Regenerative Agriculture News

“On farms, soil can hold or sequester carbon if it is left undisturbed and covered by a crop. Money from the bill will expand programs that help farmers turn their soil less, implement climate-friendly crop rotation practices and plant cover crops that aren’t for harvest but improve soil health.”

Associated Press

Learn more about this new climate deal in this Associated Press article.

Indiana corn and soybean farmer, Ryan Batts, shares his positive experience transitioning his farmland to no-till and incportating cover crops. Despite reservations, his decision to transition his farmland starting in the 1990’s has paid off in yield gains and agricultural resiliency in the long run. Learn more about his experience in this Successful Farming spotlight.

In 2019, an extremely wet year for central Indiana, [Ryan] Batts took prevented planting and put cover crops on every acre instead of repeated tillage and spraying. “We saw tremendous amounts of growth and the number of insects and wildlife was incredible. On those farms in the following two years, we had extremely good yields. The long-term cover crop growth provided really good benefits to us.”

Increasing drought conditions throughout the Farm Belt have triggered in a series of spring dust storms. These storm events have not only disturbed stable ecosystems, they have also resulted in catastrophic soil loss for for farmers and ranchers. Read more in this Civil Eats report.

“Neither derechos nor haboobs are common in the Northern Plains states. But dusty conditions have been on the rise as a result of the drought. “We’ve been getting more frequent reports of these dust events, and this year the reports have been the most I remember,” says Eugene Backhaus, a state resource conservationist with NRCS in Denver, Colorado—a region, he points out, that was the epicenter of last century’s Dust Bowl”  

McCain, the world’s largest producer of frozen potato products, pledges to cultivate 100 percent of its potatoes from the use of regenerative practices by 2030.  McCain has 3,500 producers and 49 production facilities throughout the world. Max Koeune, McCain’s CEO stated the pandemic had highlighted the precarious nature of our global food system.  As the global population increases, the demand for food does as well. Potatoes are cultivated in 130 countries and are one of the most critical crops for global food security. Their shift to regenerative agriculture includes planting cover crops and adding low or no-till agriculture to its potato production. Read more in this article from Triple Pundit.

If we don’t transform the way we grow food, the whole system is at risk of suffering irreparable damage.”

Max Koeune, McCain’s CEO

Some farmers are looking toward older practices to improve the quality of meat they produce, boost soil health and help mitigate climate change. Peter Greig and his wife Henri have been working on this land for the last three decades. Peter believes modern, intensive farming destroys the delicate balance of well-fertilized soil, good quality grass, and nutrient-rich meat.  Although regenerative farming has its challenges, Peter enjoyed the success of regenerative agriculture and expanded his business to work with around 40 family farms in the area. He focuses on encouraging “young blood” on these family farms so they may “put into action the wisdom handed down from their grandparents.” Read more in this article from the BBC.

Our research shows that a shift to regenerative agriculture will provide a net reduction of 66% to 77% of greenhouse gas emissions. The nature crisis and the crisis in health, and wellbeing and a green recovery following the pandemic, means that the whole of the farming system really does need to take up this challenge.”

Sue Pritchard, chief executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission

The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is scaling up its Soil for Water project to support livestock producers and farmers across seven southern states and Montana. The project builds off their successful peer-to-peer network of Texas ranchers who implemented innovative grazing techniques to improve soil and increase profitability. The effort combines appropriate technology, peer-to-peer learning, and on-farm monitoring to encourage regenerative agricultural practices. Soil for Water aims to reach hundreds of family-owned farms and ranches. They intend to create a network of producers who prosper by applying land management practices that improve soil health, catch more water in the soil, reduce erosion, sustain diverse plant and animal life and filter out pollutants. Read more in this article from the National Center for Appropriate Technology.

Livestock have the ability to improve soil health, and healthy soil holds more water. We know that as more producers adopt regenerative methods, significant economic, environmental and social benefits can be realized.”

NCAT Regenerative Grazing Specialist and Montana project lead Linda Poole, who also raises sheep in Phillips County.

A new three-phase initiative, implemented by EARTH University and financed by Patagonia, launched in June and plans to advance regenerative agricultural practices on cacao farms in Costa Rica. The initiative — based on one of EARTH’s model farms —plans to educate, train and strengthen regenerative agricultural practices of 50 cacao-producing families in the province of Limón. The training program addresses soil health and land management, animal welfare, and farmer and worker fairness while promoting regenerative practices for crop rotation and soil regeneration. Read more in this article from the Globe Newswire.

With this initiative, we will work collaboratively with the farmers so they can learn, improve their production and leverage agricultural inputs using regenerative principles.”

Mauricio Segura, Project Director

McCain, the world’s largest producer of frozen potato products, pledges to cultivate 100 percent of its potatoes from the use of regenerative practices by 2030.  McCain has 3,500 producers and 49 production facilities throughout the world. Max Koeune, McCain’s CEO stated the pandemic had highlighted the precarious nature of our global food system.  As the global population increases, the demand for food does as well. Potatoes are cultivated in 130 countries and are one of the most critical crops for global food security. Their shift to regenerative agriculture includes planting cover crops and adding low or no-till agriculture to its potato production. Read more in this article from Triple Pundit.

If we don’t transform the way we grow food, the whole system is at risk of suffering irreparable damage.”

Max Koeune, McCain’s CEO

Historically, chickens on a farm – freely pecking and scratching around vegetable gardens and crops, contributing to soil fertility – is not a new concept. However, there is little scientific information for justifying this potential. A UC Cooperative Extension launched a research project to quantify the potential for chickens as part of commercial organic vegetable production. This California trial is part of a new national effort to diversify organic vegetable farms with chickens. Read more in this article from the University of California – Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Some people believe chickens that graze and eat grass taste better and are more nutritious. It will be part of the study to look at the chicken’s meat quality.”– And there’s the question of how to reward farmers like organic growers who are already using these methods. Mark Isbell, an Arkansas rice farmer who has reduced emissions, says he is worried about creating ‘perverse incentives.“

Faye Duan, a leader of the California project