Hendrik Odendaal, a farmer in Standerton, believes in regenerative agriculture.
He primarily grows maize and soybeans on a large commercial operation.
Shea Karssing from Zylem recently spoke to Hendrik about his regenerative farming journey.
“I began my farming journey at the end of 2005 using conventional agricultural practices,” Hendrik says.
His first dip into the regenerative realm was when he began using the manure from his broiler houses
on low-yielding fields.
To produce a better product, he then started composting the manure, and the process developed from there.
“I heard about no-till practices, which caught my attention and interest. I bought my first notill planter in 2007, and slowly transformed all hectares by 2012. The no-till concept worked well on heavy clay soils; however, to improve soil structure and soil life, we needed to do more.”
In 2013, Hendrik started cover cropping, planting oats after harvesting soybeans and grazing the land with cattle.
“As my interest in soil health increased, I began some self-studies on regenerative agriculture. Multispecies cover crops were introduced, with diversity as the main objective. I implemented intensive grazing on the cover crops and the corn stover to ensure a good distribution of cattle manure.”
Guided by the 5 principles of regenerative farming
In the regenerative system, nature must be mimic by applying five principles:
1. Keep soil covered
2. Growing root all year
3. Limited disturbance, mechanically and chemically
4. Diversity in both animal and plant species
5. Livestock integration
All roads to regeneration begin in the soil
“I was always curious about how I could improve soil biology and reduce chemical fertiliser. A fellow farmer introduced me to the Soil Food Web by Dr Elaine Ingham and Johnson-Su’s (JS) bioreactor systems.
“I commissioned a worm farm with the main intention of providing worms for the bioreactors. In 2020, I stopped using preventative insecticides, and only applied after scouting proved necessary. I completely stopped using fungicides. By the end of 2021, I completed the foundational course, which completely changed my understanding of soil and how it functions.”
Hendrik’s current practices consist of:
● Inoculating seed with JS compost
● Using compost extract in farrow with bio-stimulants such as PopUp and Real Cal
● Applying compost tea on first leaves and flowers
● Reducing chemical fertiliser to further accommodate improvements in soil health
Hendrik says: “Although the growing environment is not yet optimal, it has significantly improved over the years with the no-till and regenerative practices. During the wet harvesting season, for example, the combine did not get stuck once.
“Three days after three inches of rain, operations continued as normal, which neighbouring conventional farmers could not do.
“Compared to neighbouring farms, we have had no dust storms or fields badly damaged by heavy rains. Further improvement could also be noted in the increase in the earthworm population and soil fauna.”
Using regenerative farming practices has also resulted in lower input costs due to reduced amounts of chemical fertilisers.
Although yields have decreased somewhat during the transformation stage, net income is still in line.
Hendrik is confident that post-season data will determine improvements. The transition to regenerative farming cannot happen overnight, but, over time, Hendrik’s patient and proactive approach will pay off to ensure long-term productivity, profitability and ecosystem biodiversity.
A fully regenerative future
Hendrik’s long-term goal for the farm’s future, involves full-scale regenerative farming operations, including:
● Pasture chickens
● Bee farming
● Ultra high-density grazing on natural prairies
● Increased diversity of cash crops
● Planting and harvesting mixed crops post-harvest separation
● Farming with nature, not against it
Hendrik also plans to experiment with new techniques, such as using very little to no chemical fertiliser, producing a bio-complete compost (as per Dr Elaine Ingham’s specifications), further improving soil health by increasing fungal to bacteria ratio, and using worm castings from the worm farm in extracts and teas.
Hendrik’s education and inspiration
The farmers, researchers and experts that inspire Hendrik and guide his ideas and decisions about the way he farms include Dr Jill Clipperton, Gabe Brown, Elaine Ingham, Hannes Botha, Ray Archuleta, Dr Christine Jones, John Kempf, Dr David Johnson, Rick Clark, Nicole Masters and David Brand.
Partners in regenerative production
Hendrik has been working with Herman Enslin from leading biological control company realIPM since 2020.
He values Herman’s valuable input and experience in stimulating soil biology, and their mutual interest and passion for soil health make for a good partnership.
As part of his regenerative approach, Hendrik uses significant volumes of Zylem products in his crop management programmes, especially Pop Up, SeaBrixTM and Micros Z.
As pioneers of regenerative agricultural practices and products in South Africa, the realIPM and Zylem teams are well-placed to help Hendrik continue along his admirable journey towards sustainability
and regeneration.
