What is regenerative agriculture?
We know that our customers care about the world around them, and that’s part of the reason we’re so transparent about our values and practices. You’ve probably heard us talk about our dedication to sustainable farming on a number of occasions – it’s something we’re passionate about and a longtime hallmark of our family and business. Today, we want to introduce you to a term that may be less familiar: regenerative farming.
The basics
Sustainability refers to conducting ourselves in a way that is conscious of our needs for the future as well as our current needs. For example, we would not damage our ecosystem to produce more food in a single year because that would be harmful to the earth AND prevent future generations from utilizing the same land. Instead, we strive for a very careful balance that allows the land to recover and thrive.
Regenerative farming is a bit more complex. While it involves the same principles as sustainable farming and is, in fact, a sustainable practice, it goes a step further as it serves to actually improve the land. This means focusing on water conservation, soil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, enhancing ecosystems and more. It also involves a lot of compost and waste reduction. This approach is related to permaculture and ecology, and is a type of holistic management (basically, a mutually beneficial relationship between farmers, animals and the land).
Regenerative practices lead to continuously improving the water cycle, mineral cycle, community diversity and energy flow – and, they allow us to create regenerative food.
What this means for Ontario
Regenerative practices are incredibly important to VG Meats and the Van Groningen family, and it should be important to everyone in Canada. Here in Ontario, we’re proud of our land and the beautiful nature that surrounds us. The last thing we want to do is cause harm – and with regenerative farming, we can contribute to the well-being of our natural landscape while producing good food for families. It’s extra work, but we think you’d agree that it’s well worth the result.
We have a lot of rain and freshwater that we should be thankful for and willing to protect. Our soils can improve and recover quite quickly because of the consistent moisture in our local ecosystems. This soil can absorb large rainfalls and slowly release clean, fresh water into streams, rivers and lakes (sort of like a sponge).
Our land is also strong in terms of biodiversity. There is a great diversity above ground, in the sky and waters and also below ground. A healthy environment includes a combination of growing roots, decaying plant matter, fungus, moisture and air pores. Seriously, it’s a lot more than just “dirt”!
When soil and water resources are not managed properly, there can be damage to an ecosystem (for example, if clean waters are polluted with too much soil from an active farm). When you see significant algae blooming in a lake, this is a sign of management gone wrong. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid this and protect both our land and waters while making use of their incredible gifts.
What regenerative agriculture means for VG Meats consumers
When you have great soil and abundant freshwater resources, you can grow great food right here in Ontario. Increasing diversity should be a part of your family’s diet as well as an environmental goal. A combination of produce, beef, poultry and pork products is ideal in terms of supporting local ecosystems. You can make changes in the world simply through the choices you make when grocery shopping and eating every day!
Animals play a large role in adding to biodiversity. Our cattle roam and graze in open fields that also provide homes to many local birds and mixed wood grassland creatures. There are actually a few at-risk species that thrive on our farms, including certain types of swallows and bobolinks. It’s incredible to see, and we’re happy to offer them a healthy habitat.
Join us on our journey to a better tomorrow
If we can play a small part in helping consumers build a more diverse plate while supporting farming that helps the environment for generations to come, we will have done our job. Thanks so much for reading and caring about this issue – and please, let us know if you have any questions or feedback! We’re always glad to hear from you.