Regenerative farming trials in Gisborne, in partnership with Woolworths, LeaderBrand and Plant & Food Research, are uncovering promising opportunities for sustainable vegetable farming in New Zealand.

At a recent field day on site, partners, growers, officials, and local community representatives gathered to hear about the latest results, highlighting how life beneath the soil could be the key to rejuvenating intensively farmed land.

These trials, launched in June 2022 with support from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), focus on using compost and cover crops to revitalise soils in intensive vegetable farming.

The early findings are already delivering valuable insights that could transform soil health and sustainability practices across the country, a release from Woolworths said.

After just over a year of field trials, there were signs of improving soil health. Scientists had seen a surge in soil “breathing” at the trial sites, especially following planting of cover crops.

This indicated that microbes and organisms were returning to “set up shop”, which would have knock-on benefits for nutrient cycling and crop resilience.

Plant & Food Research scientist Matt Norris said while it was still early days, the signs so far were encouraging.

“We’ve seen improved spinach and mesclun yields at one site and also evidence for improved organic nitrogen supply, which could reduce the need for synthetic fertilisers over time.”

A key focus was increasing soil organic matter levels.

“We’re doing this by importing carbon in compost and also growing it onsite with cover crops.

“At a second site growing corn and brassicas like broccoli, the soil structure is improving as well.

“The soil is becoming softer and more friable, storing more moisture and allowing roots to access essential nutrients more easily,” Norris said.

“For Woolworths, this is about more than yield. It’s about creating a resilient foundation for future farming.

“Seeing these changes in the soil this quickly into the trial is exciting. It’s more than just crop yields. It’s about creating a soil system that can sustain itself and our food supply over time,” he said.

“We’re so pleased to be investing in solutions that support healthy soil as a foundation for everything we grow,” said Catherine Langabeer, head of sustainability at Woolworths NZ.

“As the teams have been working through, the trials have also surfaced some other valuable lessons.”

LeaderBrand sustainability manager Stuart Davis said the research plots for the project were located in demonstration scale areas on two farms.

“Managing those areas has highlighted some of the practical issues that have to be overcome to incorporate regenerative practices into a cropping rotation.

“These include issues like establishing consistent sources of compost free of weed seeds and other contaminants, managing the timing of termination and decomposition of cover crops, and crop health issues related to choice of cover crop.”

As the project moves forward, the team are set to conduct a detailed soil analysis in early 2025 to fully assess the two-year impacts of these regenerative techniques and measure key shifts in soil health.