Comparing four new regenerative certification programs
“Is regenerative agriculture an opportunity or a threat to organics?” This was the question posed by Marla Carlson, president of organic connections, at the 2022 Organic Connections Conference. Skepticism is mounting as major agri-food corporations, such as Walmart, General Mills, and Cargill, announce plans to support regenerative agriculture. PepsiCo claims it will support the transition to regenerative agriculture on seven million acres by 2030. Nestle, a company with a Wikipedia article just detailing its controversies, says it will source 50 percent of its ingredients by 2030 from farmers adopting regenerative practices.
Announcements like these lead Carlton and others to ask if corporations will “continue the practices [they] have always done, but make it seem like something different?” Without an established definition of regenerative agriculture, many are concerned that large corporations will water down the narrative until “regenerative” is the new “natural.”
Several regenerative agriculture certifications have been established in the past few years, though, to attempt to hold regenerative agriculture to a rigorous standard. This article will look at how four of these certifications — Regenerative Organic Certified, Regenified, Soil and Climate Initiative, and Integrity Grown — are doing that.
Each of these certifications is, to varying degrees, outcome based. Farmers must demonstrate soil health improvement to be certified. This is in contrast with the USDA National Organic Program. To be certified organic, a farmer is primarily required to not apply restricted substances to their field. It is a negative process defined by what a farmer has not done.
There is an expectation that organic methods build soil health and produce crops that are free of toxins; however, according to Advancing Eco Agriculture founder John Kempf, “Many pesticide residues can survive in the soil for decades and then show up in organically certified food. We would be much better served to measure the outcome.”
While many certified organic growers are building soil and increasing biodiversity, organic certification does not guarantee this. With the 2017 NOP decision to allow hydroponics to be certified organic, organic produce may not even have been grown in soil. According to a 2021 New Yorker article, “[Domestic sales of organic food] is now around sixty billion dollars, and the industry is defined as much by large industrial dairy farms, and by frozen organic lasagna, as it is by the environmentalism and the irregularly shaped vegetables of the organic movement’s pioneers.”
By using quantitative methods to measure soil health, biodiversity, ecosystem functions, nutrient density and the presence of toxins, regenerative certifications seek to guarantee that their products benefit human and environmental health. However, different certifications use different measurements. The certifications listed above have far more in common than not. While those working to popularize regenerative agriculture are rightly hesitant to criticize their peers, their differences reveal disagreement on how regenerative should be defined.
Regenerative Organic Certified
Regenerative Organic Certified was established in 2017 by the Regenerative Organic Alliance. ROA was founded by the Rodale Institute, Patagonia and Dr. Bronner’s in response to the NOP decision to allow hydroponics and factory-farm-style practices in animal agriculture.
ROC is the oldest regenerative certification, and the group stakes a historical claim on the word regenerative itself. “Bob Rodale [founder of the Rodale Institute] had a whole series of booklets he called ‘regenerative hopeful living,’” said Elizabeth Whitlow, executive director of ROA.
Of the certifications considered here, ROC is the only one that requires farmers to be organic before they can be regenerative. Additionally, it is the only certification that evaluates the conditions of farm workers. With standards such as “people are not forced to work or remain on premises against their will” and “businesses have a valid license where required by law to operate,” a farmer struggling to meet the requirements may have more threatening characters than his regenerative organic certifier knocking on his door.
Some practices allowed under the NOP (soilless growing, the use of some organic pesticides, the use of some soluble organic fertilizers, etc.) are not allowed by ROC. “We’re trying to keep a really high bar and help put a product out there that is aspirational and very much the North Star,” said Whitlow. Requirements are broken into three criteria: soil health & land management, animal welfare and social fairness. Farms are ranked bronze, silver or gold. Most practices are required at all levels, but some have less stringent requirements at lower levels.
For example, on bronze farms, ruminants must be at least 50 percent grass fed, with the remaining feed coming from organic sources. On gold farms, ruminants must be 100 percent grass fed. Farms must increase the percentage of their operation that adheres to the ROC standards over time. Within five years, certified land on bronze farms must increase from 10 to 50 percent; silver-certified farms must increase certified acreage from 50 to 75 percent, and gold farms must have 100 percent of their land certified.
