Regenerative Agriculture

Regenerative agriculture is a new approach to farming that achieves high yields with low inputs, restores the environment, and enables truly sustainable farm management.
Because it sequesters carbon, it is also known as carbon farming.

① Carbon Sequestration
When soil is tilled, aerobic microbial activity increases, releasing carbon stored in the soil as carbon dioxide.
By leaving the soil undisturbed, that carbon is never released into the atmosphere — and the entire farm becomes a vast carbon sink.

② Soil Regeneration
As carbon accumulates, soil carbon levels rise and soil fertility improves, making it possible to reduce fertilizer inputs significantly.
Soil is rebuilt at a rate far exceeding what natural soil formation alone could achieve.

③ Climate Resilience
The soil becomes more resistant to both drought and heavy rainfall, building resilience against extreme weather events — without the need for large, costly specialized infrastructure.

• No-Till (= No Plowing)
  By keeping the soil structure intact, we protect and preserve the soil.
  This approach leverages the underground network of mycorrhizal fungi and plant roots, enabling cultivation with dramatically less energy and fewer inputs than conventional farming.
  
  
• Diversity
  Intercropping a wide variety of plants strengthens the resilience of the farm ecosystem.
  
  
• Natural Cultivation & Cover Crops
  Cover crops replace chemical fertilizers as the primary means of building soil fertility.
  Rather than being plowed under, cover crops are cut and laid on the surface — protecting the topsoil and supplying carbon directly to the soil.
  This also eliminates the need for compost inputs, enabling truly self-sustaining farm management.

Until recently, no-till cultivation in Japan had been practiced almost exclusively by small-scale natural farmers. There were virtually no real-world examples of the approach being applied at the average Japanese farm scale of around 3 hectares.

SHO Farm set out to change that — pioneering regenerative agriculture at a mid-scale farm (approximately 3 hectares) suited to the Japanese climate and conditions, ahead of anyone else in the country.

Through years of hands-on practice, we have confirmed that this is a highly profitable farming method with strong applicability in Japan. We therefore believe it is essential to share this approach with other farmers as a viable path toward reconciling human activity with environmental regeneration.

In March 2023, we held a "No-Till Regenerative Agriculture Practice Report" event, sharing what changed — in production and economics — since SHO Farm transitioned to no-till cultivation.

In December 2025, we organized an "SHO Farm Online Farm Tour," updating the 2023 findings and offering an online look at our winter vegetable cultivation while presenting our no-till methods in detail.

Going forward, we intend to continue hosting events and report sessions that spark questions and discussion among farmers and help build practical momentum for regenerative agriculture. We believe the knowledge and techniques developed here should be treated as open-source — freely shared with anyone who can use them.

Given the ongoing rise in costs for seeds, fertilizers, materials, and farm equipment, regenerative agriculture offers a highly resilient farming model — one that is far less exposed to external price shocks.
It also requires no large machinery, making it an excellent option for new farmers looking to keep start-up costs low.

At our first report event, we shared everything — real-world examples and practical techniques that only a farmer who has actually done this work could know, including:
●How do you manage weeds on 3 hectares without a tractor?
●How do you seed without tillage?
●Which vegetables do well under no-till, and which don't?
●What were the actual results after switching to no-till regenerative agriculture?
●Does it really take years before you can grow good vegetables?
●Remarkable changes in soil quality two years after transitioning to no-till regenerative agriculture

These videos have since been made freely available and can now be watched by anyone on YouTube at no charge.

This event was made possible with support from the following organizations:
Patagonia, Hatake de Kangae Manabu Salon, One Drop Cafe.
A portion of the Kirara Award prize money was also used to fund this event.

We were invited to speak as practitioners at Patagonia's "Regenerative Organic Conference 2024."

We shared our experience of improved drainage and soil structure following the transition to no-till, as well as our approach to nurturing the next generation of regenerative farmers through "investing in people, not machines."

"I'd love to see no-till, regenerative agriculture on 3.4 hectares of open-field vegetables — without a tractor."
"I'm genuinely interested in this kind of farming, but it's hard to find the opportunity to visit another farm in person."
With those voices in mind, we organized an online farm tour offering a window into our winter vegetable cultivation at SHO Farm.

While the content is primarily aimed at fellow farmers, we also welcome home gardeners and members of the general public.

Topics covered:
・Mixed cover crop conditions
・Tips for improving germination rates with a seeder
・Vegetables that thrived — and those that didn't
・The shape of root vegetables (carrots, daikon, etc.) grown under no-till
・Weed management
・Summer vegetable update
・Current status of our free-range chickens
・Pre-seeding and pre-planting surface mowing in practice
・Dealing with pill bugs that eat seedlings at germination
・Farm infrastructure, and business financials (revenue & costs)

Filming supported by UPDATER.

Archive video is currently available free of charge through UPDATER (registration required).

developed by Adriana Ito & Yann Klein