De Keur cuts irrigation water 25% in regenerative pome fruit trial

Pome fruit blocks under regenerative management at De Keur use 25% less irrigation water than conventionally managed orchards, with comparable yields and some blocks outperforming the conventional comparison. Farm manager Anton de Jager presented the figures at the recent IFPA Sustainability Summit in Somerset West, offering one of the most concrete water-saving datasets yet circulated among South African top-fruit growers.

The trigger was survival, not ideology. A seven-year drought forced De Keur's management team to rethink its practices, and five years ago the farm shifted roughly 160ha — a quarter of its pome fruit orchards — to regenerative management.

What changed in the soil?

The changes surfaced beneath the trees. A darker soil layer developed near the surface, water infiltrated more readily, once-compacted ground became easier to penetrate, and earthworms returned alongside other signs of soil life. Vegetation growing under the trees now doubles as habitat for insects, including pests that would otherwise climb into the canopy.

The soil also rewrote the irrigation schedule. When the team found anaerobic micro-organisms indicating oxygen-poor conditions, they realised the regenerative blocks were being over-irrigated. Measurements confirmed the lower water requirement, and the programme was adjusted accordingly.

How did the feeding programme evolve?

De Keur stopped applying synthetic fertiliser on the trial blocks and switched to compost plus supplementary foliar feeds, guided by plant sap analysis. De Jager conceded the switch may have been too abrupt for established orchards; given a second chance, he would start with nursery trees so they adapt to the regenerative system from the outset.

Nutrient supply demanded close attention. Soil organisms can make nutrients available to plants, De Jager explained, but cannot create minerals absent from the soil. Shortfalls still had to be identified and corrected.

Compost proved the hardest input to secure. Commercial products lacked the range of organisms the team wanted, so De Keur began making its own. The job is demanding: stockpiling for months before application is no longer viable, rain delays production, and the team monitors moisture, storage and handling to keep organisms alive. De Jager likened the daily attention to changing a baby's nappies.

The farm has dropped herbicides across both regenerative and conventional blocks, but a full rollout remains a work in progress. "There are some practical challenges that still need to be resolved before the system can be expanded," De Jager said.

What did the transition cost?

The regenerative blocks operate within the same production budget as conventional orchards. Training and other learning expenses, however, run through a separate research and development budget; included, they would make the transition more expensive than production figures alone suggest.

De Jager sought specialist training, mentorships and farm visits, yet described the journey as a "lonely one". Employees needed training too, particularly in managing livestock alongside orchards.

Andrew Ardington, founder and director of the Regenerative Agriculture Association of Southern Africa, said training should be a planned investment. He cited a US regenerative agriculture school's recommendation that each management team member receive an annual education budget equivalent to a 13th cheque — roughly one month's salary. Resource-rich businesses should budget for that learning; smaller growers, he argued, need collective approaches to knowledge and support.

Where should budget-limited growers start?

De Jager advised starting with changes that need no expensive inputs. Stopping herbicide use and letting existing vegetation provide ground cover costs nothing, against the price of cover-crop seed. Observing which plants grow also reveals soil conditions and points to what to address next.

Costs remain, though. De Jager called on others in the value chain to fund testing and development, arguing farmers should not carry the burden alone.

Will financiers follow?

Ardington said financial institutions must become more comfortable assessing regenerative businesses, since the extensive track records available for conventional systems do not yet exist and can make lenders reluctant. Insurers, he added, offer another incentive as evidence emerges on production-risk differences between systems; soil health and resilience improvements should count when institutions assess the farms they finance and insure.

De Jager says De Keur still has a long way to go but will share its experience to help other farmers navigate the transition. Growers weighing a first step should watch how the remaining practical challenges are resolved before the system expands beyond the current 160ha.