When farm worlds change: Ontological transformations in the web of life

This chapter examines how the ontological transformations experienced within the field of regenerative agriculture reshape the web of life and make new worlds come into being, one farm at a time. Many accounts of these kinds of transformations start from an ontological assumption that humans exist in separation from nature and that change depends on human mindsets and how humans manage the land. This understanding of transformation(s) does not encapsulate the ontological dimensions of change as humans shift their ways of being and relating to the more-than-human world. With theoretical insights from the field of political ontology, this chapter outlines what ontological transformations entail. The study draws on 20 in-depth interviews with farmers from different parts of the world who have transformed their way of relating to the more-than-human world through regenerative farming practices. The findings suggest that these farming practices involve ontological disruptions that shape how farmers engage with farming through the more-than-human forces of the land itself.