What is regenerative agriculture? How do we find out if it works?

Increasing numbers of farmers are transitioning to regenerative agriculture in New Zealand, and multinational food companies are promoting its uptake globally.

The fast pace of adoption has created an urgent need to better understand what regenerative agriculture means in the New Zealand context, and for scientific testing of its claimed benefits.

Twenty short reports outlining what we need to know about regenerative agriculture in New Zealand will be released in five ‘bundles' from late October through November 2021, with each release accompanied by a webinar.

This series of reports is complementary to the white paper released in February 2021 and will provide details about how the information contained in the white paper was acquired.

Research leader Dr Gwen Grelet, senior researcher at Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, says regenerative agriculture is not a magic bullet, but its grass-roots popularity with farmers is increasing. Incentives for adoption from some of the world's largest food companies mean it also has potential for driving the transformation of New Zealand’s agri-food system to help move our country closer to its goals.

Confirmed speakers: Geoff Ross (Lake Hawea Station), Professor David Norton (University of Canterbury), Professor Pablo Gregorini (Lincoln University), Dr Melanie Davidson (Plant & Food Research)

Reports to be released on 5 November:

• Terrestrial macrofauna invertebrates as indicators of agricultural land management practices

• Native biodiversity and regenerative agriculture in New Zealand

• Tracking animal welfare in New Zealand pastoral farms