This week, I’m reporting back from my very first Regenerative Agriculture conference.  It was called Regenerative Agriculture and Food Systems Summit USA 2023.  This post will be structured a little differently than my normal posts.  I’ll share main themes, favorite quotes, celebrity sightings, and key takeaways. I also pose a question to you at the end and would love to hear back! 

While there were probably only a couple hundred folks in attendance, some well-known experts in the field were there, and I couldn’t help but feel I was in the presence of greatness.  These were folks who truly believe in their mission and purpose, and have been able to make a living doing it.  These were happy people.  I was so inspired… and so exhausted!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I’m an introvert.  So, what the heck was I doing at a conference of several hundred people without knowing a soul?!  And I didn’t. know. a. soul.  I’ll tell you – I am so hungry to learn from and connect with people in the space. And frankly, everyone there came to do the same thing!  Learn and connect!  It was VERY easy to chat with people.  I received smiles and verbose responses from everyone.  I will admit though, I had to build myself up before I left my hotel room, and about midway through each day, I had to remove myself for some alone time.  This conference filled me up and wore me out!  It really helps to have people in your corner that believe in you.  I drew on their support to keep me moving.

Main Themes

Here were some of the themes of discussion that resonated with me.  So much was covered in those two days.

Talking to Farmers

Everyone there has tremendous respect for farmers of the world.  If you believe that food can be medicine and that what we eat can direct our health, then you must see our growers as humanity’s primary caregivers.  Many there also see farmers as the main stewards of our earth.  And being a farmer is hard.  The work is hard and the business of selling their product is hard.  So there are all kinds of companies working to educate farmers on the science behind building soil health, working with them to come up with solutions specific to their farms, and helping them find capital (loans, investment, nonprofit and government funding) to transition to a new way of growing food.  The good news is, regenerative agriculture can be more profitable than conventional agriculture.  Transitioning from one to the other, however, is where the risk lies.  And convincing someone to change can be complicated.

Climate

The number one outcome discussed at the conference was the climate benefits of regenerative agriculture.  I plan to cover this in my Regenerative Agriculture series. When farmers build life in the soil,  they are sequestering carbon, reducing the need for chemical inputs that end up in our air, food, and water, and replenishing our water systems.  If you are concerned about water security and climate change, regenerative agriculture has the potential to have an immense impact on those things, and the people at this conference are very motivated to make this a reality.

The Role of Large corporations

There were sustainability folks from Kellogg, Nestle, General Mills, McCain Foods, Applegate Farms, Cargill, and other chemical companies.  They all want to play a role in the transition to regenerative agriculture, so they want to be a part of the conversation.  They are aware that their customers want “green” solutions and that consumers care about the climate.  The CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) companies, like General Mills for example, are working with their suppliers to convert more of their ingredients to regenerative, in the interest of the climate.  You can see what they are doing here.

Policy

There were people from the Environmental Defense Fund, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Regenerate America, and The Russell Group, among others, there to discuss how policy can direct government money to support food system transitions.  There is a great culture of collaboration in this area. Discussion right now largely centers on the Farm Bill, which is being updated this September, is passed every 5 years or so, and directs $100 billion each year into our food systems – to everything from SNAP (food stamps) to cost share for farmers to support them in their operations, to subsidies for crop insurance.  What gets supported and funded by that bill has a huge impact on what food gets produced and sold in our country.  It should be called the Food Bill.  So, this is a topic that is relevant to all of us who were there at that conference, and in our country.

Favorite Quotes

I like to take notes using pen and paper.  Things stay with me better.  But I can never write fast enough.  I missed who said what a couple of times. So, for a couple of my favorite quotes, I sadly can’t give credit to the brilliant speaker. 

“I am not a producer.  I don’t produce crops.  I steward and harvest energy from the earth.”  Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, Farmer, Tree Range Farms

“It’s not tenable for business as usual.” Candace Clark, Ph.D. Candidate at Tuskegee University’s Integrative Public Policy and Development Program

“Institutional lenders need to understand what risk is in farming.  Many of them are bracing for climate change, but few are looking at financing practices that mitigate the risk.”  -Someone on the panel of “Financial Solutions to Incentivize the Transition and Transform at Scale”

“Farmers want to know – Can I do it?  Can I afford it?  Can I sell it?” -Guus ter Haar, COO, reNature

“Flavor and aroma translate into nutrient integrity.” John Kempf, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Advancing Eco Agriculture

“Retailers are the stage to amplify the work of brands.” And “[retail] procurement teams rely on brands for education.  Procurement teams should be asking the right questions.” -Someone on the panel of “The Role of Retailers and Consumers in the Transition to Regenerative Agriculture”

Regen Ag Celebrity Sightings

John Kempf, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Advancing Eco Agriculture*

Connie Bowen, General Partner, FarmHand Ventures*

Ethan Steinberg, CEO, Propagate*

Anthony Corsaro, Creator/Co-Host, The ReGen Brands Podcast

*met this person and loved it!!!

Key Take Aways

Regenerative Agriculture has the potential to solve so many of our world’s problems, from human health and climate change to the economic prosperity of our farmers and their surrounding communities.  At the conference was a brilliant brain trust of passionate professionals bringing their own solutions and looking to share, collaborate and learn.

Our conference MC was Eve Turow-Paul, an author and founder and Executive Director of the Food for Climate League.  Almost every introduction she gave discussed not only our planet’s health but human health.  Clearly, for her, our health is top of mind. And John Kempf, who spoke at the very last panel of the conference, he focused largely on that connection between healthy soil and healthy food.  Despite the wide range of issues that were presented and hashed out over these two days, I felt that this topic was largely left out of the discussion during the conference.  People were far more focused on climate impact than improving our human health crisis.

I was left wondering – was there a reason this discussion was absent?  It felt as though with the chemical companies and CPG corporations there, we weren’t discussing how regenerative agriculture would lead to healthier humans, who suffer from asthma, cancer, endocrine disruptions, diabetes, and nutrient deficiencies on a large scale. Strong links have been identified between human health issues and the use of chemicals in food production at all levels. So was the discussion truncated to accommodate some of the sponsors??  What do you think?  Should those companies have been part of the discussion?  Was it a help or a hindrance? I would love to hear what you think.