Dr. Allen Williams - Soil Regeneration - January 2024 Soil Health Hour

The NC Soil Health Coalition was fortunate to be joined by Dr. Allen Williams to kick off 2024 for the January Soil Health Hour! Dr. Williams shared insights and impacts of adaptive grazing and results from some of the latest research he has been a part of. His presentation was based on a recent TEDx talk that was titled, “First, heal the soil.”

One of the interesting impacts of adaptive grazing that Dr. Williams shared is that the first three years of implementation normally result in linear progress and the fourth year results in exponential growth. The first three years are spent building plant and soil microbial diversity, which results in massive plant growth during the fourth year and beyond. The improved diversity has also been proven to produce beef with higher levels of nutrients and phytochemicals that have major impacts on human health.

Dr. Williams shared the findings from the documentary and research project, Roots So Deep, which features farms in the Southeast and looks at the ecosystem impacts those farms have had from using adaptive grazing. The research showed significant increases in carbon sequestration and wildlife biodiversity as a result of adaptive grazing. Most importantly, the project connected the farmers that are using adaptive grazing with neighboring farms that are using continuous grazing and higher synthetic inputs. The neighboring farms witnessed the impacts of adaptive grazing first-hand and it was apparent that adaptive grazing is having significant positive financial impacts. The neighbors could see clear differences just across the fence from their farms and came together to learn from the farmers using adaptive grazing to understand how they can achieve the same economic and ecosystem benefits.