A recent article in Country Farms Magazine highlights Regenerative Alberta Living Lab (RA-LL) Producers Nora Paulovich and Bob Noble, who took over Nora's family farm in Manning, Alta.
In the article, Paulovich explains the essence of regenerative farming: constant adaptation and the pursuit of betterment for the land. Regenerative agriculture has been a passion for Paulovich, shaped by her 15-year tenure as the manager of the North Peace Applied Research Association (NPARA). The article goes on to note that Paulovich’s farm's history of experimenting with regenerative concepts, such as cover crops, reduced tillage, and biodiversity promotion, laid the foundation for her ongoing on-farm research. She particularly highlights the efficiency benefits of using cover crops for swath grazing, expanding the traditional hay fields and pastures to include cattle and forages on cropland.
Intercropping is another practice they're exploring, buoyed by the increasing interest in soil health among fellow farmers, as evidenced by the growing popularity of conferences like the Western Canada Conference on Soil Health and Grazing.
The article highlights that the focus of Paulovich and Noble remains on continuous improvement, with plans to delve deeper into managing micronutrients through crop rotations and biological treatments. They also aim to refine their on-farm research methods to better showcase their progress and potentially expand into seed production, with the intention to not necessarily eliminate fertilizer and pesticides entirely, but rather to use them judiciously to optimize land use and prioritize environmental stewardship. Nora's daughter, Jolene, encapsulates their ethos: "We want to do the best that we can by our land and our cattle." See Country Farms Magazine for the full interview.
Photo Courtesy of Paulovich/Noble Family
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