Midwest Leads the Conservation Charge

Does Regenerative Optimism Extend to Farm Profitability Enthusiasm?

Conservation practices are proving valuable in the Midwest where increased soil health is building productivity on farms.  Data suggests the Midwest region is optimistic that their regenerative momentum will soon give farmers a competitive edge.

For the early adopters, many of whom believed such practices would one day become mandatory and now have years of experience under their belts, regenerative agriculture is proving advantageous. But for the average small farm, earning less than $350,000 per year and accounting for roughly 86% of Midwest farming operations, the financial risks still appear to be great.

Does Optimism Equal Adoption? 

High optimism, low adoption is a theme playing out across agriculture when it comes to innovative concepts and tools.  The trend is causing us to analyze whether enthusiasm actually correlates to profitability. 

Future potential has been wielded as a marketing strategy, but changes on individual farms are slow to get rolling. Why?  Because in a climate of pressurized profit margins, every investment requires a return.  And unnecessary risk is avoided. Small farm operators in particular have been hesitant to jump on the bandwagon fearing it's a fad that could cost them profits in a season where profits are hard to come by. 

For a large quantity of small operators, regenerative farming is believed to play a role in increasing profits by boosting water quality and enhancing soil health.  But, the process is long and the potential gains aren’t won overnight.  No one appears to question the benefits of soil health.  Instead, they wonder who can afford to make the investments needed to begin the process. Up to now, primarily large farms have been financially flexible enough to take conservation and regenerative risks.

According to data from Bushel Inc. large farms are the conservation trailblazers.  Ninety-six percent of Midwest farms grossing more than $1 million annually have adopted at least one conservation practice and the average large scale farm is currently employing a combination of tools and tactics.  They favor nutrient management through precision technology and specialized no till equipment; items that represent risky expenses for small farms. Almost all farms in this adoption population reported stable yields or moderate increases.  The same holds true for lesser used methods like cover cropping and water management.

Large farms are optimistic about soil health due to these regenerative investments.  The same optimism extends to perspectives on farm profitability.  However, small farms, representing 59% of operations that have opted not to adopt a single conservation practice, are far less confident in both the health of their soil and future profits.  And, yet, conservation and regenerative practices are believed to be the future of agriculture. 

Is the Midwest Ground Zero for Best Regenerative Practices?

Optimism in the Midwest could come more from the fact that the region, rather than the individual farm, has clocked enough hours to know what works well and what doesn’t.  It's natural for those with financial flexibility to be early adopters of innovation and those without it to wait to see where the chips fall so they can take calculated risks.  Large farms are then ground zero for best practices. Their successes and failures are building the road map for small farms.  Midwest optimism isn’t just hopes and dreams its proven profitability.

At a round table discussion in Iowa, soybean farmers discussed both the merits of conservation in farm health and the ways small farms can get their foot in the door. The seasoned regenerative growers believe agricultural production can become more resilient in the midst of extreme weather conditions on small farms just as it has on their larger operations. Resilience, they believe, is the key to driving revenue into rural communities currently buckling under the weight of economic pressures.

Knowledge Sharing Key to Conservation

Their optimism isn’t in the soil alone, but in the methodology of knowledge sharing. According to panelists, farmer-led conservation planning is putting power back into the hands of growers.  Rather than receiving aid to purchase equipment or tools that may, or may not, work well on their plot of land, farmers are opting for customizable approaches.  

Optimism is also stemming from promising relationships between federal entities and farm families. Programs today are outcome focused rather than other metrics, like how much money has been invested into a project.  The shift in focus gives farmers a financial boost through cost-share programs while letting them be the driving decision makers as to how increased health and productivity are achieved.  It's a chance for even the smallest operations to learn what works well on their farm.

But, large farms charting the regenerative course on some of the most fertile soil in the United States are optimistic about more than domestic food production. They believe the lessons they are learning and methods they are cultivating have the potential to change agriculture all over the world. Another twenty years of conservation in practice, they believe, could turn profitable in economically depressed regions on every continent.