Restoring America's Soil: How Regenerative Farmers are Transforming Agriculture

Each year, roughly a billion pounds of pesticides are sprayed nationwide, much of it on land that produces our food. A group known as regenerative farmers sees this as a major problem, and they want to restore America's soil. 

Lisa Williams, a first-generation farmer in Newton Grove, North Carolina is making soil health a priority on her 55-acre farm. Instead of relying on pesticides, insecticides, and synthetic fertilizers, she and her son, Lance, fertilize their fields with cow manure.

"We can change our health and our communities just by focusing on soil health," Williams said. 

Soil health is at the heart of regenerative farming, using methods such as no-till farming, cover cropping, and cattle and crop rotation. One key element is limiting or eliminating manufactured pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. For the Williams, it's taken about four years to restore the land in order to raise healthier cows and chickens to feed her family.

"It's really simple: if you have healthy soil, you have healthy grasses," said Williams. "If you have healthy grasses, you have healthy livestock. In our case, it's Hereford cattle." 

Their Herefords have no antibiotics and are drug-free, with nothing sprayed on them.

"So, we can put about any label we want on these cows," said Lance. 

The family also had a personal reason for choosing this route.  

"I wanted my family to be healthy – and my husband had a medical condition and there weren't any answers, and he wasn't getting better," said Williams. 

Larry Williams suffers from an autoimmune disease with no known cure that attacks his muscles. The Williams believed clean eating might help and they started the hard work of raising healthy cows. 

"One, you don't want to lose a spouse and seeing the difference in his health," said Williams. 

Studies show that food grown using this method tends to be more nutritious compared to conventional farms. The healthier the soil, the healthier your food. 

When it comes to feeding Americans, farmers and ranchers make up less than 2% of the population, according to the USDA and FFA. And out of the roughly two million farms dotting the country's landscape, less than 2% use regenerative practices. 

So how is the soil health in America? Dr. Ekrem Ozlu with NC State University says it really depends on where you look.

"The variability in soil type and climate is huge in NC," said Dr. Ozlu. "From the mountains to the coastal plain, everything can change from region to region. But also, can be different within two neighboring fields." 

Dr. Ozlu works with farmers here to cultivate healthy soil that can better withstand drought and flooding. He says soil cultivated through regenerative farming is key in helping achieve this. 

"Soil health or soil in general is like a retirement package; the more you put there, later you get the benefit," said Dr. Ozlu.

North Dakota rancher Gabe Brown is known as a founding father of regenerative farming. An author and consultant, Brown teaches farmers worldwide how to transform dirt into soil and make more money by doing it. 

"I'm literally 10 times more profitable per acre now than I was back then," said Brown. 

Gabe's success and recognition have caught Washington's attention, leading to an invitation to testify before Congress about regenerative farming. Brown tells CBN News that science finds healthy soils produce food with more than 60% higher vitamins, fatty acids, and nutrients. 

"You've eaten a tomato out of a garden. You know how good that is. And I'm assuming you like tomatoes. But then go buy one and look what you get in a restaurant or a store. Look, that isn't even the same thing," explained Brown. 

There can be challenges, however, when switching to regenerative practices. For example, it can take up to five years to see a return on the investment in terms of the soil's health or profit. 

"But once they realize that what we are doing here is actually not a new thing, we are just regenerating what we used to do in a way which could be an alternative to today's agricultural practices, and still providing them with the same benefits – but also making them more sustainable," said Dr. Ozlu. 

For Lisa and others, this is more than just better soil. This method can improve people's health, communities, and economic impact. 

"For every one farmer, every one job in production agriculture, it creates three to four off the farm jobs in your community," said Williams. 

Given that America imports roughly 15% of our food, Williams sees this as a national security component. 

"We can't constantly rely on other countries to feed us. We're the independent United States of America," Williams said. 

Today, Williams is also spreading the wealth by teaching others what she's learned. As a board member on the North Carolina Soil Health Coalition, she's using a $75,000 grant to educate state farmers about soil health.

"I just want to be a good steward of what God has given me," said Williams. "God created everything. He created the insects. He created the plants. He worked for six days and on the seventh day He rested and that's what they're asking you to do in regenerative agriculture."