The regenerative agriculture movement is taking off. From multinational ag input players and global food companies, to mainstream documentaries and Vogue articles, the term is showing up everywhere.

But what does it actually mean? Is it a good thing- for farmers, consumers, and the planet? And if so, how do we actually do it profitably?

Ask 10 people about regen ag, you’ll get 11 answers 

Over the past few years, we’ve had dozens of conversations with farmers, investors, researchers, agri-food executives, and founders about exactly this question, and come away with some surprising insights and practical takeaways.

Like, when carbon-neutral farmer, Mark Wootton, advocated for “sustainable intensification” over “regen,” given how squishy the latter still can be: 

“We're going to have to look at some of the more intense systems being kinder to the environment;  having a higher level of social license in terms of whether it’s pesticides or whether it's water usage or whether it's a carbon conversion -  whatever criteria you use, we're going to have to get good at this.”

Some farmers, though, love the term “regen ag” because of its seeming alignment to consumer preferences and the potential it heralds for premiums or other novel revenue streams, like ecosystem services. 

Other farmers dislike the term because it implies that if you’re not across the regen hype, you might be a “degenerate.”

Given regenerative agriculture is a set of principles, not a certification or standard, there's plenty of grey area. 

Is going mainstream even a good thing?

We urgently need climate action, and as major custodians of our natural capital, farmers are critical contributors to the solution globally. But it’s less clear that the “mainstreaming” of regenerative agriculture will do much to speed things up. 

Does adoption and endorsement of regen by major corporations help clear things up, or further contribute to confusion? 

Will all this attention distract us from real action, or provide focus and direct capital to those taking meaningful action? 

There is no doubt we are seeing a growing focus on regenerative agriculture. How all this attention propels us forward is much less clear.

Catch up on our regen ag series

We’ve pulled a few of our favorite conversations and insights together into a Regen Ag Series, which covers:

• why the term "regen ag" is so polarizing and why even extremely climate-conscious farmers are skeptical  
• practical, on-farm changes farmers are making today to improve profitability & resilience 
• emerging opportunities for technology & investment, from fintech-style incentives for practice change to measurement
• how downstream (food) companies can - and perhaps can't - incentivize change on-farm
• why so much capital is flowing to regen ag

Check out the links below and let us know what you think!