Organic Grower Summit: Improving soil health with organic farming practices

In 1985, a decade or so after he started farming, Scott Park realized something had to change.

“We started realizing that our ground was kind of just getting dead on us,” Park said, “and we started putting biomass into the ground, trying to change the soil structure.”

That strategy, it turns out, was the start of his pursuit into regenerative organic agriculture. Today, Park, his wife, Ulla, their son, Brian, and his wife, Jamie, operate one of the first farms in California to receive Regenerative Organic Certification, rotating a variety of crops on 1,700 acres in the Sacramento Valley with minimal tillage and no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.

“Our total inputs are compost, cover crops, some seaweed and some microbes,” Park said. “That’s it. That’s all we put on.”

Park Farming Organics today is recognized as a leading practitioner of regenerative organic farming in California, but getting to this point was not easy: There was very little science to follow during the farm’s conversion from conventional to regenerative organic agriculture, Park said, and it didn’t happen overnight.

“Most everything we’ve accomplished has been serendipitous, because there was no template or master plan saying to do this and do that,” Park said. “Particularly in the ‘80s and ‘90s and in the early 2000s, the appreciation for soil health and life in the soil, the microbial soil food, was barely mentioned. Everything was chemical solutions.”

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Park will share his experiences in regenerative organic agriculture as part of a panel on Regenerating Soil Health with Organic Practices during the Organic Grower Summit, Dec. 4-5, in Monterey, California.

What is regenerative ag?

Brise Tencer, executive director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation, who is moderating the Organic Grower Summit panel, noted that while the term regenerative agriculture means different things to different people, it typically is used to describe practices that are climate-friendly, healthy for soils and protective of biodiversity.

Organic agriculture, which has a clear, legal definition that is verifiable and enforceable, shares many of the same principles and goals of regenerative farming, she said. “Organic agriculture is grounded in principles that collaborate with nature, foster healthy soils and contribute to clean water, biodiversity and thriving farm communities,” Tencer said. Also, like regenerative standards, organic standards require growers to maintain and improve soil health.

“I think organic growers are incredible stewards of the land,” Tencer said.

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Crop rotation, which might include livestock grazing to support soil health, is key to regenerative farming. Credit: Canva

‘Like night and day'

Park’s immersion into regenerative organic agriculture started when the farm stopped baling wheat straw and began turning it back into the soil. “That was very novel 40 years ago,” he said, “and, in fact, in some senses, it is still pretty novel. Most farmers are not putting their wheat straw back in, they are baling it, and then what’s left they’re putting it under.”

Eventually, after decades of adding biomass to his soil, utilizing cover crops, organic practices and a rotation that includes among other crops, tomatoes, rice, corn, wheat, alfalfa, fresh market squash and watermelon, cauliflower, vine seed crops and sorghum, the farm’s soil health improved.

“It is like night and day from where we once were,” he said. “It’s done a great job of really solving a lot of farming problems. We have good water retention, less nitrogen needs, no crust. It takes less effort to keep the ground loose, so we’re using less energy, which means tillage equipment runs faster. But what we really didn’t expect is we’ve also almost completely eliminated insect and disease problems, and pretty much all those fertility issues, also.

“Where we’re not succeeding as well has been in weeds,” Park said. “We still battle weeds. Most all of our operations are geared toward weed control, and that’s still our nemesis.” The farm uses hand weeding, as well as tillage to try and keep weeds in check.

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The farm’s efforts to keep soil covered involve putting 10 tons to 15 tons of biomass on every acre every year, and growing cover crops whenever needed. “When we have a stretch that the ground is bare, if we can have something growing, that is something we strive to do,” Park said. “For instance, if we take a crop of wheat off in the summer, we will plant a summer cover crop, and we will plant a winter cover crop before we grow our next cash crop.

“The idea is, if possible, we want life in the ground 365 days a year, because that is the key to our healthy soils,” he said. “It is key to keep feeding it and let the microbes go to work, let the plants figure out what they need. And it seems to be working okay.”

Regenerative panel

In addition to Park and Tencer, the panel on Regenerating Soil Health with Organic Practices will include Eric Brennan, a research horticulturist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Salinas, California, who specializes in organic and sustainable crop production; and Karen Lowell with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, who specializes in cover crops and soil management.

As part of the panel discussion, Tencer will share a toolkit the Organic Farming Research Foundation has developed to help the public understand the potential of organic systems to enhance soil health and improve soil structure and organic matter, as well as share findings of a survey the foundation has conducted with organic farmers from across the country.

The panel discussion will be held at 8 a.m. on Dec. 4 in Monterey Ballroom B.

To view the full schedule of seminars and to register, visit the Organic Grower Summit’s website.  Special grower pricing is available for Western Growers Association and California Certified Organic Farmers members. Reach out to their membership teams for a registration code.