State of the Field: An Overview of Investing in Regenerative Agriculture in 2024
In Veris’ first publication about regenerative farming and ranching, The Regenerative Agriculture Revolution, the practice was defined as “a holistic land management practice that leverages the power of photosynthesis in plants to close the carbon cycle and build soil health, crop resilience, and nutrient density.” 1
In many ways, this definition holds true today. Regenerative agriculture is a system of practices, including no till, cover cropping, managed grazing, crop rotation, integrated crop and livestock systems, and precise input application. As regenerative agriculture has continued to gain momentum within the impact investing space, Veris has expanded our firm’s definition to differentiate agricultural practices that “restore, improve, and enhance the biological vitality” of farming landscapes while supporting “the resilience of the communities and broader value chains in which they are situated” in alignment with the Croatan Institute’s definition offered in its 2019 paper Soil Wealth: Investing in Regenerative Agriculture across Asset Classes.2