Why We Care

Because “no other mechanism known to humankind is as effective in addressing global warming as capturing carbon dioxide from the air through photosynthesis,” the team of Drawdown ranked Regenerative Agriculture 11th of 100 solutions to draw down carbon from the atmosphere. According to their calculations, Regenerative Agriculture could result in a reduction of 23.15 gigatons of carbon dioxide, from both sequestration and reduced emissions, by 2050.

When soils are healthy they can filter water and decrease runoff, improving water quality in rivers, streams, and groundwater reserves. By improving the soil’s water holding capacity, regenerative agriculture can make more water available during drought times and absorb more water, more quickly, during flood times. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that “building healthier soils could reduce runoff in flood years by nearly one-fifth, cut flood frequency by the same amount, and make as much as 16 percent more water available for crops to use during dry periods.”

Regenerative agriculture, with its focus on soil health and increasing soil organic matter, coaxes a tremendous amount of edible food from every acre under production, and its effects are self-reinforcing. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has found that, “high organic matter increases productivity and, in turn, high productivity increases organic matter.” This strategy is not only more resilient from a food security perspective, but also comes with economic benefits for the producer.

When our rural communities thrive and work in harmony with nature, we all benefit. Regenerative agriculture is about landowners being stewards of an agro-ecological system where nature, their farm, and economic prosperity are managed as a whole. What is good for the health of the soil is good for the economic prospects of the land manager. According to the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, “Healthy soil saves farmers money since…healthy soils use inputs like water and nutrients more efficiently [so] production costs are lower.”

Regenerative agriculture is about managing for the entire ecosystem, embracing biodiversity of land and soil. From there we see cascading benefits that redound to humans and natural allies, like pollinators and predators who provide countless benefits to humans through their interactions with both natural and working landscapes.

When our soil is healthy, we are healthy, and our natural systems are healthy. Regenerative agriculture improves soil health, which in turn increases the nutrient density and diversity of the food and forage grown in that soil, which then improves the health and diversity of the people and animals who eat the food and forage. Additionally, regenerative agriculture can protect our natural resources, making them available in the restorative ways we need.

We know working lands can be managed harmoniously for nature and humans. Regenerative agriculture is both ecologically and economically beneficial, as evidenced by a recent report, Valuing the Ecosystem Service Benefits from Regenerative Agriculture Practices, from Farmland LP, Delta Institute, and Earth Economics. Keeping these lands working provides both ecological benefits for nature and economic benefits for the landowners in charge of their stewardship.

Regenerative agriculture emphasizes the importance of raising animals in pasture settings where they are free to eat an appropriate diet and express their natural instincts, while simultaneously contributing to the creation of healthy soils that grow high-quality, nutrient-dense forages on which animals prefer to graze. This positive feedback loop has led FoodPrint to conclude that, “raising cattle on pasture measures up to the highest levels of animal welfare practices.”