Restoring the Water Cycle: Regenerative Grazing in Semi-Arid Environments
03/07/2025
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"We cannot make it rain more -- but we can make better use of the rainfall we receive."
- 2022 Nuffield International Scholar, Isidora Molina Prez de Castro
Chilean veterinarian and regenerative agriculture consultant, Isidora Molina Prez de Castro, has released new global research highlighting how regenerative grazing can restore water cycles, build soil health, and create more profitable farming systems in semi-arid regions.
A 2022 Nuffield International Scholar, Isidora travelled through Mexico, the United States and Chile to explore the power of holistic grazing systems to improve water infiltration and retention in landscapes facing increasing drought and desertification. Her research was supported by Nuveen Natural Capital and the Chris Reichstein Philanthropy Fund.
Drawing on over a decade of experience leading the Savory Institute's "Efecto Manada" Hub in Chile, Isidora visited producers implementing long rest periods, high animal density, and rotational grazing to mimic the natural behaviour of herbivores. The result: degraded soils once prone to erosion are now holding more moisture, growing more pasture, and producing more livestock per hectare.
"At Rancho Las Damas in Mexico's Chihuahua Desert, regenerative management has allowed 450 cows to be grazed on 9,000 hectares -- more than five times the stocking density of neighbouring ranches," Isidora said.
"Each 1% increase in soil organic matter allows an additional 182,000 litres of water to be stored per hectare. That kind of change transforms not only farm businesses, but whole ecosystems."
The report also highlights the challenges of adopting regenerative grazing, particularly in Chile where less than 1% of producers currently use these methods. Barriers include lack of education, entrenched cultural paradigms, and limited policy support. Yet the data is compelling: farms transitioning to regenerative systems report greater profitability due to lower feed costs, improved soil function, and greater resilience to climatic shocks.
In her travels, Isidora also visited Paicines Ranch in California and Birdwell and Clark Ranch in Texas, both applying holistic management to reduce evaporation, increase biodiversity, and expand carrying capacity. Across all sites, strategic livestock movement was key to regenerating soil biology and enabling deeper plant roots to access subsoil moisture.
"Livestock, when properly managed, are not a problem -- they are part of the solution," she said.
Her findings support a clear set of recommendations: invest in farmer education, incentivise land stewardship through policy, and measure ecological outcomes using tools like the Savory Institute's Ecological Outcome Verification.
From drought-prone Chile to the arid plains of Texas and Mexico, Isidora's report demonstrates that regenerative grazing is scalable, profitable, and vital to climate resilience.
"It's not just about saving the land -- it's about giving people a reason to stay on it."
Read Isidora Molina Prez de Castro's full report at: www.nuffieldinternational.org
