Regenerative Agriculture Course

Lesson 1 • Biodiversity as a Productive Asset

Frames above- and below-ground biodiversity as inputs that reduce external costs. Sets the ecological rationale for polycultures and habitat integration.

Lesson 2 • Water Cycles on the Farm

Covers infiltration, evapotranspiration, and watershed dynamics as functions of soil health. Provides hydrological context for cover cropping and grazing decisions.

Lesson 3 • Carbon Cycling and Climate Linkages

Explains how agricultural soils sequester or emit carbon and how management choices shift that balance. Connects farm-scale decisions to broader climate outcomes.

Lesson 4 • Soil as a Living System

Introduces soil biology, chemistry, and physics as interconnected drivers of farm productivity. Builds the biological literacy needed for all soil-management chapters.

Lesson 1 • Organic Matter Building Strategies

Covers compost production, vermicompost, biochar, and manure management as organic matter inputs. Links carbon cycling theory to measurable soil organic matter gains.

Lesson 2 • Biological Soil Amendments

Introduces microbial inoculants, mycorrhizal fungi, and fermented plant extracts as low-cost inputs. Reinforces the soil food web framework with applied amendment strategies.

Lesson 3 • Soil Assessment and Baseline Testing

Teaches sampling protocols, lab interpretation, and on-farm biological tests. Establishes the diagnostic baseline required before implementing any soil-building practice.

Lesson 4 • Monitoring Soil Health Over Time

Establishes long-term monitoring protocols using both lab and field indicators. Prepares students to track progress and adapt management based on data trends.

Lesson 1 • Principles of Living Root Systems

Explains how continuous living roots feed soil microbes, prevent erosion, and cycle nutrients. Grounds cover crop decisions in the biological principles established in Chapter 1.

Lesson 2 • Termination and Residue Management

Evaluates mechanical, chemical, and roller-crimper termination methods and their residue effects. Prepares students to manage cover crop biomass as a mulch or nutrient source.

Lesson 3 • Cover Crop Species Selection

Categorizes grasses, legumes, brassicas, and broadleaves by functional role and climate suitability. Enables students to match species to specific soil and production goals.

Lesson 4 • Seeding Methods and Establishment

Covers aerial, drill, and interseeding methods with timing and equipment considerations. Connects mix design to successful field establishment across cropping systems.

Lesson 1 • Closing the Nutrient Loop

Designs whole-farm nutrient budgets integrating compost, manure, and biological fixation. Prepares students to minimize off-farm nutrient purchases through systems thinking.

Lesson 2 • Green Manures and Crop Residues

Examines incorporation timing, C:N ratios, and allelopathy risks of green manure crops. Connects cover crop termination decisions to nutrient release timing for cash crops.

Lesson 3 • Thermophilic Composting Systems

Details windrow, aerated static pile, and in-vessel composting methods with temperature and moisture management. Builds on organic matter concepts from Chapter 2 with operational detail.

Lesson 4 • Vermicomposting and Bokashi

Covers worm bin design, feedstock management, and bokashi fermentation as complementary systems. Expands the composting toolkit for small-scale and indoor applications.

Lesson 1 • Grazing Ecology and Plant Recovery

Explains defoliation physiology, root reserve cycling, and recovery period science. Establishes the ecological rationale for all planned grazing system designs.

Lesson 2 • Holistic Planned Grazing Principles

Introduces the holistic context, testing questions, and planning process for adaptive grazing. Frames grazing as a decision-making system rather than a fixed rotation schedule.

Lesson 3 • Stock Density and Timing Decisions

Teaches how to calculate stock density, graze periods, and rest periods using forage monitoring. Builds quantitative planning skills on top of the ecological framework.

Lesson 4 • Monitoring Grassland Health

Applies biological monitoring tools including transects, photo points, and species composition surveys. Closes the adaptive management loop by linking monitoring data to grazing decisions.

Lesson 1 • Spatial and Temporal Design

Applies sun angle, wind direction, and succession planning to agroforestry layout decisions. Translates ecological knowledge into site-specific spatial design skills.

Lesson 2 • Long-Term Productivity and Pruning

Teaches pruning for light management, timber quality, and fodder production in mature systems. Prepares students to sustain and optimize perennial systems over multi-decade horizons.

Lesson 3 • Tree and Shrub Species Selection

Evaluates multipurpose trees and shrubs by canopy function, root depth, and economic yield. Builds on biodiversity principles from Chapter 1 with perennial species specifics.

Lesson 4 • Agroforestry System Types

Surveys alley cropping, silvopasture, windbreaks, forest farming, and riparian buffers as distinct system types. Provides the typological foundation for all subsequent design and management sections.

Lesson 1 • Biological Control Strategies

Examines conservation, augmentative, and classical biological control using natural enemies. Builds on habitat and biodiversity skills to deploy living pest management tools.

Lesson 2 • Cultural and Mechanical Controls

Covers crop rotation, sanitation, physical barriers, and mechanical removal as primary control tactics. Establishes non-chemical interventions as the first line of defense.

Lesson 3 • Whole-Farm IPM Planning

Integrates scouting, decision rules, and intervention hierarchies into a written farm IPM plan. Synthesizes all control tactics into a coherent, adaptive management document.

Lesson 4 • Botanical and Microbial Biopesticides

Reviews plant-derived and microbial pesticide options, their modes of action, and resistance risks. Provides a low-toxicity intervention layer when cultural and biological controls are insufficient.

Lesson 1 • Whole-Farm Systems Thinking

Applies systems mapping, feedback loops, and leverage points to farm design challenges. Integrates ecological, economic, and social dimensions into a unified farm system view.

Lesson 2 • Designing the Regenerative Transition

Sequences practice adoption using phased timelines, priority ranking, and cash flow modeling. Translates the whole-farm vision into a realistic, year-by-year implementation roadmap.

Lesson 3 • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Adaptation

Builds a farm-level monitoring framework using ecological, financial, and social indicators. Closes the course by embedding adaptive management as a permanent farm practice.

Lesson 4 • Assessing the Current Farm System

Guides a structured audit of soils, enterprises, infrastructure, and financial baselines. Establishes the starting point from which all transition planning decisions are made.