Australian farmers touring Sask., Western Canada showcasing regenerative farming

Australian farmers Ian and Dianne Haggerty, owners of Natural Intelligence Farming, are touring Saskatchewan and other parts of Western Canada with the goal of sharing their knowledge on regenerative farming.

The practice of regenerative farming focuses on restoring the soil quality of crops while also eliminating the reliance of herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers. “The farmers that are still in business today and who are really making things happen, you've really got to give them credit for what they do, but what we're showing is that this is another option,” Ian explained.

The pair decided to visit Canada after coming into contact with Kevin Elmy, a farming consultant and founder of Cover Crops Canada, who travelled in Australia last year meeting with different producers on the topic. “I was amazed by the amount of life in an area that has mainly sand and very little organic matter,” Elmy said. “Where it only rains for three or four months of the year, then it turns to 40 degrees and no rain. If they can do it there, absolutely we can do it here.”

Aside from regenerative farming being environmental friendly and improving food quality, Elmy told CTV news that the practice also benefits farmers economically. “The way we’ve been farming for the last 100 years, again we’re using the best practices to produce crops and food, but what science is showing is our soils are deaerating,” Elmy expressed. “The whole idea of regenerative is regenerating their soils. We're getting more life back into it. The whole goal is to get away from the reliance on chemicals and the fertilizer to produce it using biological means. When we do that, all of a sudden the producers are more profitable. We're producing better food, and you know, using the principles that Haggerty’s are using in a very brittle, very harsh environment, they've proven that it is highly successful."

The Haggerty’s own 26,000 hectares of land – equivalent to 65,000 acres – in Western Australia. Dianne said their practice of “natural intelligence farming” has allowed their small team of farmers to be less labor intensive.

“It made us think that these natural systems are very complex, but very sophisticated and we can actually just sit back and watch some of these amazing things happen,” Dianne said. “It made our work a lot easier because we didn't have to worry about disease issues and things like that, which you normally would farmer. You've really got to be on the lookout for those things, but they just melted away. A lot of the soil constraints were removed as well and it was purely because of the interaction between the microbes, the soil, the plants and the animals was functioning as it should have done. We’ve learned a lot from that process.”

Ian added it has also attracted the next generation of farmers. “The younger generation, especially, has a really good awareness of the food value and the environment they live in. It’s great to see that really want to look after it.” Ian said.