By Michelle Sharp, founder of Meet the Minnesota Makers

Regenerative agriculture does not have a codified definition. It’s a term that we’re starting to hear a lot. How does Forever Green approach it? 

“Regenerative agriculture is really about more effective stewardship of energy cycles," said  Colin Cureton, Forever Green’s Director of Adoption and Scaling. "How we utilize the amazing energy of the sun and photosynthesis. How that relates to the water cycle and the carbon cycle, and the life and death of plants. It comes down to respecting and interacting with that process.” This is not Colin’s own made-up definition, it is one he has heard frequently from indigenous people, and it differs from other framing you might hear.

Reducing synthetic fertilizers and chemical insecticides, incorporating animals, keeping the soil covered, reducing tillage, and normalizing seasonality are all common regenerative practices in current farming systems. Increasing diversity of plantings is key too. “I think a great definition of regenerative agriculture would be if our agricultural systems embodied more of the principles and functions of natural systems,” stated Colin. 

It’s also context specific. What’s right for Minnesota may not work in the southern US or an arid region. Forever Green recognizes the farmer as the steward of their land. They work with growers of all types and production scales. “It’s a big effort to find alternatives. We recognize the risk that a farm faces when planting a new alternative crop, or even an established one,” said Colin. “Those alternatives have to enter the market in a way that’s compelling, delicious, and accessible for the farmers to take that initial risk.”