Why Regenerative Agriculture is Essential in Confronting Climate Change

It’s an unfortunate reality that the agricultural industry is a contributor to climate change while also being highly susceptible to its impacts. Though at face value this reality may seem bleak, regenerative agriculture offers a solution that supports agricultural resilience while reducing environmental impacts long-term.

Whether you’re familiar with the concept of regenerative farming or are new to this practice, you may wonder, can regenerative agriculture reverse climate change? Though we’d love to provide a definitive answer to this question, there is debate over whether regenerative agriculture alone is the solution to climate concerns.

While there may be some debate over how much regenerative agriculture can help with climate change, there is no question that regenerative farming practices can have a tremendous impact on soil health. In this post, we dive into the topic of regenerative agriculture and climate impact to provide you with more insight into why regenerative farming practices matter beyond soil health and nutrition.

For additional insight into the many benefits of regenerative farming, see our post Why Regenerative Agriculture is the Future of Farming.

How Does Regenerative Agriculture Help Climate Change?

There are several ways regenerative farming practices can support climate change mitigation. However, the main benefit that practices such as no-till farming, crop rotation, and cover cropping provide is that they can help to sequester carbon. This means that instead of carbon being released into the air, it is sequestered in soil, supporting soil health. In addition to sequestering carbon, regenerative farming practices can help to increase biodiversity, which is important for all ecosystems.

How Does Regenerative Agriculture Sequester Carbon?

Regenerative farming practices that reduce soil disturbances allow for organic matter to break down naturally in the soil. By using low-till or no-till farming practices, the roots of crops that release carbon-rich sugars remain in the soil, reducing atmospheric carbon and supporting soil health. Sequestering carbon benefits both soil health and the environment in the long term. This is important for farming, as good soil health improves yields and produces more nutrient-dense crops.

How Much Carbon Can Regenerative Agriculture Sequester?

Regenerative agriculture plays an important role in reducing the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. It is estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in a 2019 special report that regenerative farming practices could sequester up to 23 gigatons of carbon dioxide by 2050.

Whether farmers are looking to implement regenerative farming practices for their environmental impact or simply to improve yields, there is no question that these practices are effective. For the most nutrient-dense crops and optimal soil health, a variety of regenerative farming practices should be considered. These practices are intuitive to long-term success and are good for soil, humans, and the environment as a whole.