Without context, where would we be?

Feb 12

By Kim Deans

The question is the answer.

Navigating without context is like trying to find our way in the dark without a light. Without context we get lost and confused. Yet it is so easy to ignore context altogether and skip immediately to action taking. Especially when we become inspired by the potential of regenerative agriculture. We can’t wait to see the results! When we apply practices and products without considering the principle behind them and how this applies in our context, we can be left feeling frustrated when the outcomes we know are possible do not eventuate.

We have all learned something that created new perspectives and possibilities and then immediately raced ahead to implementing our new learning, without stopping to consider how the information relates in our context at some time or another. These experiences become valuable learning opportunities.

In a regenerative agriculture context, I see this happen a lot with cover cropping. Cover crops can play a valuable role in restoring soil health however they are not the best fit for every situation. I have seen a few instances where a cover crop out of context has unintentionally set soil health backwards. Another common example is applying biological inputs with the expectation there will be a similar response to applying synthetic fertilisers, even though this expectation is out of context because these inputs have completely different purposes.

Taking a prescriptive approach and copying something that has worked for someone else without considering the principles behind the action and fully considering whether this is action is relevant for our context is risky business. When we neglect context, we run the risk of investing resources for no return or worse still, creating unintended, harmful consequences.

Context is the circumstances, and conditions we are working within. Fully understanding these conditions helps us make appropriate decisions for our individual, unique circumstances, rather than imposing decisions that work in other conditions and wondering why the same results don’t happen for us.

“Without context words and actions have no meaning at all”
- Gregory Bateson

Some ways we can regenerate our capacity for applying principles as appropriate in context:

Celebrating our uniqueness:

Our context is as unique and individual as we are. Instead of trying to make the landscape and business we steward look like someone else’s, embracing our uniqueness is essential on a regenerative path. Just as there is no one single perfect way to be a “good” parent, as each child is unique, there is no one single perfect way to apply regenerative agriculture principles, as every farm landscape and business is also unique.

Understanding complexity

Human brains tend to try to understand things through simplifying and by fitting them into our existing mental models of the world, which works against us when working with complex natural systems. Agricultural ecosystems are alive, making them emergent and unpredictable. Developing our regenerative capacity relies on being able to see the larger system, along with the interrelationships that weave it all together. Context helps us work within complexity to bridge the gap between where we want to be and how we get there.

Focusing on outcomes

The outcomes we achieve are what make us “regenerative” rather than the tools and methods we use to get there. We aren’t regenerative just because we grow a multispecies cover crop, or because we subdivide our paddocks for rotational grazing. We are regenerating when soil, plant and animal health are improving, and water cycles and biodiversity are being restored. When the rates of inputs stop increasing every year and start declining instead. When we prioritise the time to understand the context of the landscape and business we are operating within, alongside our internal values and beliefs we can make more informed decisions and see aligned opportunities. An outcomes focused approach requires a clear vision to work towards alongside an ongoing reflective practice of observing, learning from and understanding what is happening.

Embracing a growth mindset

A fixed mindset decides “that won’t work at my place”. A growth mindset curiously wonders “how could this work at my place?”. Unless we embrace regeneration as a learning journey and be open to consider information and new perspectives that may contradict our beliefs, we will continue to solve problems with the same thinking that created them. Cultivating an open mind, curiosity and embracing ongoing learning are essential personal attributes for adapting to our ever-evolving context.

Challenging our assumptions

We have a tendency when problem solving to go with the first “right” answer, which limits our creativity and prevents us finding more innovative solutions. A growth mindset where we embrace learning and lose our attachment to being right makes it possible to challenge our assumptions. Assumptions are things we believe are true with no evidence. Assumptions influence our awareness of our environment and regenerative capacity to perceive our context. Question everything!

Cultivating wholeness

Context is comprised of a web of interrelated parts that comprise our unique situation. Context integrates all of the parts of the whole, weaving all the aspects of our people, our business, and our landscape together to rather than separating them into individual parts.

Continually evolving

The complex interrelated web of relationships in our context are continually changing and evolving. This means the practice of observing and sensing into our context is an ongoing regenerative practice, not a one-off occurrence or destination. In agriculture we are working with a dynamic, living ecosystem that is constantly shifting. Changing seasonal and market conditions mean that what worked last year, might not work this year. As soil conditions change, so does everything above the ground. As we learn and grow personally our human context evolves also as our own personal growth is entwined with the restoration of the land. Staying curious, flexible, and adaptable helps us navigate this.

Context is the heart of our effectiveness. Our capacity to apply principles as appropriate in our context is a foundational skill in achieving regenerative outcomes in all aspects of our life, landscape, and business. There is no one size fits all approach or short cut to regeneration. Regeneration is a creative journey, where we restore our relationship with land and ourselves. Regeneration asks us to start with why we do things before we decide how we do things.