Regenerative Agriculture Needs Right-Sized Solutions to Succeed

Farm production in the U.S. is undergoing a renaissance of sorts, as private investment continues to show interest in practices that help farmers raise products in a sustainable manner - whether it's precision ag, carbon markets, cover crops or biologicals.

Many food and textile companies are demanding this from their suppliers so they can market themselves to increasingly environmentally conscious customers.

But how the industry goes about that journey matters. We can't solve challenges in agriculture if different factions are raining down self-righteous criticism on those growing the nation's food supply.

Yet again, at the Regenerative Agriculture Summit in Chicago recently, one slide shared during a panel session to open the event caught our attention, as a speaker was advocating for regenerative organic practices and stated we need it "NOW."

Here were the arguments, laid out before prominent ag funders, policymakers, food companies and consultants in the audience. Keep in mind, the theme of the conference was, "Unifying the food and textile industries to advance regenerative agriculture through harmonization."

• We're losing topsoil at a rate of 30 soccer fields each minute due to industrial ag and factory farming. True that we still have lots of work to do, but with every Census of Agriculture we are seeing a drop in intensive tillage. Family farmers are still the majority in our country, not so-called factory farms.
• Toxic pesticides are so pervasive that residues are found in human blood, urine and breast milk. What matters is if these substances are found at a level that is harmful to human health - not their mere presence. No data or source is cited for this information, it's simply a shock statement with no context.
• Chemical agricultural runoff contaminates drinking water, causing chronic health problems and threatening water supplies. Farmers, the NRCS and state and local conservation organizations have been working on watershed health for decades now. One often overlooked point is what municipalities are contributing to pollution - but farmers are an easier target, aren't they?
• Nitrogen fertilizers are a chief contributor to air pollution. Again, where is the data or source of information? How does one separate which pollution is being 'caused' by nitrogen fertilizer and what is caused by commuting motorists or heavy industry?

Regenerative organic agriculture is a wonderful goal to aspire to - and yes, some farmers are doing it successfully. But implementing such a system takes intensive on-farm management, and not every farmer has that kind of tenacity. If that's the case, when a new system fails then he or she is likely to say it "doesn't work" at all.

If we're going to open new domestic markets for our farmers and ranchers, reduce environmental impacts and improve farm profitability with more sustainable farming methods, right-sized solutions are needed so farmers can take this journey in steps.

As we've seen for more than 50 years of no-till growth, the beginning of change on a farm starts with adjusting one's mindset. It comes with seeing the win-win of better profits, less environmental impact and a deeper connection with the land.

You cannot "harmonize" this journey and align resources with farmer know-how by casting production agriculture in a villainous light. That won't move the needle. Let's see if we can find more constructive ways to get the job done.