You have likely heard the term regenerative agriculture and while it may seem new like a new buzzword, regenerative farming practices have been around for thousands of years. In many ways, it is a return to the way farming used to be, and is focused on restoring soils that have been degraded by the industrial agricultural system. Its methods promote healthier ecosystems by rebuilding soil organic matter.
Watch as our Research Coordinator and UMaine Cooperative Extension Professor go through a test plot of warm seasonal annuals planted in June. This study is to assess how warm season annuals could be integrated into a dairy grazing system in the Northeast. They discuss the different forages, why they’re important in a dairy system, and how they can be used in Northeast climates.
Wolfe’s Neck Center has a rich history of innovation and experimentation in farming and food systems, and the future of farming depends on this resilience. By integrating technology into a daily farm operations and management, we can build soil health on farms in the face of climate change. Take a look at some of our newly implemented tech tools used to collect and manage on-farm data.
The B3 (Bovine Burp Buster) Project begins this summer at Wolfe’s Neck Center to study the effect of adding seaweed to the diet of dairy cows on reducing methane emissions. Learn more about the project from our new Agricultural Research Coordinator.
Climate change is not only a pressing issue, but it’s also becoming more widely discussed in mainstream media as the urgency of its impact heightens. In fact, Oxford Dictionary named “climate emergency” its 2019 word of the year. With that in mind, we launched two major initiatives this year that could have national—even global—impact on reversing the effects of climate change.
Wolfe’s Neck Center has secured a key partnership in a $3 million grant with Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences to expand research on how to reduce methane emission by cattle and the effects of adding Maine seaweeds to a cow’s diet. Cattle are the largest human-caused source of methane emissions—the most potent of greenhouse gases—making dairy farms a source for reducing emissions at the start.
The upcoming spring sunshine will mean much more at Wolfe’s Neck Center this year. This March began the installation of two large solar projects on the campus: one at the site of the new organic dairy facility and the other on the Pote Barn, which was renovated in 2017. With the completion of these two projects, WNC will become 50% solar-powered, with an end goal to be entirely solar-powered in the next few years.
What is regenerative agriculture? At its most basic, regenerative agriculture refers to an approach to farming and food production that is based on ecological principles and living systems.