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November 26, 2025

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by Philip Brasher (Agri-Pulse) It’s been a rocky year for food companies, agribusiness firms, ag lenders and farmers navigating the seismic shift in policies coming out of Washington when it comes to environmental policy, even as much of the farm economy is mired in a multiyear slump. But many companies are pressing forward with their environmental goals and testing new ways of financing changes in farming practices. READ MORE

Excerpt from AgWeb: The announcement follows the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy released in September.

Kennedy (Robert “F” Kennedy Jr., Health Secretary) said the initiative promises farmers an “off-ramp” to transition away from chemical fertilizer inputs, “to a model that emphasizes soil health, and with soil health comes nutrient density through voluntary action.”

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is also investing in research on the connection between regenerative agriculture and public health, as well as developing public health messaging explaining this connection.

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In FY2026, USDA is dedicating $400 million through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and $300 million through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) to fund the first year of regenerative agriculture projects.

USDA says farmers and ranchers interested in regenerative agriculture are encouraged to apply through their local NRCS Service Center by their state’s ranking dates for consideration in FY2026 funding. Applications for both EQIP and CSP can now be submitted under the new single regenerative application process.

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Farm groups and outside influencers are weighing in on the new pilot program announcement. Farm Bureau and President Zippy Duvall welcomed the approach while pointing out its still light on details.

“We value USDA’s acknowledgement that farmers have long practiced regenerative agriculture on their farms, both through federal conservation programs and on their own,” Duvall says. “Building on these efforts by leveraging existing voluntary and incentive-based programs to advance additional regenerative goals sounds like smart government to me, especially when farmers remain in the driver’s seat.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Common Dreams: Angela Huffman, president and co-founder of the group Farm Action, a longtime advocate of regenerative farming, welcomed the pilot, noting that “done right, this investment will help farmers lower their input costs, break free from the export-driven commodity overproduction treadmill, and move toward healthier, more resilient, and more profitable farming systems.”

Stephanie Feldstein, population and sustainability director at the Center for Biological Diversity, was far more critical of the initiative, warning that “farmers trying to do the right thing for our environment need all the support they can get, but without clear standards, this ill-defined pilot program isn’t enough.”

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“Regenerative agriculture needs to be more than just buzzwords Big Ag uses to greenwash business as usual,” said Feldstein. “While the Trump administration promises money for sustainable practices, it continues to cut conservation staff, support the pesticide industry, roll back environmental laws, and play trade war games that hurt farmers and our food system.”

As Spectrum News reported Wednesday:

The USDA regenerative agriculture pilot program flows from a Make America Healthy Again Commission report released in September that included more than 120 initiatives to address chronic childhood disease. One of the report’s key focus areas was to remove harmful chemicals from the food supply.

On Wednesday, Kennedy said the report promised farmers an “off ramp” to transition away from chemical fertilizers “to a model that emphasizes soil health, and with soil health comes nutrient density... and a transition to a much healthier America for our children.”

When the second MAHA report was released in September, some environmental and public health advocates blasted the commission for echoing “the pesticide industry’s talking points,” while Alexandra Dunn, CEO of the trade group CropLife America, celebrated that “we were heard” by the Trump administration.

The administration has also come under fire for constantly serving the fossil fuel industry; installing an ex-lobbyist, Kyle Kunkler, in a key role at the Environmental Protection Agency and nominating another, Douglas Troutman, for an EPA post; embracing herbicides including atrazine and dicamba as well as “forver chemical” pesticides; and urging the US Supreme Court to shield Bayer, which bought Monsanto, from lawsuits alleging that glyphosate-based Roundup causes cancer.

As Sarah Starman, senior food and agriculture campaigner at Friends of the Earth, highlighted Wednesday, the Trump administration has also been criticized for cutting billions of dollars in funding previously allocated to promoting regenerative agriculture and firing staff at the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The pilot, Starman said, “is a step in the right direction, and we applaud the intent. But it will only be effective if USDA reverses the past year of massive cuts to on-the-ground conservation staff. Regenerative agriculture requires whole-farm, science-based planning, and right now the agency lacks the army of specialists needed to help farmers design and implement those plans.”

“In addition, phasing out harmful agrochemicals—the synthetic pesticides and fertilizers that harm human health and degrade soil health—must be at the center of any regenerative program,” she stressed. “The new initiative’s incentives for integrated pest management fall far short of what is needed to help farmers get off the pesticide treadmill and spur a transition to a truly regenerative food system.”

