Regenerative Agriculture

Steve has long embraced regenerative farming practices such as crop rotation, integrated pest management, and nutrient management. While “regenerative agriculture” may be a popular term today, these time-tested methods have been used successfully for generations. In his greenhouse, Steve rotates crops by growing tomatoes for two years, followed by cucumbers for one year. This approach improves soil health, reduces weeds, and minimizes pests and diseases naturally. 

He also uses integrated pest management techniques to eliminate the need for pesticides. One effective method is covering crops with floating row covers—lightweight, breathable fabric that shields plants from pests, frost, and wind while still allowing sunlight and water through. Once flowers begin to bloom, the covers are removed so pollinators can do their important work. 

To keep his soil healthy and productive, Steve regularly tests it through the University of Connecticut and carefully applies only needed nutrients. He uses organic fertilizers on all of his crops. 

Over the years, Steve has received valuable support from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which helped fund two greenhouses and fencing around his largest field. He also received a Warwick Rotary International grant for new farm equipment and a Community Development Block Grant to support construction of a barn. 

The West Bay Farmers Market takes place each summer on Thursdays from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM at Barton Farm. It is a wonderful opportunity for the community to enjoy fresh, locally grown produce while supporting an important local mission. 

After 17 years of dedicated service, Steve will be retiring soon. This spring, he will train his successor in the many successful farming practices he has developed over the years, including regenerative agriculture. In retirement, we are sure he will find other ways to serve his community. 

Martinez Farm was awarded $7,410 in funding to expand into regenerative chicken farming. The farm will purchase two mobile chicken tractors—portable, enclosed structures that can be moved regularly across a field. This will allow chickens to safely access fresh grass and insects while preventing overgrazing in any one area. By moving the chicken tractors to new areas every few days, the chickens will naturally till the soil, add nutrient-rich manure, and help control pests. Previously grazed areas can then recover and regrow before the chickens return, supporting healthier soil and pasture.

This is not Martinez Farm’s first use of regenerative agriculture. The farm already practices cover cropping, planting specialized vegetation to protect and improve soil between cash crops. The farm will integrate laying hens into these fields, where the chickens can forage for insects and vegetation while helping recycle nutrients and improve soil health. Rotating the birds across leased acreage will also allow the farm to make better use of existing land, diversify income through egg production, and reduce purchased feed costs.

Over the long term, the project will support climate-smart agriculture by reducing purchased inputs, improving soil health, and making better use of existing acreage. For Martinez Farm, these practices can also strengthen the farm’s long-term viability by diversifying income, improving land quality, and supporting more productive use of leased fields.

The project also supports the goals of Rhode Island’s 2025 Climate Action Strategy, which identifies regenerative agriculture as an approach for building agricultural resilience, improving soil health, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Through rotational grazing and regenerative land management, Martinez Farm is putting these practices into action while investing in the future of its farm and community.

While the wash-and-pack station is a post-harvest infrastructure investment, it supports the long-term viability of Growing Hope Farm's regenerative farming system. Regenerative agriculture is an approach to farming that focuses on improving soil health, increasing biodiversity, enhancing water retention, and strengthening ecosystem resilience while producing food. By improving operational efficiency and expanding market access, the new facility helps ensure the economic sustainability of these land stewardship practices, allowing the farm to continue investing in healthy soils, diverse crop production, and environmentally responsible farming methods. 

With these upgrades in place, there is a projected 212% increase in CSA capacity for the next season, the addition of one new market outlet, and a 513% increase in total farm sales. These operational improvements will translate to stronger margins and better labor efficiency across the board. LASA support allows the farm to grow responsibly, meet compliance standards, and deliver more fresh, safe food to Rhode Island families.  

Dragonfly Nurseries has been awarded $19,877 in funding to expand its capacity to grow and supply ecotypic native plants by constructing a fully functional production greenhouse. Demand for locally adapted, genetically diverse native plants exceeds current capacity. The nursery has had to decline restoration and landscape projects because of the existing open-air outside; seasonal, temporary benches limit propagation and grow-out. This project directly addresses that constraint. The new greenhouse will provide year-round propagation and controlled growing conditions, improving survival rates, quality, seasonal availability, and the ability to propagate a diversity of ecotypic species. With appropriate ventilation, heating, and automated irrigation, Dragonfly will increase total output, broaden the range of ecotypic species available, and better align supply with the planting windows of Rhode Island partners, including landscape contractors, municipalities, conservation districts, land trusts, Tribal Nations, and environmental firms. 

Beyond expanding production, this project supports climate resilience and regenerative land management goals. Ecotypic native plants typically establish deeper root systems and are better adapted to local environmental stressors than non-local or ornamental species, making them more resilient to drought, extreme weather, pests, and changing climate conditions. Their extensive root networks help improve soil structure, reduce erosion, increase water infiltration, and support soil microbial communities, all of which contribute to healthier and more resilient ecosystems. 

Native plant communities can also enhance long-term carbon sequestration by storing carbon in both plant biomass and soils, particularly when used in habitat restoration, pollinator plantings, and conservation landscapes. By increasing the availability of ecotypic native plants for restoration and land stewardship projects, Dragonfly Nurseries will help strengthen Rhode Island's capacity to implement nature-based climate solutions that support biodiversity, improve ecosystem function, and contribute to long-term climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.