Meet 3 ReGenMalt™ Farmers Making the World a Better Place

The ultimate goal of regenerative farming is restoring land and improving soil health, ultimately reversing the effects of climate change. It’s generally focused on:

• Implementing practices that work within specific criteria, including regions, climate, personal preferences, economic, community, and ecology.
• Minimizing soil disturbance and reducing the reliance on synthetic chemicals.
• Building a healthy soil ecosystem capable of sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.
• Protecting the topsoil from harsh weather and erosion by planting cover crops.
• Building soil structure capable of optimizing water resources and minimizing the leaching of nutrients into fresh water sources.

Some of the common practices of regenerative agriculture include:

• Reduced tillage or no-till
• Diversifying crop rotations
• Cover cropping
• Reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides
• Composting
• Animal grazing

Transitioning to Regenerative Agriculture

One crucial factor in regenerative farming is understanding that one size will never fit all. Because there are no cast-iron rules, farmers don’t have to apply all the regenerative methods at once. Many, in fact, start with a few steps and keep adding other regenerative practices – transitioning over the years.

Meet Dan Rayne of Rayne Acres. He’s working with different types of reduced tillage and considering transitioning to no-till on some of his acreage, which supports his crop rotation that include small grains. He prefers to cultivate barley over wheat, especially malting barley. Dan is new to the regenerative program, starting his journey with regenerative processes on his farmland in 2022-23.

Dan, a tech-savvy farmer, maximizes his efforts by using a strong precision agriculture platform. This platform enables him to collect data related to how regen practices are improving soil health on his acres.

The approaches and techniques to regenerative farming vary from growers to regions, making this method even more accessible to farmers.

The Whole Shebang of Regenerative Farming

Many farmers have realized the true benefits of regenerative farming. Those farmers that have been practicing regen ag for years and have been adding improvements to their farmland over time have seen a return on their investment, including lower production costs and premium crop quality.

Meet fourth-generation farmer Trey Hill of Harborview Farms. He went from ‘in it for the money’ to a full-fledged regenerative farming proponent. In the ten years that Trey has been practicing it, he’s fully transitioned to regen farming, with 100% of his acreage being regen-focused. He’s also realizing benefits from maximizing organic matter content in his soils. His operation is large and successful enough that he has a customized equipment fleet for planting and harvesting a complex set of rotations.

He told The Washington Post that “in early 2020, he was paid for practices that had sequestered just over 8,000 tons of carbon in the soil.” Trey used that money to buy special regen farming equipment that enabled him to in fact sequester more carbon.

On his 10,000 acres, Trey started growing cover crops only because the state paid him. He “had no intention of doing it for the climate,” he admits. But since then, he has seen how his winter cover crops feed microbes and improve soil health. The hard work eventually translated to higher yields that also provides additional income.

Trey says, “With climate resilient farming, my fields are better able to thrive in severe weather, my soils are richer and more productive, and I’m bettering the environment. But there are other, more personal benefits. By being open to change and adaptation—observing and taking my cues from nature—I’m getting back to the roots of farming. Getting the shovel out and seeing the earthworms thrive in my living fields has reawakened a sense of not just how but why we farm.”

The Incentive to Farm Regeneratively

Due to nutrient-deficiency associated with conventionally farmed soil and the need for better seeds, high-priced fertilizers, and chemicals, conventional farming has become more expensive. On top of that, extreme weather, loss of topsoil, water scarcity and other factors continue to challenge farm profitability.

Farmers have long known that improving their soil health can improve quality, sustain healthy yields, and make more money while reducing input costs. But many farmers don’t have the means or know-how to transition to regenerative farming.

Meet Jared Simpson of Mountain Valley Farms. He’s been interested in regenerative agriculture for several years but hadn’t yet taken the plunge. Proximity Malt’s USDA Climate-Smart Commodities Partnership, which provides small farmers revenue incentives and technical assistance to transition to regenerative farming, helped convince Jared to give regen ag a try.

As a result of his discussions with Proximity about regenerative practices, he grew barley on his farm for the first time in 2023. Jared was already grazing cattle on his ground. By adding barley to his rotation and committing to no-till practices, he improved his regenerative practice portfolio.

The Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program offered by Proximity Malt gave Jared an opportunity to lower the risk of taking a first step towards regenerative agriculture.

Seeding Change: How You Can Help

Regenerative farming offers a path to revitalize depleted soils and support healthy, productive farms and landscapes. As the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) explains, regenerative agriculture focuses on practices that can improve soil health, biodiversity, water management, and climate resilience over time. While timelines can vary, the NRDC indicates that regenerative agriculture practices can lead to improvements in soil health, water management, and crop productivity relatively quickly.

Anyone who joins the ReGenMalt network, including farmers and, yes, brewers, will play an important role in bringing about that resilient future. The USDA partnership makes it easier for farmers to overcome the perceived risks while generating data that will help the adoption of regen farming at scale. Inspired by the stories of these farmers, we invite you to learn more about how adopting ReGenMalt can benefit not just your craft brewery but also contribute to a sustainable future.

Download our ebook “ReGenMalt Impact Analysis: Enhancing Brand, Community Impact, and Sustainability” to discover how your craft brewery will benefit from a Climate-Smart product like ReGenMalt.