Because ROC’s standards are more process than outcome based, organic farmers will be familiar with the format; however, “We’re not just a practice-based program. We’re a hybrid and take the best of both worlds,” said Whitlow. “[We’re] looking at outcomes as a critical aspect to this program. We start with the baseline the first year and then every three years we require soil testing.”
According to the organization’s website “It is possible to obtain your organic and/or organic certification in tandem with Regenerative Organic Certified if the tandem certifications are overseen by the same certifying body.” Farmers looking to be Regenerative Organic Certified pay an application fee of $350 for less than five parcels or $550 for five or more parcels. Once certified, farmers pay an additional $250 or $500 fee, depending on the value of the certified crop. This is in addition to any fees associated with organic certification.
Soil & Climate Initiative
Soil & Climate Initiative is a verification program that aims to grow the number of acres under regenerative management in the United States. To be certified by SCI, farmers must create a plan to address the group’s seven pillars: minimizing soil disturbance, having living roots in the ground year-round, keeping year-round soil coverage, maximizing diversity above- and belowground, reducing synthetic inputs, continuously learning, and appropriately integrating livestock.
The SCI standard specifies the lab and in-field tests that must be used to demonstrate improvement. Test results determine what verification level a farm is at. A farmer must progress to the next verification level within three years to remain in the program.
SCI provides funds directly to farmers to help cover the cost of transitioning. “For any acres that a farmer enrolls in the program, our goal is to unlock what we call the nature dividend,” said Adam Kotin, managing director of SCI. “Right now, it’s $20 per acre, and we ask that the companies who are seeking claims on their products are contributing to that fund… To date we’ve expended over $500,000 through that fund.” SCI is trying to reduce the risk of transitioning to a new system of farming. “It’s meaningful work, and it is hard work that costs money. There’s plenty of research out there that regenerative systems can be cost savings for the farmer after a certain number of years, but it takes a while to get to that point.” There are currently no direct costs to be certified by SCI. Their goal today is to get the framework out into the field.
Some farmers are using SCI as a transition program before becoming Regenerative Organic Certified. “We’re interested in working with the other emerging standards that are out there, finding common ground,” Kotin said. “We oftentimes will recommend another program if we think that our standard is not necessarily the right fit for their brand or for their farm.” SCI has even recommended that certified organic growers consider certifying with ROC. According to Elizabeth Whitlow, ROC is well aligned with SCI. “[We’re] looking at the same type of indicators to collaborate with others working in this space and to make the farms who are in those programs eligible to move into ROC.”
Regenified
Regenified was found in 2022 by Gabe Brown, Allen Williams and Doug Peterson. While the organization is relatively new, the popularity of its founders has helped garner media attention. In a 2023 Forbes article, Erik Kobayashi-Solomon wrote, “Regenified closes the standards gap by providing clear guidelines regarding what constitutes ‘regenerative’ practices for farms and ranches.”
The Regenified standard is based on the six soil health principles, three rules of adaptive stewardship, and four ecosystem processes advocated by its founders. Regenified is both a practice- and outcome-based certification; this means that farmers must adhere to rules laid out in the standard while demonstrating soil health improvement annually.
Regenified uses a five-tier ranking system. Farmers can begin using the Regenified seal once they reach tier two. To remain in the program, farmers must progress to the next tier within three years. Farms are scored based on their practices, lab tests and in-field tests. For example, farms receive a score between 0 and 100 based on the level of tillage performed. One annual tillage pass gets a score of 25, and zero tillage passes gets a score of 100. To advance to the next tier, farmers must reduce their tillage frequency while increasing soil test scores. The same is true of fertilizer and pesticide applications, among other practices. Regenified also requires farmers to increase the diversity of insects, plants and wildlife on their farm.
Marie Krane is the owner of Lotus Flower Farm, a Regenified-certified vegetable farm in southwest Michigan. When asked why she chose Regenified, Krane stressed how important biodiversity is. “Regenified has a biodiversity requirement. That is what we’re all about. Any certificate that doesn’t have biodiversity, I don’t see how it heals the earth.”
When performing a verification, Regenified collects 65 data points that they share with farmers and brands. “Regenified is no joke. They’re out there doing soil samples galore,” said Krane. The cost to certify is unique to each farm. According to Krane, “it’s affordable for our farm.”
