What We’re Reading – March 2019

Regenerative Agriculture Initiative at
California State University, Chico

This month we enjoyed reading about all of the amazing work going on at the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative (RAI) at California State University, Chico (CSU, Chico).

The RAI is an exciting program at CSU, Chico with research, demonstration projects, courses, and publications focusing on how agricultural management can “reduce greenhouse gasses, restore soil resiliency, increase the sustainability of farms and ranches, and address food and water insecurity.”

The program is led by an impressive team of academics, including Dr. Cindy Daley, Dr. Tim LaSalle, and Dr. David Johnson. To date, RAI has received support from groups like the Burroughs Family Farm, Gaia Fund, Clarence E. Heller Foundation, 11th Hour Project, Globetrotter Foundation, CSU Agricultural Institute, and TomKat Ranch.

The RAI hopes to foster an interdisciplinary and multi-sector exploration of how to care for working lands and grow a productive, resilient, and sustainable food system. Currently, the team at RAI is conducting on-site research on biologically enhanced compost and compost tea, no-till organic farming, adaptive multi-paddock grazing, as well as partnering with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to develop soil health metrics that have the consistency, replicability, and rigor to support research and management across California.

The RAI has also started The Journal for Regenerative Agriculture (JRA), an online peer-reviewed journal that will feature research and farmer-based articles about regenerative agriculture. The journal is intended to support growing demand from land managers, researchers, advocates, and technical advisors who are looking for innovative, tested, and reliable ways to enhance the health of their lands.

To read more about RAI, click here.