Regenerative Agriculture: A Powerful Tool to Fight Climate Change

Regenerative agriculture champions farming practices that improve the environment and can tackle the impacts of climate change. But what exactly is regenerative agriculture? What are the benefits and what is needed to scale regenerative agriculture practices across global farmland? During this educational program organized by the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States (AFPC-USA) in partnership with PepsiCo, foreign correspondents had the opportunity to hear from leading experts from business, farming organizations, and academia to demystify and discuss regenerative agriculture and its role in building a sustainable food system.

Foreign correspondents learned how to understand the role that regenerative agriculture can play in tackling climate change and building a sustainable food system, gained insight into some of the common regenerative agriculture practices, technologies and approaches to implement, and learned how to comprehend the challenges which can arise for farmers and the ways to scale adoption.

This educational program was held on Thursday, May 11 and was moderated by journalist Thanos Dimadis, who is AFPC-USA’s Executive Director. The AFPC-USA is solely responsible for the content of this educational program. Below, foreign correspondents will find a summary of some of the most important takeaways from the presentation.

REGARDING PEPSICO’S INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY

• Jim Andrew, the Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer for PepsiCo, describes the company as “fundamentally… rooted in the soil, in the ground” because what is the revenue of the company comes from almost “60 percent food.” The company sources about “30 major crops from about 60 countries around the world” and “support[s] about a hundred thousand agricultural jobs.”

• Andrew says there are “a whole set of systemic challenges that are making agriculture more and more challenging for farmers to be able to earn a living,” including climate change and extreme weather events,” and it makes sense for PepsiCo to be so involved in different initiatives because it has a stake in 200 countries and territories worldwide. In this regard, PepsiCo feels it is imperative to “work with partners to bring regenerative practices to 7 million acres, about 2.6 million hectares” which encompass its “global agricultural footprint.”

• There are three very important things that the company keeps in mind: how to help farmers make the transition; how to sustainably source all of their major crops; and “supporting and improving the livelihoods of 250,000 people in the agricultural community” and the company’s supply chain. All of this contributes to PepsiCo’s goals “to create a sustainable food system, one that respects natural resources, that helps farmers continue to be successful at farming, makes a positive impact on them and on the communities, and does things that are good for the planet.”

• In regard to the philosophy that governs the company’s work with its partners, Andrew says it “starts and ends with farmers” but there is also a “direct link to customers,” a group which includes “retailers and away from home partners as well as ultimately consumers.”

ON DEFINING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

• Dr. Abbey Wick, a North Dakota State University Extension Soil Health Specialist and Associate Professor and founder of Wick Consulting, says she “straddles the research and the science being done and then how that applies to the on-farm work and farmer adoption of practices.” She emphasizes the importance of “science-based information going out to those growers to adopt new practices so that they can reduce the risk of adopting a practice.” Ultimately, regenerative agriculture is about “looking for solutions.” For instance: How can farmers farm in a way that protects generational farming while preserving solar resources and reducing inputs to keep costs down? Keeping inputs down is “critical” for growers because operating loans are “difficult.” All in all, “goal oriented” approaches are important to improving farming practices for the next generation.

• Wick is optimistic about the future of regenerative agriculture because farmers are aware of issues they face—like soil erosion—and are actively searching for information that will help them “adopt new practices.”

• According to Sarah Carlson, Practical Farmers of Iowa’s senior programs and member engagement director, regenerative agriculture suggests “adding in more diversity” that has typically been “divorced from the system” to preserve “Mother Nature” while still generating cash for crops during the growing seasons. Regenerative agriculture involves covering crops, having a diverse crop rotation, adding in livestock, and adding in perennials—an undoubtedly “global concept.”

• Carlson says the farmers that are already “morally motivated” have adopted regenerative agriculture practices. There are also “middle adopters” who will change according to “market signals.” All of this can be “coupled with public investment.”

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT

• Adam Kiel, the Executive Vice President of the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, says market signals can encompass “the equipment that's needed to do these kinds of practices all the way to the lending and the institutions that support farmers and everything in between.” It is important “to have the support system with farmers to get the regenerative crops off the ground.” This can involve different seeding methods and technologies that cover farm equipment. Additionally, “the support of insurance providers and lenders to recognize that there is perhaps a lower risk profile with regenerative agriculture” is also important.

• Kiel says, “resistance comes from the status quo,” such as policies that don’t support regenerative agriculture. He says PepsiCo has been instrumental to helping experts like him and the others on the panel challenge the existing system.

• Andrew says there are financial, technical, and cultural elements to making these changes. Of course, the company is working to drive financial incentives in the system but changing practices requires education to help people become open to these changes, which will change the culture of farming practices at large.

ON BARRIERS THAT CREATE RESISTANCE

• Carlson says a “loss of human capacity” to plant cover crops and that there are currently about 20,000 farmers in Iowa doing the work of 200,000. Getting these practices “off the ground is a huge barrier today.” Also, the conundrum between regenerative ag abilities to help farmers save on herbicides and fertilizer but the status quo practice of securing those inputs nearly 8 months before a farmer can confidently make an informed decision about performance of their practice.