Integrity Grown
Founded by Advancing Eco Agriculture, Integrity Grown is seeking to guarantee harvest quality and ecosystem improvement. Announced just this year, Integrity Grown is currently only available to cotton growers in the U.S. and Turkey; however, they plan on certifying more crops soon. “There will probably be at least half a dozen additional crops released this growing season,” said John Kempf, founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture. He expects a full roll out by 2025.
Integrity Grown is the most outcome-based of the programs described here. In addition to soil testing, Integrity Grown tests the quality of crops after harvest. The standards for crop testing will vary, since what constitutes healthy cotton is different from a healthy tomato. Kempf said that there are two aspects to Integrity Grown’s testing, though. “One is measuring the absence of toxins, and the other is the presence of quality. Take wheat for example. Do we have balanced proteins? Do we have wheat that does not have levels of soluble nitrogen compounds? What is the test weight? Does it have the presence of molds and mycotoxins? There are known parameters for what quality looks like.”
Integrity Grown rates farms as gold, silver or bronze based on harvest outcome and soil health measurements. Practices such as tillage, herbicide applications and synthetic fertilizer use are considered on a spectrum. Harvest quality and ecosystem improvement are prioritized. For example, if a farmer uses tillage while still demonstrating superior crop quality and ecosystem improvement, the farmer would not be docked points for tilling.
Integrity Grown acknowledges that some practices that are considered “universally bad” have value in some contexts. Kempf has worked with growers who are “at the top of their game from a regenerative agriculture perspective” and “are producing phenomenal quality food without any toxins.” These farmers were ranked by other certifiers at a lower level, however, because they incorporated tillage. “What we really care about is improving soil health. If you are able to measure and quantify that you are increasing soil health, do we really care that you are harvesting potatoes with a potato digger?”
Conclusion
Farmers choose to certify their farm for various reasons. For some, it’s a personal decision. They are passionate about what they do and want to recognize the high standard they hold their work to. That’s why Marie Krane of Lotus Flower Farm chose to certify with Regenified. “I don’t think it makes a bit of difference to consumers, but it’s why I get up in the morning,” she said.
Burroughs Family Farms, a 647-acre almond farm in California, has been certified organic since 2015. They chose to become Regenerative Organic Certified as a way of differentiating themselves in a competitive marketplace. Their almond milk concentrate was nominated as a finalist for a Nexty award at Expo West, a major natural products conference.
Kristine Root, chief marketing officer at Regenified, would guess that only 2.5 percent of the population is looking for regenerative products, “but a much larger percentage of the population is going to the shelf and saying, ‘I want to buy from companies who are having positive climate impact. I want to buy from companies who have the highest quality ingredients.’” Marie Krane echoes Root’s sentiment — “For the people who work it the field, [regenerative certification] is important. For the people who are actually eating it, it’s about flavor.”
Will the superior quality of regeneratively grown products inspire the widespread adoption of regenerative practices? “I don’t believe it is consumer demand that drives change. There is no consumer demand for tomatoes that taste like cardboard or strawberries that are white in the center, yet that’s practically the only choice consumers are offered,” said Kempf. He believes that it is the demands of CPG companies that drive change in the market. Distributors require produce that can be stored for weeks and shipped thousands of miles. “The mainstream paradigm that has held sway for the last several decades is that the pathway to maintaining storability and shelf life is to pick fruit when it is immature, to treat it with ethylene to color it up, and to transport fruit that is very firm.”
He believes that regeneratively grown produce has the potential to change this paradigm. “When you have very healthy fruit that has nutritional integrity and microbiome integrity, it does not rot in storage and transport. Instead, it dehydrates. The way to create significant change in the supply chain is to demonstrate the remarkable value that growers can provide to buyers by preventing losses.”
| Learn more about these certifications. Regenerative Organic Certified: regenorganic.org Soil & Climate Initiative: soilclimateinitiative.org Regenified: regenified.com Integrity Grown: advancingecoag.com/integrity-grown |
Lucas Hubbard operates a market garden in southern Michigan. Together with his wife, he is working to develop a farm that feeds his local community while benefiting the natural world around him.
