What Is Regenerative Agriculture? Definitions, Practices, and Real-World Examples

What is Regenerative Agriculture?

The global agricultural system is not only obsolete and failing to feed the world’s population, but centuries of intensive farming have caused extensive damage to fragile ecosystems. Regenerative agriculture is a holistic approach to farming that seeks to restore soil health, improve the water cycles and increase biodiversity within a specific ecosystem. 

Unlike sustainable agriculture, regenerative agriculture actively rebuilds damaged or depleted ecosystems through proven methods like cover cropping, reduced tillage, rotational grazing, and composting. It also creates important opportunities for carbon capture. Regenerative agriculture practices are designed to restore natural ecosystems, but always within the context of active farming, and with a focus on improving profitability, resilience and crop yields.

Why Regenerative Agriculture Matters

The intensive farming methods of the 20th century came at a high environmental price. Regenerative agriculture practices are vital to restore a natural balance and basic health to the environment. 

Source: European Soil Data Center

There’s a new understanding that soil is not simply an abundant natural growing medium, but is a living ecosystem within its own right. Soil requires careful management and reducing soil degradation is essential for its long term viability. There is also significant public and corporate demand for increased carbon sequestration. Carbon markets and the sale of carbon credits offer a lucrative income stream for farmers who embrace regenerative agriculture.

Regenerative Agriculture Practices and Methods

Regenerative agriculture practices are essentially a synergy of traditional farming methods and next generation agritech innovations. The core regenerative agriculture methods of cover cropping, reduced tillage, diverse crop rotations, and use of organic amendments are simple, effective and environmentally-friendly. They would be immediately recognizable to people who farmed the land centuries ago. 

At the other end of the spectrum, AI-driven soil analytics, satellite and drone imagery, sensors and robotics are enabling a data based approach to soil health and biodiversity and are challenging the conventional definition of regenerative agriculture. Smart technologies and precision agriculture will ultimately be the key to the reversal of soil degradation, improvement of biodiversity and the other wider goals of regenerative agriculture.

Real-World Regenerative Agriculture Examples

As public demand for responsible environmental policies, and a healthier and more transparent food supply chain grows, some of the world’s most innovative companies are leading research and development into regenerative agriculture. The companies featured below are delivering some interesting and diverse examples of regenerative agriculture solutions and provide a useful overview of the sector.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS)

General Mills is a multinational company that produces processed foods. Although the company isn’t a grower, it is directly supportive of regenerative agriculture and is actively sourcing regeneratively grown ingredients and partnering with farmers to restore soil health. As part of its corporate policy, General Mills is committed to advancing regenerative agriculture on 1 million acres of farmland by 2030. General Mills is one of the best examples of how companies across the food supply chain can use their resources to promote regenerative agriculture.

ICL Group (NYSE: ICL) (TASE: ICL)

ICL Group is a leading global specialty minerals company and one of the ten largest fertilizer manufacturers in the world. The company is investing heavily in the development of sustainable solutions that boost soil health and promote more responsible farming practices. These include advanced controlled-release fertilizers, innovative biologicals, and soil-enriching biostimulants—each designed to support scalable regenerative agriculture. ICL Group’s crop nutrition and soil health solutions already play a vital role in reversing soil exhaustion and degradation. 

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA)

Corteva is a major US agricultural company that is making a contribution to regenerative agriculture through the development of seed genetics and digital farming tools. Corteva’s seed varieties are designed to deliver resilience in the face of climate change and allow farmers to implement reduced tillage and cover cropping and to plant nitrogen-efficient crops that reduce fertilizer requirements. These regenerative agriculture examples can be optimized by Corteva’s digital tools that track soil health and offer data-driven solutions.

Syngenta

Syngenta is a global AgTech company that is gradually aligning itself to reflect growing demand for regenerative agriculture practices. The company is promoting sophisticated crop systems and digital tools to support regenerative outcomes. It is also promoting carbon capture through its Regenerating Soils program and providing herbicides and seed treatments for optimized conservation tillage and cover cropping. Syngenta is channelling R&D into creating alternatives to its traditional synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers 

Danone (Euronext Paris: BN)

French company Danone is collaborating with producers to implement regenerative agriculture examples on a global level, focusing on dairy and plant-based supply chains. The partnerships with farmers are intended to promote rotational grazing, cover cropping, and manure management to improve soil health. They are also conducting research into bovine dietary solutions that reduce GHG emissions and reduce the carbon footprint of dairy farming. In addition to its partnerships, Danone sources food ingredients from regenerative farmers to incorporate in its dairy range.

The Future of Regenerative Agriculture

Although this article has addressed the basic question of what is regenerative agriculture, it’s harder to assess how it will develop in the future. One reason is the pace of innovation in the AgTech sector with new technologies constantly emerging that can enhance regenerative practices—from precision agriculture and soil sensors to advanced biologicals and decision-support platforms. 

One area where regenerative agriculture is almost certain to expand is as a source of carbon credits for the carbon markets. The monetization of carbon sequestration and biodiversity gains through emerging market incentives is likely to prove increasingly profitable for farmers and landowners. 

It’s also likely that there will be an upsurge in new partnerships, technologies, and policy frameworks that can accelerate the widespread adoption of regenerative agriculture. As convenient and practical frameworks become more widespread, corporations, government agencies, NGOs and private foundations are expected to take a greater interest in the improvement of the global agricultural system and the protection of the environment. The shift towards regenerative agriculture is a trend that will continue - and may offer substantial financial rewards to its proponents.