Burroughs Family Farms wants to see unity and accessibility in the regenerative movement
There is vigorous debate between those who say farms must be organic to be regenerative, and those who say conventional farms that adopt regenerative practices and build soil health are also regenerative.
A farmer in California says both camps should work together to regenerate agriculture and build a better food system. Benina Montes, managing partner of California-based Burroughs Family Farms, says: “There is so much positivity in both camps, so let’s make it one camp. Let’s figure out how to get more soil covered in the organic landscape and figure out how to use less synthetics in regenerative. Let’s work together to make the world a better place.”
Burroughs Family Farms almond trees
Pathway to regenerative is open to all
Montes, whose family farm holds dual regenerative certifications, says the two groups working together could have a major impact.
“If we could just work together, it could really create some magic and show conventional ag that it can be done without the inputs and have that diversity as it’s happening on farms all across the world.”
Burroughs Family Farms, a fifth-generation, family-owned farm in California’s Central Valley, recently received regenerative certification from Regenified, a third-party verifier. Burroughs had previously earned Regenerative Organic Certification in 2023.
Burroughs Family Farms hopes that its latest certification will demonstrate to other farmers, brands, and the industry at large that the pathway to regenerative agriculture is open to all.
Burroughs Family Farms produces almonds, almond butters, walnuts and olive oil, organic pastured eggs, lamb, and beef across 2,031 acres. Burroughs employs a whole systems approach that works in harmony with nature to mitigate the effects of climate change while restoring the health of the land. Aimed at improving soil health, enhancing biodiversity, optimizing water usage and reducing carbon emissions, their regenerative practices support on-farm operations that actively regenerate the environment.
Burroughs Family Farms Regenerative Organic Certified crunchy and creamy almond butters.
In addition to its regenerative certifications, Burroughs Family Farms is certified organic and has Real Organic Project certification.
Montes acknowledges the farm has “a lot of certifications” but says: “I think they’re all important. We have those certifications because we feel like we need to come together.”
Regenerative Organic and Regenified certifications
Over the past few years, Montes realized the potential of regenerative agriculture, so the farm decided to seek Regenerative Organic Certification in 2022.
“We were already organic so regenerative organic made the most sense for us, and so we started that in 2022 we got that certification in 2023,” she says. “For us, sustainable is not enough, because we’re just kind of staying the same. We need to make the world better in everything that we do.”
Montes sees regenerative organic as the ideal to strive for. “The hope and dream would be that everyone becomes regenerative organic.”
Montes says her farm decided to seek Regenified certification because of the need to adopt regenerative practices that build soil health and sequester carbon to mitigate climate change.
“We have to move more farmland into regenerative practices if we’re going to make a real impact for our world at scale.”
Further, she wants her farm’s Regenified certification to be an example that other farms can follow in adopting regenerative practices.
“This is an urgent situation, and we want other farms to know that regardless of the status of your land, whether you’re conventional, organic, or somewhere in between, there’s a way to start your journey today,” she says.
Montes says Regenified certification is rigorous but doable for other farms. “We want farmers to know that Regenified’s tier system meets you where you’re at. The capture of raw data at the soil level gives you what you need to create a clear path towards continuous and measured improvement on multiple levels, so you can enhance soil health and farm productivity in a very tangible way.”
Salar Shemirani, CEO of Regenified, sees Burroughs Family Farm as a leader in organic and regenerative agriculture. “Their decades-long commitment as one of the leading regenerative and organic almond farms sets an example for their peers and the broader industry to follow. Their journey encourages unity within the farming community, inviting others to join in making tangible progress through regenerative agriculture.”
