How Gabe Brown is building regenerative momentum across the world
© Larry Reichenberger Gabe Brown might just be the most famous regenerative farmer in the world.
He told his story in his phenomenally successful 2018 book, Dirt to Soil, where he transformed his family’s 2,000ha ranch in North Dakota, in the US, from near bankruptcy into a profitable business.
The financial problems were caused by four successive failed or partly failed conventionally grown crops in the 1990s. He brought the farm back to health by implementing the six key principles of regenerative agriculture.
It is a journey that has inspired many farmers to attempt a similar transition across the world.
See also: 3 arable farmers, 3 regenerative agriculture journeys
Momentum for regenerative agriculture has been building in the past three to five years, he says.
Agriculture as part of the solution
“It’s unbelievable the change. Finally, there is the realisation that while agriculture is part of the problem, it can be a bigger part of the solution.”
But successfully transforming agriculture globally requires focusing and working on “common ground for common good” more than arguing about areas of contention, he stresses.
“We firmly believe regenerative practices can not only help farmers, but society as a whole, no matter where your interests lie.”
Those varied interests include climate change, water quality and quantity, low farm profitability, the demise and decline of rural economies and human health – something Mr Brown believes will play the biggest role in the future.
“We have a real human health crisis going on around the world. I contend we don’t eat food anymore, rather food-like substances that contain a mere fraction of the nutrients they once did.”
He says the goal is to bring people together to focus on the common good. “I don’t care where your interests lie, regenerative agriculture can be part of the solution.
“As humans we want to do what’s right and we can agree on 85%+ of the things, so why don’t we come together and work on those rather than bickering about the 10-15% we don’t agree on.”
He says that makes no sense and is not the way to advance society. “We need to come together and find common ground for common good.”
Three main barriers are stopping more farmers from transitioning to regenerative agriculture, he suggests.
Barriers
One barrier is peer pressure. It’s not easy being in a community when you stop tilling, start growing cover crops and cutting back on synthetic inputs, and taking criticism for how your fields look, he suggests.
“You’re making other farmers uncomfortable, and their reaction can be to criticise, and that bothers a lot of people.”
In the US, especially, a second barrier is finance.
“Most farmers have to borrow operating capital to put in a crop every year, but the lending institution is not going to lend them money if they are doing things outside the norm.”
Most banks in the US insist on farmers signing up for federal farm programmes, which help farmers manage market risks and provide insurance against natural disasters.
But the rules of the farm programmes do not always align with regenerative practices – for example, asking growers to terminate cover crops in advance of planting when most will plant “on the green” directly into the cover before terminating.
But the third, and most important, barrier is often a lack of education.
“You cannot implement what you don’t know. I have a number of college degrees, but none of them talked to me about soil microbiology, the four ecosystem processes or the six regenerative agriculture principles. I had to learn those on my own.
“We cannot blame farmers for the current model as that’s all they were taught, so education is number one.”
Education gap
Mr Brown has helped set up two business to address the education gap – the non-profit Soil Health Academy, which focuses on helping farmers understand regenerative principles through workshops and online courses, and a for-profit consultancy firm, Understanding Ag.
While both are predominantly based in the US, their reach is starting to expand, with a three-day Soil Health Academy run by Mr Brown scheduled for mid-October in Ireland, in association with National Organic Training Skillset, and an Understanding Ag client in the UK.
Founded five years ago alongside four other partners, Understanding Ag is actively consulting on 12.8m hectares globally.
Outside of the US, the company is active in Canada, Mexico, and the UK.
The UK consultancy is for a “fund” that wants to help farmers move practices down the regenerative path, he says.
“They have some big plans, and the reason we signed on is we want to move this forward worldwide.”
Understanding Ag is supporting farmers involved in the programme by giving regenerative agriculture technical expertise and experience, collectively and individually, in their own context, he explains.
The farmers involved include arable, dairy and livestock producers, with a focus on both ecological outcomes and profitability.
“Farmers want to see positive net returns while at the same time regenerating resources for the good of society.”
Profitability is a key driver for encouraging farmers to adopt regenerative practices, Mr Brown emphasises.
Profitability
“Margins in agriculture, at least in the US, are extremely thin, with a 2-3% maximum return on investment. But if we show farmers increased profits, they’re all in.”
Initial testing, especially of soils, is important to help guide farmers and avoid yield dips during transition.
“We should not see an initial dip in yield, but if we do is there a dip in profitability? The answer to that in 95% of cases is no, we will see an increase in profitability.”
On his farm, Mr Brown has achieved what for many would be the Holy Grail of maintaining or increasing yields produced at a lower cost than conventional producers, while marketing that at premiums higher than organic producers achieve.
Selling directly from the farm is one reason how the latter has been possible. “We direct market almost everything we produce on the farm.”
But he recognises that as more switch to regenerative farming, those premiums will likely reduce.
“I could sell my products on the conventional market and be very profitable.
“As we move producers down the regenerative path, they quickly see higher returns because their input costs are much less.
“How they market those products is up to them, but there are clear ways they can get a premium.
“We have companies approach us all the time requesting regeneratively grown and raised products.
“You will see shortly in supermarkets, products that are labelled as regenerative, and I believe that will surpass organic very quickly,” he concludes.
Setting up verification standards
Verification of whether farmers are following regenerative practices is needed as a growing number of food companies make regenerative agriculture claims and commitments within their supply chains, Gabe Brown suggests.
