From Germany – through Hungary, with those who, like us, are restoring the soil
Timur Sharabidze and I were traveling from Germany to Ukraine via Hungary. And we simply could not miss the opportunity to meet with our good friends Ferenc Berend, Victoria Arvai and Daniel Rachman.
Not long ago, we were together in Kyiv at the ReAgro conference. And I am still sincerely grateful to them for coming to Ukraine in this difficult time despite all the risks of war. Ferenc was one of the speakers and shared his very valuable experience on how integrating animals can help with soil regeneration.
This time we visited Ferenc’s farm, and it was a real field visit! We saw the machinery, pastures, fields, and discussed one of the main problems of Hungarian agriculture – soil degradation due to water erosion. We also looked at another experiment of Ferenc’s: winter wheat with clover in the spring.
I took a lot of photos and videos to share this experience with you. The video will be up later, but for now, here are a few shots from our meeting.
The book “No-till for Beginners” in Hungarian.
This is not a desert – it is a field where water erosion has already done its work. A problem that farmers in Hungary are increasingly facing.
Together with Timur Sharabidze and Ferenc Berend, we are studying the soil structure in a field with winter wheat. Spring sowing of clover is one of the new experiments.
Winter wheat with intercropped clover is an example of finding a balance between yield and biologization of the system.
For Ferenc Behrend, animals are not enemies of the soil, but an important part of its restoration.
