To make the leap to regenerative agriculture, farmers need evidence that this approach will work and models for what transitioning actually looks like in their own region. According to the 2018 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll, 70% of farmers interviewed will try a new technology or practice once they’ve seen “a number” or “most” of their peers try it successfully.
So, how does that domino effect get started?
Conventional agriculture benefits from the existing cooperative extension model, which has been partnering with land grant universities for more than 100 years to provide training and support to farmers, driving a feedback loop of conventional crops and dominant metrics of yield. Rather than the current one-size-fits-all approach designed to drive yields for commodity farmers across vastly different landscapes and climates in the U.S., this type of regenerative farming instead demands regionally specific knowledge that is grounded in the nuance of particular crops grown within local climates and soils.
So many independent organizations are attempting to build a parallel system. A network of associations and non-profits around the country are providing resources to farmers to demonstrate how regenerative farming works, provide training in specific regenerative practices like cover cropping and intercropping, and building networks of neighbours and peers to provide support. Many describe this as moving from input intensive (conventional agriculture) towards knowledge intensive (regenerative agriculture).
Sarah Carlson, Strategic Initiatives Director at Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) calls regenerative agriculture “farming with nature,” and notes that “we see farmers become energized from adding in a bit more biological diversity to the dominant ag production system. PFI gets them excited about growing more than corn and soybeans!”
PFI works to build resilient farms and communities by hosting programs and field days, conducting on-farm research rooted in farmer questions, and building a peer-to-peer network of farmers exchanging knowledge and experience. Thanks to the programs of PFI, 72% of its members report improving their on-farm stewardship practices and 75% report increasing their investment in conservation practices. This network provides role models who can show other farmers that it can actually be done. “That connection to others seems to be a really good leverage point,” says Carlson, “to get these practices off the ground.”
The power of mentors and peer networks was evident when the RAI team travelled to Iowa in November to attend PFI farmer field days on cover crops and prairie strips. Repeatedly, farmers discussed the social dynamics of farming with as much consideration as economics or mechanics. The concept of “farming over the fence” refers to your neighbours checking out your fields to see how many weeds you have, how tall your crop is, etc. In small, rural towns, the local coffee shop gossip might be Farmer Joe’s new cover crop and how “weedy” it looks from the road. To farm differently in a small town is to draw attention, and not for the right reasons. Building strong networks of support, like PFI is doing, can help to destigmatize different farming practices and break down social isolation between farmers.
The Rodale Midwest Organic Centre, the first regional education centre established by the Rodale Institute, is also planning to take a cohort-building approach to transitioning more organic farmers across the midwest. The brand-new centre, established in Iowa in 2019, hopes to find ecological and profitable solutions to the challenges farmers are facing in the midwest by combining research with individualized farmer consulting. The centre hopes to build farmers’ capacity so that they might eventually be ready to go through the Regenerative Organic Certification process.
CSU Chico’s Centre for Regenerative Agriculture (CRA), an on-farm research centre and regenerative demonstration hub, takes a similar approach on the west coast, using research to inform practice and focusing on the power of farmer role models to inspire others. LaSalle and Daley share the importance of meeting farmers where they are, especially for more conventional farmers who might not have had much exposure to conservation practices and have questions or concerns about how to actually implement them. Particularly for farmers who are sceptical of transitioning to a new way of doing things, LaSalle and Daley note “the unknowns weigh on people.”
CRA’s role is to take away those unknowns. Their demonstration sites with partner farmers showcase farmers who have focused on soil health and become profitable. CRA has found that identifying and lifting up these kinds of farmers has been the most effective strategy for recruiting and convincing others because it proves they have “skin in the game and the economics to back it up.”
In the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain region, Philip Taylor runs Mad Agriculture. The organization “helps farmers design their way out of the commodity and industrial ag system,” he says. Taylor prefers to stay away from terms like “technical assistance” in favour of cultivating shared wisdom. Acknowledging the personal and emotional nature of farming, Mad Ag focuses on each farmer’s unique values, land history, and stories. Backed by a strict non-judgement policy to work with all types of farmers, Mad Ag’s Carbon Farm and Ranch Program (CFP) designs customized 3-year conservation plans that are eligible for NRCS cost-sharing programs. This personalized approach allows Mad Ag to understand the unique, long-term needs of each farmer as well as the barriers that have held them back from adopting conservation practices in the past.
Some big players have also gotten into this close-up approach. General Mills is investing heavily in farmer training programs to strengthen their own supply chains. By partnering with Gabe Brown’s Understanding Ag, General Mills has launched multiple Soil Health Academies (SHA) with oat farmers in the Northern Plains, winter wheat farmers in Kansas and dairy farmers in Michigan. Dozens of farmers form a local cohort and receive 1-on-1 coaching, attend field days, and receive technical support. The program will measure soil health, biodiversity and farmer profitability metrics to determine the success of the approach.
Farmer demand to participate is high – each General Mills SHA has received significantly more applications than they can accept in each cohort. Anecdotally, there’s a spill over effect. Local NRCS offices have shared that after a SHA program, there is unprecedented energy and enthusiasm from farmers to sign up for cost-share programs. “We feel very confident in this model of building relationships between innovators and farmers that can be leaders in their community,” shares Tom Hockenberry, the multinational’s Senior Director of Nutrition and Technology.
Regenerative Investments Need to Start on the Farm
Building the regenerative food system of the future needs to start on the farm. By building strong regional farmer training programs and peer networks that demonstrate successful and profitable models, farmers will be supported in their transition to regenerative agriculture. This is a foundational lever in the system – a strong network of regenerative farmers means more farm operators for farmland investors, more regeneratively produced products to send to market, and more advocates for crop insurance reform. The other pieces in this series home in on those needs.