That would help counter “greenwashing” by making it harder for companies to falsely claim regenerative practices within its business or supply chains.
Currently, without a set of standards to adhere to, it is relatively easy for companies to make claims for its supply chains – and not always correctly in Mr Brown’s view.
It has led him and his partners last March to launch Regenified as a verification company for regenerative practices.
Protocol
Regenified chief scientific officer Doug Peterson is a former soil scientist with 32 years’ experience for the Natural Resources Conservation Service within the US Department of Agriculture.
He has also run his own farm for 25 years using regenerative practices and has developed a protocol Mr Brown says is second to none for verifying practices within supply chains and on farm.
“We’re primarily working with food, fuel and fibre companies,” Mr Brown says.
“For example, we can verify the farms that a large company are sourcing wheat from are implementing the practices to drive the ecosystem processes.
“Are they sequestering more carbon? Are they increasing biodiversity? Are they minimising or eliminating soil erosion? Are they keeping nutrients on the land rather than ending up in watercourses?
“Our goal is to help bring uniformity to what regenerative agriculture is.”
Unlike organic standards, where there is a minimum hurdle to pass, the Regenified standard is inclusive – anyone can join – but also requires farmers to show continual progress through five tiers over time.
“Our standards are based on ecological change, based on the context of each individual farm. It has to be outcome-based.”
Verification begins with an initial evaluation that will place the farm into the appropriate tier depending on current application of regenerative practices.
The farm then aims to move up through the tiers, which are based on applying regenerative practices to larger areas of the farm and improvements in evaluation scores and soil tests.
Time limit
No more than three years is allowed in any single tier – if the farm hasn’t made enough changes to be eligible for the next tier in that time, it will be dropped from Regenified qualification status – although there are contingencies for natural disasters that can’t be controlled.
Evaluation of the farm is in line with the six principles of soil health, the four ecosystem processes, and the three rules of adaptive stewardship (see below).
In practice that means there are targets for things lsuch as reductions in tillage and pesticide use, increases in ground cover through a year, diversity in rotation and livestock integration, backed up by various laboratory soil tests and on-farm evaluation.
“The beauty of Regenified is you are only compared to yourself,” Mr Brown says.
“It doesn’t matter what your neighbours are doing, but what you are doing to advance ecosystems on your farm.
“This means it can’t be greenwashed like organic is, as you have to be advancing and have a written plan. And if you don’t, you’re out of the programme.”
Six principles of soil health
- Context matters
- Minimise soil disturbance
- Keep the soil covered (armour)
- Keep living roots in the soil
- Encourage and facilitate diversity
- Incorporate livestock
Four ecosystem processes
- Water cycle – responsibility for the water that falls on land
- Mineral cycle – moving nutrients from soils to above ground and back
- Energy flow – solar energy and photosynthesis; crucial there is enough plant material for this to occur
- Community dynamics – species will move into an environment that is suitable for its establishment and move out when conditions are unsuitable for its reproduction
Three rules of adaptive stewardship
- Rule of compounding – there are no singular effects, understand impact of compound effects will improve decision making
- Rule of diversity – nature doesn’t create monocultures, neither should we
- Rule of disruption – nothing stays the same in nature, disruption helps create strength and resiliency
Too early to sell carbon credits
Understanding Ag is advising its clients not to sell carbon credits yet, Gabe Brown says. “We don’t believe the timing is right.”
There are a number of reasons behind that opinion, with inaccurate measurement a key one.
“There is no way right now to accurately measure carbon from satellite imagery.
“Scientists are getting closer, but one expert, Jason Rowntree at Michigan State University, has told me it’s still about five years away.”
On 240ha of his own farm, Mr Brown spent $170,000 physically measuring carbon from 300 20cm cores to a depth of 120cm (4ft).
“After three years, we concluded that it was incomplete as the roots from our crops will move carbon deeper than 4ft. As a farmer I want to be paid for all the carbon I’m storing.
“Using satellite imagery or a 6in soil test to measure carbon is a joke – you’re only measuring part of it, so there are some major issues with measuring accurately carbon at a price point that is economical.”
He also believes the companies trading carbon certificates are taking too big a percentage. “I would like a minimum of 90% to go to the farmer.”
Farmers should have the ability to trade the credits on any market in the world, he adds.
“But I would prefer that farmers do not sell their carbon as credits, but sell products that are carbon friendly.”
By working together in supply chains, the farmer can sell wheat to a company with knowledge of how much carbon has been sequestered growing that crop, and the company can sell, for example, bread to the consumer with a claim of what they are doing to mitigate climate change.
“The consumer knows by buying that bread they are helping the environment, and the farmer should be paid more for that product. I think it needs to flow all the way through the supply chain.”
It’s not just about carbon, he adds. “Farmers should also be rewarded for the other ancillary benefits – clean air, clean water, etc.
“Carbon is the darling now, but I think water will be more important because of the issues around water scarcity.
“It’s all tied together, as you increase carbon content in your soil, you hold more water, and as you build soil structure, you infiltrate more water.
“So it needs to be a whole ecological systems outcome approach. Let’s reward farmers for what they are really doing.”
Those extra potential benefits are another reason why he says he would hate to be selling carbon credits now.
“It’s much too early. I think there will be much more opportunity in the future.”
