Stellenbosch farmer Angus McIntosh believes that one of the secrets in fighting global warming and climate change lies in regenerative agriculture. In this week’s Farmer’s Inside Track video, McIntosh, the man behind the “Farmer Angus” brand, details why there is an urgent need for this practice in South Africa.
“Whether you call it global warming or climate change, the fact is that human beings are destroying the environment and agriculture is the blunt tool with which they’re doing it,” McIntosh warns.
McIntosh runs one of the few grass-fed, pasture-reared cattle farms in SA on the 126-hectare Ezibusisweni (‘the place of blessings’ in Zulu).
In the video McIntosh says farmers should care about climate change because there is no other profession more affected by it than farming. He also explains why Mzansi’s agri sector will be the first affected by climate change.
McIntosh, who started farming in 2008, further motivates why a shift towards regenerative farming can reverse the “damage” caused by conventional agriculture and heal the earth. He adds that it also improves yields, restores grasslands, creates employment and produces nutrient intense food.
If you are a farmer, McIntosh says that you are either doing it destructively or regeneratively. “Farmers are either taking carbon out of the soil and pushing it into the atmosphere or they are pulling it out of the atmosphere and putting it into the soil.”
He also shares his top five tips for farming regeneratively, the pitfalls of converting from conventional to regenerative farming and how small-scale farmers can convert to regenerative agricultural practices.
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