Heterogeneous Motivations and Challenges of Regenerative Agriculture in Saskatchewan: Insights from Case Studies and Bioeconomic Modelling
Date
2025-01-16
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ORCID
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Regenerative agriculture is an alternative farming system proposed to improve soil health, improve economic sustainability, and mitigate climate change. There are a set of principles commonly agreed upon that help guide producers: limit disturbance, armour the soil, increase plant diversity, keep living roots in the soil, integrate livestock and crop operations, and understand the farm context. Regenerative agriculture is a flexible farming system that can be adapted to producers’ capabilities and conditions.
The purpose of our project is twofold. The first is to gather information about the use of regenerative agricultural practices in Saskatchewan. We interview producers throughout Saskatchewan who have experience with regenerative agriculture. We ask a series of questions about their specific practices, barriers faced, and advice for future producers. The information will be shared with the Ministry of Agriculture to support producers interested in regenerative agricultural practices. The second objective is to create a renewable resource model to understand and model the economic motivations of the case studies. Regenerative agricultural practices focus on soil health management and are a large reason for why many adopt these practices. We construct a model where the representative farmer maximizes the net present value of annual net returns by choosing the amount they are willing to invest into building soil carbon stock, subject to the state of a farmer’s lands, defined by soil carbon content. The purpose of the model is to better understand the fundamental trade-off between short-term economic profits and long-term improvement in soil health. We develop a framework that can be applied in the decision-making process for a producer to adopt regenerative agriculture. Our model demonstrates that only farmers in select circumstances will opt-in to regenerative farming without a significant subsidy or cost-sharing program.
Description
Keywords
Regenerative agriculture, case studies, bioeconomic model, Saskatchewan
Citation
Degree
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Department
Agricultural and Resource Economics
Program
Agricultural Economics