győr-Moson-Sopron County National Chamber of Agriculture, as well as the president of the Young Farmers' Farmers' Circle of the Hungarian Farmers' Association and Farmers' Cooperatives of the county, he provides assistance to agricultural stakeholders in the region and unites young farmers. In 2020, he also won the Young Farmer of the Year title. He plays a prominent role in community life, and in 2022 he was also elected national president of the NAK (National Chamber of Agricultural Economy) Small Producer Cooperation and Local Initiatives Department.

The main activity of the farm is the cultivation of arable crops (wheat, barley, rapeseed, corn, poppy, soy, sorghum) and pig breeding. As an agricultural engineer, he considers it important that animal husbandry and crop production are in harmony on his farm. In this way, you can improve the condition of the soil with organic fertilizer at appropriate intervals. He tries to avoid compaction or dusting of the soil with minimal work. If justified, green manure plants are also used to cover and improve the soil. By using soy in the crop rotation, atmospheric nitrogen can also be bound, thereby reducing the use of artificial fertilizers. He was also trained as a precision engineer, with the aim to acquire the knowledge of planning the most reasonable and site-specific nutrient supply.

He clearly sees the advantages of RA in the fact that organically fertilized areas can be cultivated much more easily after a while, thereby reducing the fuel consumption of power machines, which is a great economic advantage in today's energy prices. Fewer input materials are used, e.g. from fertilizers. They do not need to use different bacterial preparations to break down the stem residues, since they have a living medium in their soil. Thanks to balanced plant nutrition and extensive crop rotation, their plants are healthier, which means they use significantly less chemicals.

He overcomes the obstacles that arise - for example, that soil improvement takes longer - with a lot of patience. "This form of cultivation requires a lot of patience before we get tangible results. For example, while we see the effect of artificial fertilization within a few weeks or months, with organic fertilization we only achieve visible results in several years," he says.

He is satisfied with the RA and would like to continue this form of management with further improvements. With even more precise machines, they could further reduce work operations and thereby protect the environment better.

LABELS: Hungary, crop-production

Bóna Szabolcs, Rábapordány Agricultural Zrt.

Success Story

Founded in 2000, Rábapordányi Agricultural Zrt., located in the heart of Rábaköz, covers an area of 1,100 ha. The main profile of the economy is livestock breeding. Bóna Szabolcs farmer started introducing regenerative agriculture practices in part of their territory in 2012, which he learned by watching American video materials. The farm has 82 permanent employees and 3 seasonal workers. The farmer was elected as the Animal Breeder of the Year in 2022.

The main activity of the farm is animal breeding (dairy cattle breeding, pig breeding, pig fattening), their crop production is intended to provide the supply of bulk and fodder for livestock through the production of various arable crops: winter fodder peas, soybeans, wheat, spring barley, silage corn, rye, alfalfa.

On the one hand, they started using regenerative practices in their farm to protect the soil, as it was clear from their soil test results that the humus content of the soil decreased even with organic fertilization. They wanted to reverse this process, and they succeeded! On the other hand, due to the significant increase in cultivation costs. They were looking for ways to reduce costs without a significant decrease in yield.

After legumes in the crop rotation, they try to reduce tillage to zero. Basically, they try to use as little soil disturbance as possible after each plant. They try to provide soil cover for as long as possible, either with mulch or by using cover crops. Cover crops are sown after the summer crops, in front of their spring-sown crops. They are also experimenting with cover crops in front of autumn cornfields of an experimental nature. Termination is carried out in early spring. Rye is sown in the fall, combined with beech, which is harvested as hay, then the area is organically fertilized, which is worked shallowly into the soil and sown with corn. In the year 2022, direct seeding after rye was also tried on an experimental basis, encouraged by the results, in 2023 the entire second sowing was carried out without cultivation, with a direct seeding machine.

Depending on the results, they would like to continue the practices of regenerative agriculture, as Rábapordányi Agricultural Zrt. tries to farm in an environmentally conscious way. It strives to reduce its energy consumption. During its operation, it complies with the legal framework for energy efficiency, which has recently increased in value both from the point of view of environmental protection as well as economics.

An important aspect of their farming is carbon sequestration (increasing the humus content), as they see the only real carbon sequestration activity in crop cultivation with correctly performed tillage.

LABELS: Hungary, livestock, crop-production

Schmidt Péter, Young Farmer, Rábapatona

Success Story

The young farmer, who operates his farm on 90 ha, lives in Rábapatona in the Kisalföld. He learned the farming practices related to RA from the articles available on the Internet. He uses RA practices since 2015 in some of his areas, especially in field crop production (wild wheat, aspen barley, phacelia, sunflower, cabbage rape, corn, purple clover). The farm has 2 permanent and 10 seasonal employees. The latter are employed in the horticultural sector.

The main activity of the farm is growing field crops (wheat, barley, phacelia, sunflower, cabbage rape, corn, purple clover) and other vegetables and fruits: strawberries, cherries, pumpkins, sweet corn, sweet potatoes. In his economy, there are many crops and green manure crops, he likes to grow nitrogen-fixing plants (purple clover), he uses cover crops to preserve soil moisture, he turns the stem residues back into the soil to increase its organic matter content and improve its water retention capacity, and he also uses no-rotation tillage. These are all RA practices.

He started using these methods in order to increase the soil's organic matter content and water retention capacity. By turning the stem residues back and turning the green manure plants (cover plants) into the soil, the organic matter content in the soil increases. This is useful in several ways. It helps bind and retain water in the soil and increases microbial activity. Water and microbial activity are the keys to nutrient discovery processes, so plants will have access to the soil's macro- and microelement content. Tillage without rotation allows this microbial activity to be permanent in the soil.

As a result of RA, crop yields improve, soils cultivated in this way have better water balance, are easier to cultivate, and therefore use less fuel. Cost-effectiveness is not only good for the farmer, but also for the environment.

Among the obstacles and difficulties, he underlines the controversy that in some cases the use of cover crops leads to an increase in insect pests, primarily in rapeseed, which must be dealt with more intensive plant protection activities, but this is contrary to RA practices.

Overall, he is satisfied with the RA and will continue it in the future, as he sees its effect as favorable, but - as he mentions - these are long-term processes.

LABELS: Hungary, crop-production