Proponents of regenerative methods are hopeful farming that ’respects the cycles of nature’ will get more attention and funding over time.
For three generations, the Harris family farmed south Georgia-based White Oak Pastures the conventional way, relying heavily on chemicals, pesticides and antibiotics. In the mid-1990s, fourth generation farmer Will Harris started the transition to regenerative methods, which prioritize building and preserving healthy soils, avoiding synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and minimal or no tilling.
Like many regenerative farmers and proponents, Harris intently listened to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ Dec. 10 introduction of a Regenerative Pilot Program that will allocate $700 million to support regenerative agriculture.
“For the first time in my lifetime, the USDA is publicly showing an interest in this kind of production, and that is encouraging,” Harris said.
Harris told The Epoch Times that White Oak started transitioning to regenerative farming in 1995.
In 1976, he graduated from the University of Georgia with an animal science degree, returned to the farm, and ran it as an “industrial, conventional, monocultural cattle guy just as my father was.”
“We were heavily invested in all the tools, pesticides, chemical fertilizer, and antibiotics. We didn’t make a lot of money, but we were profitable,” said Harris, who is also the founder of the Center for Agricultural Resilience, an organization centered on education about the benefits of regenerative farming.
“All of those ways have negative unintended consequences—like degradation of the soil and water, and poor animal welfare. It’s hard on the land, the water, the environment, and all of the animal species,” he said.
Regenerative farming, Harris said, “respects the cycles of nature.”
Rollins made the announcement at a press conference Dec. 10, alongside Secretary of Heath and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, and regenerative farmers from California, Indiana, and Missouri.
“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 most efficient growers in the world, we must protect our topsoil from unnecessary erosion and boost the microbiome of the soil,” she added.
The program will take funding from existing USDA conservation programs, including $400 million from the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program and $300 million from its Conservation Stewardship Program, according to a USDA press release.
