USDA Invests $700 Million in Regenerative Agriculture Pilot Program to Support Farmers

The USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a $700 million pilot program to help farmers adopt regenerative farming practices that focus on a whole farm planning framework to improve soil, water, and natural vitality. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz were on hand to discuss the program’s features and goals, and how it fits the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda.

“Protecting and improving the health of our soil is critical not only for the future viability of farmland, but to the future success of American farmers,” Rollins said. “In order to continue to be the most productive and efficient growers in the world, we must protect our topsoil from unnecessary erosion and improve soil health and land stewardship. Today’s announcement encourages these priorities while supporting farmers who choose to transition to regenerative agriculture. The Regenerative Pilot Program also puts Farmers First and reduces barriers to entry for conservation programs.”

The new program looks to cut “red tape” for farmer applicants who wish to get assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which was established in 1930 following the Dust Bowl. The program is designed to help both “beginning and advanced producers,” and applications will be streamlined to allow multiple regenerative practices in a single application.

 “In September, under President Trump’s leadership, we released the MAHA Strategy Report, which includes a full section on soil health and land stewardship,” said HHS Secretary Kennedy. “Today’s regenerative farming announcement directly advances that deliverable. If we intend to Make America Healthy Again, we must begin by restoring the health of our soil.”

The soil health portion of the MAHA report calls for improving pollinator management by increasing forage and habitat. Prescribed grazing, soil health systems, and water management are key practices and tools that are mentioned in the report as a methods to keep working lands profitable and productive.

25% of acres have water-driven erosion concerns, and 16% of acres have wind-driven erosion concerns, according to USDA data. Cutting down on erosion through regenerative practices is a key initiative for the MAHA agricultural agenda.

Research studies show a number of industrial agricultural processes that lead to soil erosion and degradation, including monocultures, tillage, and pesticide use. In addition, agricultural systems that rotate grazing animals promote deep root stimulation, organic matter inputs, and nutrient cycling.

Cover cropping with reduced tillage greatly increases organic matter, microbially active carbon, aggregate stability, and infiltration capacity. The improved soil structure provides more robust crop growth, while proper cover-crop management suppresses weeds, while bare soil results in significantly more weed biomass. Properly utilizing cover crops to suppress weeds and build soil reduces the need for or benefit of using herbicides like glyphosate and diquat.

The MAHA report issued earlier this year states that a selection of studies on glyphosate “noted a range of possible health effects, ranging from reproductive and developmental disorders as well as cancers, liver inflammation and metabolic disturbances.” The report also notes that some studies have linked exposure to herbicides and pesticides to harmful health outcomes, especially in children, but the research is limited.

Several studies have shown the harm glyphosate causes to pollinators by taking away their food sources, contaminating nectar, and inhibiting the microbiome. New York Attorney General Leticia James directed $3.2 million of funding from a Bayer Roundup settlement to pollinator conservation groups earlier this year.

The EPA is currently reviewing the human health portion of its glyphosate review after a court determined the agency did not adequately consider the bulk of the evidence. The HighWire reported this month about the official retraction of a 2000 study that was used as the basis of the EPA’s claim that glyphosate is “not likely to be carcinogenic.”

Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology issued a statement about the retraction – “The article’s conclusions regarding the carcinogenicity of glyphosate are solely based on unpublished studies from Monsanto, which have failed to demonstrate tumorigenic potential. 

Bayer/Monsanto has faced numerous lawsuits and has changed the formulation of residential Roundup products to include Diquat. A Friends of the Earth report determined the new formulation is 45 times more toxic than the previous version, something environmental experts and researchers have called a “regrettable substitution.”

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is a member of the MAHA commission but has faced pushback for appointing chemical lobbyists to high-ranking positions within the administration. The Senate has now confirmed Douglas Troutman to head the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. Troutman previously worked with the American Cleaning Institute, a lobbying group that supports chemical manufacturers such as Clorox, Dow, Procter & Gamble, and BASF. Troutman is at least the third chemical industry insider to get a place within the Trump administration’s EPA.

The new initiative to help farmers adopt regenerative farming practices could also serve to “regenerate soil organic carbon” in the soil, which could reverse some of the effects of industrial agriculture that is often linked with climate change.

“We cannot truly be a wealthy nation if we are not also a healthy nation. Access to wholesome, nutritious, and affordable foods is a key tenet of the Make America Healthy Again agenda, which President Trump has directed this administration to execute across all government agencies,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.“