Climate change is still an ongoing and pressing issue, especially for the agricultural industry. At UC Davis, community members listened to four experts in the field of regenerative agriculture to find that the solution is right under our noses…or, in this case, under our feet.

Meet the Experts

The Savor series welcomed Cristina Lazcano, a soil ecologist working towards reducing our environmental footprint through ecologically based soil management, Jessica Chiartas, president of RegenScore, Ivo Jeramaz, an active participant of regenerative agriculture at Grgich Hills Estate in Napa Valley, and  Linda Burch, CEO of the Alice Waters Institute for Edible Education and Regenerative Agriculture.

What is Regenerative Ag?

Although there is no legal definition for this term, Regenerative Agriculture centers around outcome-based farming practices focused on soil health. “Sustainable approaches try to minimize impact…Regenerative goes a step further.” Lazcano explains, “It doesn’t only look for minimizing impacts or negative impacts, it wants to enhance the functioning of the agricultural system.” Farmers can work toward regenerative agriculture in many ways, including minimizing soil disturbance, maximizing crop diversity, keeping soil covered, and integrating livestock

RegenScore: The Way to Measure Progress

Since a certification process wouldn’t be able to meet farmers where they are, Jessica Chiartas introduced RegenScore to monitor and define regeneration on farms. Conversations surrounding climate change often dwell on carbon emissions and the carbon footprint left by human activity. However, Chiartas reminds us that air, water, soil, biodiversity and worker welfare are just as important.

Hands-On Experiences

Ivo Jeramaz explains the benefits of regenerative agriculture with his hands-on experience. Farmers fill their fields with fertilizer to bring nitrogen to the soil, but only 20% is being used; The rest is released into the air. Unfortunately, plants cannot use these triple-bonded molecules, but microbes can. To confront this, Jeramaz introduced sheep onto fields so their microbe-filled droppings could nourish the dirt.

He also planted diverse crops to enhance the soil while keeping them covered and out of sunlight. Some argue that these practices are too expensive to implement. However, Jeramaz saved $4,000 on farming costs a year at Grgich Hills Estate vineyards and is expected to save more in the coming years.

Bridging the Gap between Education and Agriculture

Chez Panisse is a legendary restaurant founded by Alice Waters. The menu is constantly changing since an organic farm grows 75% of the produce served, and uses almost zero landfill waste due to the leftovers going back to the farms.

Inspired, Alice Waters created the Edible Schoolyard Project, which launched a farm-to-table movement in the US by turning school gardens and kitchens into classrooms. Schools are the largest restaurant chain in the United States, serving millions of meals a day. The idea is simple: schools purchase all foods locally from farmers directly to create reliable markets for transitioning farmers to regenerative and organic products. Linda Burch urges the public to try more organic and regenerative products, stating, “You don’t convince people of ideas, you feed them ideas, you gather and things happen.”

What Can I Do?

Whether you are a farmer, student, food service worker, or a community member ready to make things better, here are some steps you can take to help regenerative agriculture grow!

Start a Compost Pile. Visit Soillife.org to get involved at home and learn how you can help divert the 60 billion pounds of mineral-rich food materials that go to landfills each year!

Donate to Research. The UC Davis Soils Judging team heads to the national championship in Wisconsin this year, so any donations would help cover travel costs! You can give to LAWR here.

Support Local Regenerative Farming. Purchase goods from regenerative farms like Grgich Hills Estate, and ask farms about their practices.

Educate Yourself on Food Systems. Edible Education 101 at UC Berkeley is a hybrid course you can take that is open to undergrads and members of the public since 2011. 

“We do not have time to wait,” Linda Burch states, “We have a solution; it’s beneath our feet.”

To watch the full video of this event, visit the event webpage.