Regenerative agriculture gains space in the United States

Farmers face extreme heat, drought, intense rainfall and erosion. These factors, a result of climate change, severely affect harvests. In recent years, regenerative agriculture has gained prominence in the United States. Agricultural companies promise profit opportunities from “carbon farming” as well as improving soil health.

Regenerative agriculture aims to improve soil health. This is done through methods such as reduction or absence of plowing, use of year-round cover crops, crop rotation and others. These practices can also generate carbon credits for greenhouse gas emissions offsetting programs.

Research shows that few farmers have joined carbon trading programs. Research indicates that credit prices are low in relation to the bureaucracy required. A new study, published in the journal "Agriculture and Human Values", reveals that money is not the only factor in joining or rejecting these programs. Many farmers see improving soil health as a way to improve quality of life.

Professor Susanne Freidberg of Dartmouth College, co-author of the study, says farmers are looking to move away from high-yield, high-cost commodity farming. The study interviewed more than 80 farmers in Kansas and Nebraska between 2022 and 2023. These farmers grew commodities or raised livestock on farms of a few thousand acres. Their experiences with regenerative practices ranged from new adopters to 20+ year veterans, while others were still considering such methods.

New adopters reported high input costs and concerns about soil erosion as reasons to seek more knowledge about soil health. New practices brought new mentalities and relationships. Farmers who have implemented regenerative practices have highlighted the importance of interactions between different life forms in their fields, such as cover crops, earthworms and soil microbes.

Microbial activity in soil improves fertility, reduces erosion, conserves water and sequesters carbon. However, microbe-friendly practices are not always well-received by neighbors and landowners. Farmers reported that when they stopped plowing and started planting cover crops, they received strange looks in the community because their fields looked disorganized.

These tensions have made relationships between regenerative farmers even more important. Many have formed informal "support groups" to share experiences and equipment. Farmers who saw regenerative agriculture as a way to gain more personal freedom also recognized that this freedom depended on the support of other farmers.

Some farmers also mentioned the satisfaction of seeing birds and other life returning to their fields, making daily work more enjoyable and interesting. Those who have embraced carbon programs have emphasized pursuing programs without long-term commitments or major changes in agricultural practices. One farmer described these earnings as “beer money.”

The opportunity for extra income from carbon agriculture has increased with USDA-funded "climate smart commodity" projects in 2023. Many of these projects offer financial incentives for regenerative practices. However, farmers' buy-in will depend on how these projects value practices that farmers consider important.

Freidberg concludes that when talking about the return on investment in regenerative agriculture, farmers are talking about more than just money.

The work was carried out by Julie Snorek, Susanne Freidberg and Geneva Smith, from the Department of Geography at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire (USA). Article resulting from the study can be read at doi.org/10.1007/s10460-024-10558-3