What Is “Regenerative Organic Certified”? 

A new certification to try to maintain the integrity of regenerative agriculture

“Regenerative” is a buzzword in agriculture these days — but when paired with organic practices, regenerative has the potential to become something more. 

“Regenerative organic” refers to a type of farming that goes above and beyond “sustainable” practices and actively regenerates, or restores, natural resources to support a healthy, thriving farm ecosystem. Although the word “regenerative” seems to have only entered the mainstream in recent years, the idea of regeneration has been around a lot longer. 

Regenerative organic agriculture has been practiced by indigenous people for centuries and is deeply rooted in the history of agriculture. Diversified crop rotations, interseeding and polycropping have been common practices for generations. Iroquois farmers planted squash, beans and corn together in one system, calling it the “Three Sisters” and employing polycropping practices in their production of food. 

Diversified crop rotation, agroforestry design, water management and other practices, which are now fixtures in certified organic agriculture, have today been married together under the term “regenerative organic agriculture.” Robert Rodale, son of J.I. Rodale and head of Rodale Institute after J.I.’s passing in 1971, championed regenerative organic farming methods before the USDA organic standards and certification was launched. Robert’s original philosophy of regenerative encompassed a broader spectrum of values than was present in commercial farming at the time. 

There is now a new key player in the regenerative organic agriculture movement: the Regenerative Organic Alliance, creators of the Regenerative Organic Certified™ label. 

Established by a group of farmers and agriculture advocates, including Rodale Institute, Patagonia, Dr. Bronner’s, and others, the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA) aims to marry the historical context of the term “regenerative” with the existing USDA organic regulations. ROA launched Regenerative Organic Certified™ (ROC), which builds upon the baseline of USDA Certified Organic to reach a new set of high standards. Like organic, ROC is a robust certification program that requires farmers and producers to meet a set of requirements revolving around three pillars: soil health, animal welfare and social fairness.

For the soil health pillar, farmers and producers are required to be certified organic by a NOP-accredited certifying agency or equivalent program, such as the European Union or Canadian Organic Regime. In addition to maintaining and improving soil health as required by the National Organic Program standards, farmers are required to implement a series of regenerative practices. Crop rotations are required to increase diversity in the number of species planted, starting with three crops and advancing to seven different species in a rotation over time.

In addition, reduction of tillage is an important factor. Farmers are required to track their tillage closely and to record number of field passes, tillage depth and tillage intensity — and to limit their usage of tillage to pre-plant cases. No-till practices should be used wherever possible. There are several other requirements that support nutrient cycling, such as the reduction of reliance on outside inputs and the utilization of on-farm plant and animal inputs. This pillar makes regenerative organic agriculture a solution for climate change by increasing carbon sequestration on farms. 

The animal welfare pillar requires livestock farmers to meet a baseline certification in accordance with one of three existing animal welfare programs: Global Animal Partnership, Certified Humane or Animal Welfare Approved. Compared to the organic standards, the animal welfare pillar has stricter and clearer regulations on stocking density, living areas, physical alterations and feed requirements. The goal of this pillar is to provide all livestock with access to the “five freedoms”: freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and disease; freedom to express normal and natural behavior; and freedom from fear and distress. 

Often left out of the discussion in agriculture is the last pillar — social fairness — which aims to provide economic stability and fairness for farmers and workers. Under this pillar, farms must undergo an audit to the ROA Social Fairness standards and are eventually required to have a third-party certificate, such as Fair for Life, Fair Trade International or Fair Trade USA. This pillar addresses issues such as forced labor, child labor, equal pay, discrimination, hours of work, and health and wellness of all employees. 

Together, the three pillars of Regenerative Organic Certified™ provide a holistic model for farmers seeking to go above and beyond the organic standard to restore our natural ecosystem, protect the welfare of livestock and build a safe and fair community of farmers and farmworkers. 

Without the vigorous baseline of the National Organic Program and a third party to verify practices implemented by producers, the term “regenerative” could lose its value in the marketplace. 

Emily Gantz is the Organic Farm Consulting Services program manager at the Rodale Institute. For more information on regenerative organic agriculture’s history and standards, as well as how to begin the certification process, visit regenorganic.org.