At first glance, Ruben Jorge's farm near the village of Penha Garcia in eastern Portugal doesn't seem all that unusual. But look closer, and signs emerge that Jorge is shedding tradition in the hope of future-proofing his farm. Between the rows of chestnut and pistachio saplings, a mix of grasses covers the ground where a stretch of bare dirt would typically be ' a deliberate attempt to prevent erosion. To retain water, Jorge has wrapped a blanket of wood chips around the base of each sapling. And among the young trees grow yellow lupin flowers, known as tremocilha in Portuguese, that have a special power: they capture nitrogen and store it underground. 'It's a natural fertilizer,' Jorge says, looking out over the field of chest-high saplings under an intense springtime Sun. The flowers, mowing and mulch are part of Jorge's transition to regenerative agriculture, a method of farming that prioritizes soil health, boosts biodiversity, minimizes tilling and uses pesticides sparingly....
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