János Nagy

As the manager of the Bőszénfa Deer Farm, my primary goal and task was to introduce intensive deer breeding in Hungary. In many areas, we have managed to achieve serious professional results, but in the last 5-6 years, the conditions of our farming have deteriorated significantly, and the previous practices and grassland management methods have failed.

In the Zselic, the environmental impacts that we have contributed to through our yield-hungry behaviour are also being felt.

For me, the breakthrough was Allan Savory's TED talk. Under his influence, in the spring of 2023, I started on the path of learning about regenerative farming and began to reorganise the farm in Bőszénfa, strengthening the ecological approach to grazing livestock production. I am pleased to see that more and more local farmers are participating in this interesting and exciting transformation. In September 2024, we were able to fill a separate professional tent (KÁN-REG) at the traditional three-day KÁN exhibition with high-quality presentations focusing on regenerative farming practices in livestock production.

As an employee of the Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences, I feel it is important to inform students and the general public, to share our practical experience as widely as possible and to promote regenerative farming.

For me, the most interesting fields are:

• the possibilities, advantages and disadvantages of grazing several species together (elk, fallow deer, buffalo, horse and donkey)
• promoting the regeneration of degraded upland grasslands
• soil-plant relationships, the interrelationship of biological processes in soil