b'REGEN AG VOICES| SUPPORTED BY: Moving Regen Ag from the Pasture to the Potato FieldWork is underway to change the way potato growers think about regenerative agriculture. BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONWHEN THE TERM regenerative agriculture first hit, it was almost strictly in the livestock world. As the benefits of what it can do for soil health have become more widely known, so has interest in it from other agriculture segments. For one potato agronomist, Susan Ainsworth, she has found herself becoming increasingly more interested in regenerative agriculture by the day. She remembers first hearing mentions of sustainability in agriculture about a decade ago, from there she started to notice the wording shift from sustainability to regenerative ag.What began as improved practices for managing livestock on perennial and annual forages to improve soil organic matter and restore soil biodiversity is now expanding into all agricultural food production systems, she explains in a phone interview.Ainsworth has found its challenging to transition to regenerative agriculture when youre monocropping and dont have livestock on your farm. For Ainsworth though, she sees the value of regenerative ag in potato production, as an agronomist she has witnessed how the growers she works with want to doA multiple species mixture of 14 different species thats being grown as a cover crop with potatoes grown the following year in the field. better by building their soil health. PHOTO: SUSAN AINSWORTHThe Brandon, Man.-based agronomist focuses on potato agronomy working with growers in the Shilo, Cypress River,with growers she works with but its hard to find growers who Glenboro and Carberry areas through her company Stolonhave livestock or can work out agreements with neighbours who Glance Agronomy Ltd. At McCain Foods, which has a potatohave livestock.processing plant in Carberry, theyve found working with localCompanion cropping is another regenerative agriculture agronomists such as Ainsworth has become important to thepractice Ainsworth has been investigating. Buckwheat and peas companys regenerative ag goals. were planted in a field with potatoes, and it was discovered the They have the local tailored knowledge on the ground,companion crop helped to make faster ground cover reducing they have the trust of the growers, they oftentimes have thethe occurrence of heat runners.connections in the research community. And all of those thingsYou really dont know what to expect until you actually try it, are really important when we think about driving real action ongetting faster ground cover was a short-term win but we still have the ground in each of our regions, which are all so different, Jessa lot to learn. Next year could be completely different but it has Newman, senior director of agriculture and sustainability withcertainly opened our eyes to what is and maybe isnt possible, McCain, explains in a phone interview. she explains.For Ainsworth, she knows how regionally differentRegenerative agriculture requires lots of tweaking and regenerative ag is. The issues youre trying to work with, or fixexperimentation Ainsworth is finding. Growers need to be are region specific, she explains. She has been working withwilling to share amongst each other what they are finding for it to potato growers in her area on trying various regenerative agmove forward. practices. We can talk about it and talk about it, go to meetings, and Ainsworth knows of growers who have had livestock grazetry to figure it out on paper, but until you start trying to apply it their field the year before potato production. These growers havein field yourself you really dont know what will work and what recorded benefits for potato production. She would like to try itwont, she says. 60SPUDSMART.COM Fall 2022'