Shifting from conventional farming to organic and regenerative agriculture. Low input and eco-cycle restoration.

July 5, 2024 The day after the 7th workshop, we visited Mr. Wada's farm in Koshimizu Town.

Mr. Wada, who used to grow beets, wheat and potatoes on 33 hectares using conventional farming methods, began experimenting with organic farming on a smaller scale about 15 years ago. He was inspired by the dairy farming style called "My Pace Rakunou" of Mr. Mitomo Moriyuki, a dairy farmer in Nakashibetsu Town, Hokkaido, and began to shift to a farming style that incorporates the ideas of My-paced dairy farming, which is a low-input sustainable agriculture method that reduces the use of external materials, into his field crops.

After reading "Growing a Revolution" (by David R. Montgomery) and "Dirt to Soil" (by Gabe Brown), his interest in cover crops and no-till farming grew, and he met Raymond and Akiko from Menno Village Naganuma at a screening of "To Whitch We Belong" in November 2023, which led to him joining My Regeneration Journey.

Raymond and Mr. Wada in front of our handmade no-till seeder. (July 5, 2024)

He collected junk parts and built his own no-till seeder, and in the fall he successfully sowed Taisho Kintoki beans and adzuki beans.

With Mr. Omori on MRJ in a rye field. July 1, 2024

The allelopathic effect of rye suppressed weeds within about 30 cm of the rows.