Regenerative agriculture is a system of farming principles that rehabilitates the entire ecosystem and enhances natural resources, rather than depleting them.³

Its practices improve soil health by increasing soil organic matter, of which biodiversity, both above and below ground, is a critical component. ⁴ It enhances soil’s water retention capacity, improves its structure, and enables carbon sequestration at greater depths.⁵ Some of the regenerative practices identified in the report that support soil carbon sequestration include: diversifying crop rotations, planting cover crops, using natural sources of fertilizer such as compost, eliminating synthetic chemicals, and employing highly managed grazing.

These interlinked practices support soil life and minimize erosion by retaining biomass from a wide variety of living and dead roots, shoots, and microbes, which work together to sequester carbon.⁴

Its practices improve soil health by increasing soil organic matter, of which biodiversity, both above and below ground, is a critical component. ⁴ It enhances soil’s water retention capacity, improves its structure, and enables carbon sequestration at greater depths.⁵ Some of the regenerative practices identified in the report that support soil carbon sequestration include: diversifying crop rotations, planting cover crops, using natural sources of fertilizer such as compost, eliminating synthetic chemicals, and employing highly managed grazing. “These interlinked practices support soil life and minimize erosion by retaining biomass from a wide variety of living and dead roots, shoots, and microbes, which work together to sequester carbon.”⁴

The evidence is in the data. Consider these insights on regenerative practices included in the report:

• Biodiversity is key: Almost 60 percent more biomass from soil microorganisms and 80 percent more activity in soil life was found in organic farms than conventional, according to a review of more than 50 international studies. ⁶
• Polycultures protect: The roots of diverse polycultures (multiple crop species planted side-by-side or in rotation) protect microbially derived soil carbon from decomposition, which is vital for long-term carbon storage.⁷
• Nitrogen sources are imperative: Organic nitrogen sources, like compost and manure, feed the microbes responsible for carbon storage, and help nitrogen-fixing plants grow longer roots, allowing them to hold more carbon in the process. Legume cover crops, such as crimson clover, are twice as efficient as nitrogen fertilizer at storing soil carbon. And, after 34 years of Rodale’s Farming Systems Trial, there were 18 to 21 percent higher soil organic carbon levels in the system fertilized with organic manure than the conventional.⁷

To close the emissions gap, land use must transition rapidly from being a net source of emissions to a net sink.⁸

Grazing lands comprise more than 70 percent of the world’s agricultural land area, and the most significant carbon sequestration potential identified by the Rodale report lies in this vast carbon sink. Regeneratively managed ruminant grazing can increase soil carbon storage at levels that more than offset their emissions, while providing other essential ecosystem services such as increasing essential minerals and general soil health.⁹ “Actual yields in well-designed regenerative organic systems… have been shown to outcompete conventional yields for almost all food crops including corn, wheat, rice, soybean, and sunflower.” ¹⁰ Many are skeptical that organic agriculture can feed the world, based on presumed yield gaps. The Rodale Farming Systems Trial provides evidence that regenerative organic practices can close the yield gap. Consider these highlights:

No statistical difference between the yields of conventional and organic plots over 40 years.¹¹

• 60 more bushels per acre of organic corn produced in 2016 by the no-till/manure system compared to the conventional corn yield that year.¹¹
• 30 to 100 percent higher yields during drought years, demonstrating the climate resilience of organic plots versus conventional.¹¹

What You Can Do

The Rodale report recommends these four actions for every eater who wants to make a difference: Put pressure on supply chains. Talk to your policymakers. Start a conversation. Buy regenerative.¹¹ At Natural Grocers, we help you take those steps through our dedication to organic and regenerative standards. Our produce department is 100 percent certified USDA organic. Our dairy is 100 percent pasture based. And our meat is 100 percent humanely raised and sustainably farmed. We are committed to providing our customers with environmentally sustainable and regenerative selections and work behind the scenes to support farmers and policymakers who share our commitment. Every forkful contributes either to the problem or the solution, because as Wendell Berry says, “Eating is an agricultural act.”

References available upon request