Aren’t these floods crazy?
It's heartbreaking to see so many lose everything.
I hope you and your family have survived with minimal damage and if not, that you are getting the help that you need.
When things like this happen, we realise just how powerless and insignificant we are.
It makes me cherish the opportunity we have to be caretakers of this precious earth.
With that in mind, I want to share with you some of the benefits of regenerative agriculture on our topsoil.
A principle of regenerative ag is to always keep a living root in the soil to help provide stability.
Another is to have "armour" protecting the soil. This armour helps prevent erosion.
This has never been more relevant than right now.
Let me share a couple of photos from our property in the aftermath of the floods in our area to highlight how these principles have benefited the river banks.
On the left is the creek during the flood.
On the right is the same area a couple of days after the flood.
Our creek turned into a raging river.
Fortunately, the destruction to the river banks were kept to a minimum because we endeavour to keep a level of “armour” on the soil in the form of grass and shrubs.
Below is a stretch of the river bank that was under the racing water. Photos never do anything justice, but you can see on the left how the grass laid down and covered the soil, protecting it from erosion.
On the right, 30cm away, was a bare patch and you can see how the water washed away the topsoil, exposing roots and feels harder, dryer and more compacted.
Again, this is an example of where grass cover has protected the soil, versus an area where there was a bare patch.
These pictures aren't as clear as I would like (I blame the photographer) but our damage is also minimal.
I just wanted to highlight the benefits conscientious management can have. Topsoil is a precious commodity and worth every effort to protect with conscientious management.
This reminds me of a quote that I will leave you with:
“Despite all our achievements, we owe our existence to 6 inches of topsoil, and the fact that it rains.” (although it can feel we have had a little too much lately)
Take care of yourself, each other, and our topsoil
Farmer Steph