“The initiative must be updated to include specific, measurable incentives for deep reductions in agrochemical use if it is to deliver truly healthy, resilient soils and promote human health,” she added. “Finally, going forward, all major farm subsidies should carry strong conservation compliance requirements so that every public dollar supporting agriculture also supports soil health, water quality, and climate resilience on every acre.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Ag Funder News: Reactions this week to the USDA’s $700 million Regenerative Agriculture Pilot program ranged from unbridled excitement to skepticism to outright concerns of greenwashing—and they highlighted the many nuances involved with regen ag.

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Food System 6 executive director Lauren Manning wrote that the program “signals a major federal push to scale regenerative practices nationwide.”

“Even better: USDA is shifting toward a single, streamlined conservation application, so producers can check eligibility for EQIP, CSP, and other programs all at once. That means faster pathways to cost-share funding for practices like fencing, water systems, cover crops, organic transition, silvopasture, and more.”

In Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), an organization building economic development through regenerative agriculture, expressed excitement over the timing of the USDA announcement.

“The Umatilla Tribe farms over 10,000 acres and has focused on protection of the land and water,” CTUIR director Bill Tovey told AgFunderNews.

“The Tribe will benefit greatly by protecting water and soil. Building back soils will increase production and lead to lower fertilizer and chemical uses. Our hope is that the funding go directly to landowners and operators.”

Likewise, Craig Stevenson, CEO at regenerative-organic certified food brand Lundberg Family Farms, expressed excitement.

“The Domestic Organic Investment Act and recent USDA announcement on regenerative land expansion funds show the increasing importance for us to invest in responsible agriculture practices that prioritize the health of our soils,” he told AgFunderNews.

“At Lundberg, we firmly believe regenerative and organic land management go hand-in-hand, and we are excited to see how these programs can better support farmers making this transition. Bipartisan support for farm bills affirms that investing in regenerative and organic is not a political stance but a shared commitment to our farmers and the land they steward, our rural communities, and a healthier future for all Americans.”

“It is especially encouraging to see the cross-departmental collaboration between the institutions of health and agriculture,” Force of Nature cofounder and CEO Robby Sansom told AgFunderNews.

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“Done right, this investment will help farmers lower their input costs, break free from the export-driven commodity overproduction treadmill, and move toward healthier, more resilient, and more profitable farming systems,” said Farm Action president and cofounder Angela Huffman.

However, she underscored the need for adequate staff and funding at NRCS to make this a reality:

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“We cannot allow a repeat of the Climate-Smart Commodities program, where projects involving multinational corporations like JBS and Tyson Foods received the lion’s share of program dollars, fueling further consolidation.”

Sarah Starman, a senior campaigner at environmental organization Friends of the Earth US, echoed this:

“The USDA’s new Regenerative Agriculture Initiative is a step in the right direction and we applaud the intent. But it will only be effective if USDA reverses the past year of massive cuts to on-the-ground conservation staff. Regenerative agriculture requires whole-farm, science-based planning, and right now the agency lacks the army of specialists needed to help farmers design and implement those plans.”

David Murphy, founder of United We Eat and a former top fundraiser for RFK Jr’s presidential campaign, called the USDA announcement “a significant step in the right direction.”

“However,” he continued, “this same year, the USDA cut more than a billion dollars from local and regional food programs—such as farm-to-school and farm-to-food-bank—that provide critical markets for regenerative farmers. Clearly, there is still a long way to go.”

“If policymakers are serious about transitioning American agriculture toward farmer prosperity and soil regeneration, they should restore the thousands of recently eliminated NRCS staff positions that are essential to supporting farmers through this transition. USDA should also reinstate the many programs that have been cut this year, as outlined in the letter from MAHA leaders and MAHA-aligned farmers.”

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“I see this serving as a strong signal that regenerative agriculture is a viable investment that must not be overlooked,” Regenerative Food Systems Investment forum managing director and founder Sarah Day Levesque told AgFunderNews.

“I’m very encouraged by the attention around protecting topsoil and soil microbiomes, making funding less administratively burdensome for farmers, and better connecting soil health to human health outcomes. I hope this reflects a larger shift in policy.

“At the same time, I think it’s important to view this in the broader context of larger cuts to agriculture programs in 2025—cuts that disproportionately affected regenerative and climate-smart agriculture, specialty crops, historically underserved farmers, and local food systems. The real measure of impact will come through the details and execution.”

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“By definition, a pilot program is a small-scale test to see what works before a full-scale launch. What happens next is the real test.” READ MORE