'Worm Tea' and Chickens: Regenerative Ranchers’ Menu for Biodiversity
- Yasmin Prabhudas
- Aug 21
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 22
The world's food supply has relied on conventional farming for the best part of a century. But its extensive use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers is having an impact on greenhouse gases, biodiversity and possibly human health. And genetically modified seeds could also have consequences for the environment.
Some pioneering farmers and ranchers, however, have decided to ditch synthetic chemicals and adopt regenerative practices to protect the agricultural ecosystem and promote biodiversity. This includes vermiculture—or worm farming—plus strategies like adaptive grazing and mobile chicken coops to keep fields in the best of health.
Conventional Farming
Modern farming is criticized in at least four major areas.
First is its role in producing greenhouse gases.
Industrial farming, with its high-intensity and high-yield focus, uses chemical fertilizers to meet its goals. Many of these products are known greenhouse gas emitters because they are nitrogen-based and made using fossil fuels. Researchers at the University of Cambridge found “manure and synthetic fertilizers emit the equivalent of 2.6 gigatons of carbon per year—more than global aviation and shipping combined.”
A second criticism is that the synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides used in conventional farming contribute to loss of biodiversity and soil health. A 2024 paper, titled “Restoring Soil Biodiversity,” claims 75% of the world's soil is degraded in part because of the use of agrochemicals.
Third, conventional farming uses genetic engineering to change natural processes to enhance a crop's “fitness.” A risk assessment, published in 2020, found that these genetic changes could include “displacement and even extinction of native plant species.”
A fourth criticism is that synthetic chemicals could affect human health because they are often toxic. For example, glyphosate, an herbicide, is an endocrine disruptor, which could interfere with natural hormones (estrogen and androgen) and disrupt reproductive and sexual development.
Regenerative Farming
Regenerative farming aims to fix these problems through core principles.
For instance, regenerative farmers protect their soils by limiting nutrient cycle–disrupting synthetic fertilizers, avoiding overgrazing to protect roots, and maximizing biodiversity through varied crop rotation. This approach intentionally adds shrubs and trees to create a habitat for insects and pollinators, and manages livestock, so through the herds’ hoof actions, the soil structure is improved.
The European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture surveyed 78 farmers from 14 European countries practicing regenerative farming from 2021 to 2023. The regenerative farmers almost matched conventional farmers in yield—the regenerative farms had a 2% lower yield compared with conventional farms—but their use of synthetic fertilizers, fuel, pesticides, and antibiotics was far lower.
[European regenerative farmers] almost matched conventional farmers in yield…but had far less use of synthetic fertilizers, fuel, pesticides, and antibiotics.
More information on regenerative farming, including a list of certified regenerative farmers and ranchers around the world, can be found by visiting the Regenerative Organic Alliance.
A Regenerative Ranch in Texas
The Sunrise W Land and Cattle in Texas is a good example of regenerative ranching.
Stephen West and his father, Jim, have been experimenting with regenerative farming methods over the past five years to improve the condition of their 600-acre-plus cattle ranch. When they took over the land, it had been overgrazed and was in a poor state.
Stephen, who has a degree in agriculture management, outlines the philosophy of Sunrise W Land and Cattle: “We believe that nature had things figured out long before humans came around. And working with nature, working 'God's intended way,' is all about looking at what the soil, the grass, what nature is telling you, and making the improvements based on that.”
Worm Tea
The Wests carried out research that led them to discover the benefits of vermiculture and what they call “worm tea.”
“We found out that earthworms are the best fertilizer in the world,” says Stephen.
The ranchers keep 100,000 earthworms in a 16 ft by 4 ft bin. “Every week we harvest their castings [waste], and we brew it in water for 24 hours. During that process, the microbes inside of those castings that are now going into that liquid are doubling in population every single 30 minutes,” he explains.
“We're talking about trillions of microorganisms […] and so all these microbes are going into the soil and it's like a booster shot for the soil.”
“We're talking about trillions of microorganisms […] and so all these microbes are going into the soil and it's like a booster shot for the soil.”
How It Works
The worm tea contains protozoa (single-celled organisms), nematodes (microscopic parasites), fungal hyphae (filamentous fungal structures), and bacteria.
“When the worm tea is applied, all of that's going into the soil. The first thing that happens is your fungal hyphae attach to the root system. And what that does is it doubles to triples that rhizosphere [the layer of soil in contact with a plant's roots], and so the root system of that plant is much larger and it has incredible penetrative power. So, it's breaking through those hard pans of clay soil or neglected ground around that rhizosphere,” Stephen states.
“Your protozoa and your nematodes, they're hanging out around that root system. […] When a cow comes and takes a bite of that grass, that grass is sending out a distress signal and the nematode and the protozoa, they're out there getting that nutrient to that plant as it needs it so it can recover faster and be ready to go for the next phase.”
To ensure success, adaptive grazing takes place. That means allowing livestock to graze if circumstances are optimal, depending on how much rain there has been and how much forage the cattle have.
Adding Chickens to the Mix
Chickens have helped deal with flies, which can cause cattle stress and lead to weight loss. Two mobile chicken coops follow the cattle as they graze, and the birds pick through the cows’ manure to feast on fly larvae. This means no chemical fly sprays are needed.
Stephen says, “By breaking that cycle, we're not having that fly population.”
Grasshoppers can also be a problem. “They eat more grass than cows do,” he states. “But the chickens chase them through the fields, taking care of that population, too.”
Environmental Impact
“We use compost for the bin where the earthworms are, and the feed that we use is a mixture of different types of ground-up grains. And there is no runoff,” says Stephen.
The worms are shipped from Canada, and two small HVAC units maintain the temperature. But, as a regenerative ranch, using natural farming methods rather than synthetic chemicals, the environmental impact is much lower than that of a conventional farm.
“I'd say the coolest impact we've seen is the amount of wildlife that has come back. It's really cool to see the wildlife starting to treat this as a sanctuary.”
Biodiversity has improved significantly, and there has been a resurgence in the endangered horny toad, as well as hawks, owls, badgers, and deer.
“I'd say the coolest impact we've seen is the amount of wildlife that has come back,” Stephen declares. “'It's really cool to see the wildlife starting to treat this as a sanctuary.”
Vermicomposting
Applying worm compost or vermicompost in a garden couldn't be simpler, Stephen says. “You can't mess it up, right? If you overapply, it's just more microbes.”
The soil “will become spongier,” he adds. “What you'll find is it gets healthier as long as you're not doing anything to kill the soil.”Vermicomposting or worm composting differs from traditional composting in a few ways. It takes vermicomposting two to three months to break down organic material, while home composting takes six to nine months. It requires lower temperatures—50°F to 86°F—compared with traditional methods, which need more than 149°F.
Patience is Needed
Switching to regenerative farming takes time, and one downside is that it will take a while before the rewards are reaped.
“It's going to take time to reverse what we've been doing […]. And so to bring it back alive, you got to have patience. […] It is a little bit of a sacrifice because you're not going to make money the first couple of years or, if you do, it's very little,” claims Stephen.
“You put a lot into it, but the rewards at the end are worth the headaches at the beginning.”
*Yasmin Prabhudas is a freelance journalist working mainly for nonprofit organizations, labor unions, the education sector, and government agencies.