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To our partners, customers, team members and champions of ag resilience:
Today marks an important milestone for Regrow – our 8th anniversary. Reflecting on these eight years, I am filled with gratitude and pride for the journey we’ve embarked on to create a more resilient food system.
In under a decade, we’ve transformed a nascent field into a powerful movement. With your partnership and trust, Regrow has grown from an idea (MRV for agricultural systems) into an impact-driven force for change. Collectively we’ve abated 1.3 million metric tonnes of CO₂e within our supply chain and facilitated $46 million in payments to thousands of farmers. This is a testament to the power of collaboration. None of this would be possible without your commitment, courage, and willingness to embrace innovation. Together, we improved the livelihoods of thousands of producers and the millions that they help feed.
However, our work is far from done.
While we have a lot to show for the last 8 years, in order to transform our food system to feed a growing population we need to make agriculture resilience central to our business strategy and a mainstream way of thinking.
According to Regrow data, today in the continental United States, cover cropping occurs on 8% of agricultural land, no-till farming is implemented on 5% and reduced-till on 22%. That leaves more than 90% of our farming acres that aren’t utilizing cover crops, and more than 70% that haven’t adopted conservation tillage.
Of course, regenerative practice adoption is dependent on a number of factors, including weather events, variations in farmland and soil, and farmers’ resources.
However, these numbers highlight our need to accelerate the adoption of climate-smart farming practices. There are many acres across the United States (and the world) that have not yet transitioned to the practices that would build true resilience. We have the opportunity, the science and the technology to grow adoption rates and make agriculture resilience mainstream.
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute found that when 10% of a population holds an unshakable belief, that belief can rapidly spread to become the majority opinion in society. This 10% threshold is a tipping point for widespread change.
Could 10% be the tipping point for agriculture?
If so, we may not be far off at the national level to getting 10% of farmers see the path to resilience — but there’s opportunity to bolster adoption rates at the local level (where some regions are using no regenerative practices) and in new markets (where the incentives are less established). We can continue to increase resilience and push towards a 10% ‘tipping point’ across different factions of the agriculture industry.
But how, exactly, can we build agriculture resilience in the coming years?
We need to bring the majority of the market into this work. We need to reach critical parts of the ag sector (like the livestock industry) and help all stakeholders embed resilience into their core business strategies. We need to help one another build and demonstrate a strong business case for resilience.
We also need to expand incentives beyond carbon and scale regenerative farming programs. We need to find ways to financially reward the co-benefits of regenerative practices, like enhanced water quality and biodiversity, and help the industry understand the holistic benefits of our work — both for the environment and for our businesses.
And finally, we must find more effective ways to collaborate across the supply chain and on the shared landscapes. We need to co-invest in programs, share knowledge and resources, and build frameworks for efficient action.
This effort cannot wait. On the heels of the U.S. Presidential election, it’s important to acknowledge that agriculture resilience isn’t just a co-benefit of reaching climate goals — it’s a business imperative that will secure the future of our food system. Federal policy and funding changes do not change the necessity of building resilience.
Let’s keep working to build resilience with this in mind: first and foremost - it’s about longevity of nature, and with it the longevity of our communities, which on the day to day basis is felt through security of our food and supply chains, our business and our society as a whole. This is not work we can pull back from.
As we celebrate Regrow’s impact and look to the future, I want to acknowledge the invaluable role our community - you all, play in our journey. Each of you, our customers, partners, and collaborators has trusted us, taken bold steps, and committed to the shared vision of a resilient food system. You have shown that together, we can drive lasting change.
Thank you for your commitment to progress, trust, and shared vision.
With gratitude,
Anastasia Volkova
CEO and Co-Founder, Regrow
PS - learn more about our recent innovation here.
