AFBF - American Farm Bureau Federation

07/14/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/14/2026 15:07

AFBF Analysis Details Significant Deployment of Regenerative Practices

Cameron Castillo

Associate Economist

Chad Smith

Associate News Service Editor, NAFB

Farmers are taking significant steps to reduce their impact on the environment. Chad Smith has more on the stats behind regenerative agriculture.

Smith: Farmers are the ultimate conservationists, working to protect the natural resources they are trusted with. Cameron Castillo, an associate economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said new data from AFBF looks at exactly how that work is done through regenerative agriculture.
Castillo: So, regenerative agriculture is any production system that minimizes environmental impacts, maximizes agricultural production, promotes good stewardship of the land, and increases the economic and productive viability of the soil over time.
Smith: Castillo said Farm Bureau crunched the numbers and found a sharp increase in participation in regenerative practices over the last decade.
Castillo: Just in the ten-year period between fiscal year 2014 and the end of fiscal year 2023, we saw, in that ten-year period, a 360 percent increase in participation among America's farmers in regenerative agriculture programs.
Smith: Castillo said recent programs announced by USDA will help bolster continuing regenerative agriculture programs as well.
Castillo: In December of 2025, as a part of that money from the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, we saw USDA announce a $700 million regenerative agriculture pilot program, which was designed to help farmers and ranchers adopt conservation practices that improve soil health and enhance water quality on their operations.
Smith: Learn more on the Farm Bureau Intel page at fb.org. Chad Smith, Washington.
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