Regenerative Agriculture

Report identifies poor soil health as national security threat

A new report, “Soil Health: A National Security Profile,” by the United Kingdom-based Food & Global Security Network, calls on government leaders to formally recognize healthy soil as a strategic asset, critical for maintaining food and societal security.  It says that defense departments globally should work with departments of agriculture and the environment to jointly […]

Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation and Soil Health Institute launch new U.S. regenerative cotton program

The U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund aims to assist farmers in implementing regenerative agricultural practices across more than one million acres of U.S. cotton cropland; the goal is to draw down one million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from the atmosphere by 2026 The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation and the Soil Health Institute recently announced […]

Flowering cover crops offer a win-win: weed suppression and food for pollinators

A recent study found that when cover crops are allowed to flower, not only do they provide vital food for pollinating insects, they also help suppress weeds in future crop rotations. Published in Environmental Entomology, the research compared floral resources, weed diversity, and economic weed abundance in crop fields across five cover crop treatments: one […]

Use of cover crops as climate tool on the rise

Purdue’s Ag Economy Barometer announced recently that over half of the U.S,’ largest farms (over $500,000 worth of production yearly) planted cover crops this year. Cover crops are now seen as a way to earn money from carbon contracts while lessening climate change impacts. In the survey of 400 producers, most were newcomers, with half […]

Planting perennial prairie strips—environmental boon, while increasing agricultural production

Less erosion, reduced nitrogen runoff, and loads more butterflies and microorganisms—sound worth it? Planting perennial prairie strips on farms provides these benefits, and more. Missouri farmer Frank Oberle has been using one-mile-long prairie strips for over 15 years—strips of 30-120 feet wide placed along waterways, through fields, or in terrace channels—seeding them with native flowers […]