Regenerative Agriculture Is Firmly Rooted Across America

• Regenerative agriculture is already widespread. USDA's new $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program builds on practices that farmers and ranchers have been adopting for decades.

• The most recent USDA data reveals that farmers adopted USDA-supported regenerative agriculture practices on nearly 40 million acres in fiscal year 2023 – an increase of more than 360% compared to a decade prior.

• Over the last two decades, the most widely adopted regenerative practices include grazing management, pest management conservation systems, nutrient management programs and cover crops.

• The overall conservation footprint in the U.S. is enormous when considering all conservation programs. In fiscal year 2023 farmers, ranchers and conservationists received financial and technical assistance for USDA-supported conservation practices on nearly 70 million acres. Importantly, on many of these acres, farmers and ranchers employ conservation practices year after year, demonstrating their ongoing commitment to protecting our soil, water, air and wildlife habitat.

Regenerative (Agriculture) Pilot Program

In December 2025, USDA announced a $700 million Regenerative (Agriculture) Pilot Program (RPP) designed to help farmers and ranchers adopt conservation practices that improve soil health and enhance water quality. Of the $700 million directed through the RPP, $400 million was for conservation practices under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and $300 million was allocated for conservation practices under the Conservation Stewardship Program – two of the largest voluntary working lands programs operated by USDA with projected outlays of over $43 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s February 2026 baseline.

As part of the original RPP rollout, USDA identified 15 primary qualifying practices including cover crops, conservation crop rotation, grazing management systems, pest management systems, no-till and reduced-till tillage management, and irrigation water management, among others. These are just some of the regenerative agriculture practices that farmers and ranchers voluntarily practice on their farms.

Regenerative Practices Across American Agriculture

While USDA is incorporating these Natural Resources Conservation Service practices as part of the RPP, farmers and ranchers have been adopting these practices for decades. Data from USDA’s Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act conservation program reports reveals that from fiscal year 2005 to fiscal year 2023 (the most recent year of available data), farmers and ranchers voluntarily enrolled and increased their participation in a variety of conservation programs now classified by USDA as regenerative. These acres were enrolled in either a primary regenerative agriculture practice or an enhanced practice that is designed to achieve a level of conservation beyond the minimum practice standards, e.g., cover crop (practice code 340) or enhanced cover crop (practice code E340).

In fiscal year 2014, just over 8 million acres were enrolled in a regenerative agriculture practice. By fiscal year 2023, nearly 40 million acres were enrolled in a regenerative agriculture practice or an enhanced regenerative agriculture practice, representing an increase of over 360% over the 10-year period.

Year after year the top regenerative agricultural practices include grazing management followed by pest management, nutrient management and cover crops.

• Grazing management systems help farmers better manage livestock, pastures and soils to achieve specific economic and conservation objectives.

• Pest management conservation systems target only pests threatening crop productivity and can help farmers reduce their application of crop protection tools and enhance soil and water quality.

• Nutrient management systems are designed according to the 4Rs – the right nutrient source, at the right rate, right time and right place – to increase nutrient efficiency and enhance water and air quality.

• Cover crops help reduce soil erosion, build organic matter and improve nutrient cycling. Beyond soil health, cover crops help in weed suppression and water infiltration into the soil and provide wildlife habitat.

Farmers and Ranchers are America’s Original Conservationists

While the focus of this analysis is the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices through USDA’s financial and technical assistance efforts, it is important to acknowledge that many farmers adopt and continue to utilize voluntary conservation practices outside of the traditional USDA-funded efforts. Farmers and ranchers also participate in state-level initiatives and initiatives with private sector partners. Some fund their own efforts.

When including all USDA-funded conservation efforts such as the Conservation Reserve Program, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, among others, in fiscal year 2023 alone farmers, ranchers and conservationists had deployed an approved conservation practice on nearly 70 million acres of activity.

Across America’s breadbasket and throughout the prairies, forestlands, croplands and orchards, regenerative agriculture practices are woven into the landscape. Farmers have been integrating these practices for decades to find what works best for their farms. Because these practices are not one-size-fits-all, regenerative and traditional practices can go hand-in-hand on a journey of continuous improvement.

Farm Bureau recognizes regenerative agriculture as any production system that minimizes environmental impacts, maximizes production, promotes stewardship, and increases economic viability and the productivity of soil over time. Importantly, Farm Bureau supports voluntary regenerative agriculture initiatives – conservation efforts that have long been a fixture of American agriculture. We recognize that every farm is different, and that making any change on the farm takes careful planning and comes with extra expense. Every farmer should have the opportunity to make the changes that work best for their farm, without placing their farm’s economic sustainability at risk.