and the Role of the Retailer
By Dan Jacobs, Senior Editor, CropLife Magazine
Regenerative agriculture might be a trendy term, but the principles it comprises have been used for hundreds of years.
According to Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Senior Policy Analyst, Arohi Sharma, regenerative agriculture “is rooted in Indigenous wisdom. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) farming communities have used the principles of regenerative agriculture for centuries.
“Since the mid-1900s, farm policy has put agriculture on a path that degrades soil health, pollutes waterways, and harms biodiversity,” she continues. “Farm policy must be reformed to invest in regenerative agriculture, instead.”
Jeff Van Pevenage, President & CEO of Columbia Grain, says the concepts comprising regenerative agriculture have evolved into the approach we are seeing more commonly today.
Since the mid-1900s, farm policy has put agriculture on a path that degrades soil health, pollutes waterways, and harms biodiversity,” she continues. “Farm policy must be reformed to invest in regenerative agriculture, instead.
“We believe regenerative agriculture is an evolution of traditional agriculture with a focus on reducing the use of water and other inputs, while enhancing soil health, biodiversity, and climate resilience. These practices can be customized to each producer, crop, and geographical region to prioritize ecological outcomes,” Van Pevenage says. “That reformation must take place all along the value chain, and ag retailers can play a critical role in helping their grower-customers transition to the approach.”
“Sustainability is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and retailers are committed to supporting farmers with customized tools, insights, and pathways to plan, make, and maintain regenerative practices on their operations for the long-term,” says Nitzan Haklai, CIBO VP of Business Development and Marketing. “Retailers take a key role as trusted advisors to growers by looking to consistently scale sustainability programs for carbon, Scope 3, and sustainability initiatives across their network.”
Technology platforms, she says, help retailers provide a cost-effective, streamlined approach that makes tracking, reporting, and financial incentives a one-stop shop for all growers.
“These allow them to bring to the growers' awareness the opportunities they have in private sector (Scope 3) programs, or government incentives, such as the EQIP program,” she says.
De-risking the transition to regenerative practice adoption through financing and agronomy, delivered through regenerative programs is the most important role that suppliers and retailers can provide for growers
There are a number of incentives that help drive growers to adopt regenerative agriculture concepts.
“De-risking the transition to regenerative practice adoption through financing and agronomy, delivered through regenerative programs is the most important role that suppliers and retailers can provide for growers,” Haklai says. “Retailers and suppliers should align their own Scope 3, carbon, and climate commitments with the growers in their supply chain by making regenerative programs available to those growers.”
NRDC’s Sharma agrees that for regenerative agriculture to succeed, it must be a team effort.
“Regenerative agriculture is a management philosophy that requires time, money, patience, and changes throughout the supply chain, which means everyone has a role to play in helping the transition to regenerative agriculture, especially retailers,” she says. “Farmers told us they need more technical and market support and retailers and suppliers can help with this.”
For example, retailers can offset the costs of purchasing roller crimpers which help farmers terminate their cover crops; they can work with farmers to create markets for cover crops; and they can help their growers become certified organic, she says.
“Farmers tell us that they can’t make the transition to regenerative agriculture alone — they need consumers demanding food and goods made from diverse crops, retailers and suppliers creating markets and building infrastructure, financiers investing in long-term ecological projects, academia focusing on regenerative research for the public good, and politicians passing regenerative policy,” Sharma continues. “We know regenerative agriculture will pay off over time. While others along the food supply chain learn from farmers about what they can do, NRDC’s response is to help farmers reduce their risk of transitioning to regenerative agriculture by advocating for policies like the COVER Act that help offset the costs of farmers’ initial investments.”
The environmental returns of regenerative agriculture are certainly one of the more prominent benefits, but it takes more than a belief in green to convince most farmers to engage in the practice.
“Farmers are small business owners, and any regenerative practice change needs to make business sense for their operations,” CIBO’s Haklai says. “The transition from conventional farming practice to regenerative practice requires both financial and agronomic support. Programs must be tailored to the regions and cropping decisions of the farmer. A program that is designed for farmers in the northeast will not work for growers in the Mississippi River delta. CIBO makes it easy for companies with agriculture in their supply chain to deploy programs to acres and growers that are tailored to their specific geography and soil types.”
The concepts comprising regenerative agriculture and Climate Smart Farming are vast and varied. Knowing where to get started can be overwhelming. This is another place ag retailers can step in with guidance.
“Retailers and suppliers should look above and beyond and suggest tools that enhance a producer’s existing technology,” Van Pevenage says. “They should help farmers to implement technologies that simulate different scenarios specific to their geography and crop depending on different practices and methodologies deployed.”
Aerial imaging, moisture sensors, and soil testing can be used to measure and validate regenerative outcomes, he says.
Instead of trying to sell large volumes of inputs, retailers and suppliers should look at the farm’s lifecycle and use this data for careful planning purposes with an eye towards conservation. It's in gathering this data that we can find additional revenue sources for the farmer.
“For instance, if the framework incentivizes the producer for reduced pesticide usage, aerial imagery can assist in early pest detection and inform an efficient application strategy. Different technologies should be prioritized if the framework calls for measured soil carbon sequestration or improved microbial diversity. It is important that the technology matches the framework,” he says.
Van Pevenage suggests that these decisions should not all come from “on-high;” This needs to be an ongoing conversation between growers, retailers, and manufacturers.
“We hope that suppliers and retailers will teach producers to use production data in new ways,” he says. “Instead of trying to sell large volumes of inputs, retailers and suppliers should look at the farm’s lifecycle and use this data for careful planning purposes with an eye towards conservation. It's in gathering this data that we can find additional revenue sources for the farmer.”
Despite the continuous push to make agriculture even more ecologically friendly, NRDC’s Sharma doesn’t expect to see directives at the federal level.
“This is unlikely,” she says. “At the state level there have been some requirements for on-farm interventions to reduce nutrient runoff and meet Total Maximum Daily Load requirements. The Minnesota Buffer Law and Lake Champlain’s required agricultural practices are a couple of examples. It’s possible that we will see more examples of those types of targeted regulations that aim to reduce specific pollutants in specific areas.
“However, it seems unlikely that there will be a national law requiring farmers to use certain practices, and since regenerative agriculture, by nature, looks very different in different regions, it would be hard to design a regulation,” Sharma continues. “More likely, we will see more voluntary incentive-based approaches that offer farmers options and support.”
Instead, it seems governments at all levels are taking the incentive approach.
“USDA and state and local governments finance about $8 billion annually to growers for sustainable practices,” Haklai says. “2023 saw record funding for USDA programs, including that made available by the Inflation Reduction Act.”
The Inflation Reduction Act made nearly $20 billion available over five years for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to address continuous high demand for popular conservation programs.
“CIBO believes that a combination of public and private funding for sustainability programs will help companies meet evolving Scope 3 and voluntary greenhouse gas accounting standards,” Haklai says.
The regenerative agriculture movement continues to expand. Successful ag retailers need to embrace the practice and work with their grower-customers on finding ways to implement the concepts on their farms.
“We must increase support for farmers and ranchers during their beginning years and cultivate new generations of producers to manage our lands regeneratively,” NRDC’s Sharma says. “Resources for regenerative farmers and ranchers must be substantially improved to meet their needs.”
