A pilot project for California grape growers gets into the weeds on regenerative agriculture.On a spring visit, the 69 acres of Silver Oak’s Alexander Valley estate vineyard, near Healdsburg, California, were striped brown and green from the every-other-row cover cropping. Vineyard manager Brad Petersen alternates covers such as bell beans, grass, vetch, red clover and magnus peas with tillage to control the vigor of his Cabernet Sauvignon vines and keep the soil cooler.In this case, what’s good for the grapes is good for the planet: This conservation tillage sequesters a lot more carbon than full tillage. That's not a shock. But Petersen was surprised to learn, through his participation in a regenerative agriculture pilot program, that his alternating approach sequestered 83 percent as much carbon as no-till would.
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