• Wick says having a “human element” who can communicate the importance of regenerative agriculture practices to farmers is essential because farming is a “solitary profession” that needs a solid network in order for a larger cultural shift to happen.

• Kiel points out the importance of policy changes because at the moment there is agricultural policy in place that incentivizes farmers to maintain the current status quo. Restructuring “policy levers” or at least “differentiating” them can “promote regenerative agriculture in various ways.”

• Carlson adds to these points by noting the importance of “diversifying crops within the system” and that there has to be a way to make businesses “transition their supply chains.” Having the infrastructure to support operations like cleaning and conditioning facilities” is important. There also needs to be enough “space for new farmers to come onto the land” as well as “workforce development for conservation delivery.” It is crucial to have more humans on board who are “trained in a more holistic understanding of agriculture and an agroecological sense”

ON FUTURE CHALLENGES PEPSICO WOULD LIKE TO PLAY A ROLE IN OVERCOMING

• Among the points Andrew mentions: PepsiCo is invested in working with smaller companies to test and pilot new technologies to support regenerative agriculture. PepsiCo is working with an artificial intelligence system called Agroscout that uses drones to get information about disease and pest infestations that could affect crop yields. Creating “a forum where these things can be tested in real life” through PepsiCo’s network of 72 Demo Farms is crucial to helping to overcome these hurdles.He also highlights the N-Drip irrigation system, which provides an affordable drip irrigation.  The water-saving technology is powered by gravity and uses less energy and requires less operating and maintenance demands—making it more accessible to all types of farmers and nearly all types of crops. By converting from flood irrigation to N-Drip's drip irrigation system, carbon (CO2) emissions can be reduced by as much as 83 percent  while also reducing water use significantly. PepsiCo has implemented N-Drip's technology with farmers in India, Vietnam, and the U.S.

ON COST-SHARING

• Carlson says, “risk share” to help farmers “move out of the status quo” is crucial because currently there is “a lot of risk share through crop insurance and other subsidies to not move away from the status quo.” Big companies like PepsiCo—to say nothing of smaller ones—really help drive home the importance and value of changes to the status quo.

• Wick stresses the value in research and “information sharing” to help facilitate cost-sharing. Kiel points out that the agricultural system “uses advanced financial tracking systems to assign value to everything on the farm, but some things aren't easy to value” and that moving to regenerative agriculture practices requires helping farmers understand that they do provide value that maybe can't be easily put in into a spreadsheet.”

ON THE KEY ELEMENT TO CONVINCE FARMERS TO ADOPT REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

• Andrew says, “the path to get there is individual for every farmer” because, “every farming community is different and will need different things”. Wick says, “it's tough to pick out one thing or one practice or one aspect that is the game changer.”

• Carlson says at some point there will need to be an undeniable shift to a different system because the current market system does not support regenerative agriculture practices.”

• Kiel says at some point there needs to be a “mutual desire” to make the necessary changes and that eventually there will be enough “yield impact” because of climate change and that regenerative agriculture will become “predominant” out of necessity

MORE ON THE SPEAKERS

The experts on the panel offered a diverse range of perspectives.

Among them was Jim Andrew, the Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer for PepsiCo. PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. Andrew joined PepsiCo in 2016 and currently leads PepsiCo Positive (pep+), PepsiCo’s holistic transformation agenda with sustainability at the center, including the strategic framework, governance, and integrated plans and goals for all of PepsiCo. He also ensures that sustainability is woven into the operating plans of all Business Units.

Joining him was Adam Kiel, the Executive Vice President of the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund. The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund works with public and private partners to support on-farm generation of ecosystem services. Kiel has over 20 years of experience in the field and held a prior role as Director of Conservation for the Iowa Soybean Association and positions with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and National Park Service.

Abbey Wick also contributed much to the discussion. Wick is a North Dakota State University Extension Soil Health Specialist and Associate Professor and founder of Wick Consulting. She has experience working with farmers on soil health building practices like incorporating cover crops into rotation, transitioning to no-till systems and managing problematic parts of the field. Wick focuses on goal-oriented approaches so that farmers can maximize the benefits while reducing the risk associated with incorporating new practices.

Last but certainly not least was Sarah Carlson, who is PFI’s senior programs and member engagement director. Carlson joined Practical Farmers of Iowa in 2007 and has held various staff positions over the years, including leading the Cooperators’ Program and developing PFI’s role in delivering cost-share programs that pay farmers to increase acres of continuous living cover. She has also helped develop programs that support rural businesses, including the Cover Crop Business Accelerator program. Today she supports PFI's three largest program areas: Farmer-led Education, Research and Farm Viability to meet the mission of equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities. She serves as an agronomist on the staff and helps transfer agronomic research about cover crops and small grains through supply chain projects. She works one-on-one with farmers, agronomists, food and beverage staff and non-operator landowners, and seeks to reduce barriers to adopting more acres of continuous living cover on farmland across the Midwest.