Regenerative Agriculture

Ancient farming strategy holds promise for climate resilience

Nikoloz Lomsadze, senior pastor of a church in Dedoflis Tskaro, in eastern Republic of Georgia, looks over his field of mixed barley and wheat. He uses the mixture to make holy sacrament and church feasts. Credit: Alex McAlvay/New York Botanical Garden by Susan Kelley, Cornell University Morgan Ruelle was living in the remote mountains of Ethiopia […]

Reviving agroforestry for soil health, weather protection, and water quality

A “forest garden,” with rows of trees and shrubs interplanted with crops? Faced with climate change’s deleterious impact on growing food, sustainability experts are looking to agroforestry. This co-existence of trees and crops on farmland was common in earlier times. “The whole Eastern U.S. in pre-European eras had a lot of agroforestry. That was how […]

Perennial rice takes root in China, could transform farming

Thousands of farmers in China are growing a new rice variety that grows and is harvested over several years. The perennial rice grows each year from long-lived roots in the soil and promises labor- and money-saving benefits to farmers. The rice was developed by researchers at Yunnan University in Kunming, China who worked for more […]

ADM contracts with North Dakota farmers to produce regeneratively grown flaxseed

Paul and Diane Overby of Wolford, North Dakota are enjoying the premiums from growing flaxseed for specialty food markets using regeneratively grown practices. The best part is spreading the word to farmers and consumers on the benefits of no-till, low chemical use, more sustainable agriculture that promotes healthy soil. In 2019, Archer Daniels Midland—for whom […]

Ancient grain teff earns the spotlight as a climate change hero

Crises often prompt a re-examination of resources—what do we already have in our toolkit that can solve our problem? In the face of global warming exacerbating drought, and subsequent crop losses leading to food shortages, an ancient grain from Ethiopia is looking particularly promising. The tufty grass crop teff—with tiny grains resembling millet—has been grown […]