The practices used in conventional farming help produce large amounts of food, which of course helps farmers stay in business. However these practices also contribute to climate change. The use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plus planting the same crop over and over in the same field, leads to lower quality soil and increased vulnerability to pests. 

Managing a profitable farm and practicing good climate stewardship aren’t mutually exclusive ideas. Farmers have options that make it possible to grow large amounts of food and minimize their impact, including using regenerative agriculture techniques and installing agrivoltaic systems for solar power on their land. Let’s look at how both these paths improve a farm’s resilience and support the farmer’s economic well-being.

Saving the Soil Can Also Save Money

According to the Regenerative Agriculture Foundation, regenerative farming is any practice, process or management approach that enhances the functioning of the systems on which it relies that makes the land, community and bottom-line healthier year after year.

Regenerative farming practices include using natural fertilizers and cover crops, eliminating mechanical soil tilling, and integrating trees into farming. These methods help promote biodiversity and maintain healthy carbon levels in the soil; they can also reduce overall agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

Regenerative farming also has the potential to increase crop yield – and also revenue – depending on how and where it is used. Organic farming, or the practice of using natural fertilizers, shows an average yield gain of 16 percent in tropical countries in Africa. In subtropical and tropical regions, using agroforestry, or integrating trees into crop land, results in a 7-16 percent increase in crop yield. Farmers that planted cover crops like legumes in areas with course-textured soil and not much rain saw an overall yield increase of 14 percent. 

However even when crop yields are smaller, regenerative agriculture can still result in higher revenue through decreased operational costs. A 2025 study looking at regenerative farming in the Upper Midwest compared a five-crop rotation system to a conventional corn-soybean rotation and found that the regenerative system can be just as profitable, particularly over the long term. After three years of a five-crop rotation, the revenue produced was similar to that of the two-crop system, likely because of the need for less spending on pesticides, spraying, fertilizers, and tractor use. 

Prioritizing climate sustainability doesn’t have to mean an unprofitable farm. Regenerative agriculture can offer financial stability, but it’s not the only option farmers have.

Harvesting Crops and Kilowatts

In the short term, switching to regenerative farming can be a financial risk due to unpredictable initial crop yields, so finding a secondary income source can be a lifesaver for farmers. Arivoltaics, or solar panels integrated into an agriculture system, allow farmers to earn money in two ways: from selling products and from producing or selling electricity. This extra energy income can help farmers become less affected by unpredictable crop price fluctuations and protect them from financial losses caused by extreme weather conditions.

However, agrivoltaic systems can be expensive to install because they require taller, stronger, and more complex structures than regular ground-mounted solar panels. Some studies estimate the cost to be about 5 to 40 percent higher than conventional solar panel installations, though newer designs and distributed manufacturing may help lower costs and improve payback period, which is already less than 10 years on average.

Solar Panels can Shade and Shelter

Even with the high installation costs, a 2025 systematic review found that agrivoltaic systems can provide several benefits beyond renewable electricity. These systems may improve water-use efficiency in hot climates by up to 150-300 percent through providing shade. They also enhance land-use efficiency by up to 200 percent, reduce the need for irrigation by 14 percent, and increase revenue by up to 15 times. In addition, shade from the panels helps reduce heat stress in livestock and the physical structure itself creates a shield, reducing potential wind damage to crops and the earth. 

However, these potential benefits don’t mean that agrivoltaics will work equally well everywhere. The success of these systems depends on the location of the farm, soil and crop type, and the layout of the solar panels. 

A 2026 PNAS study gives a good example of these mixed results. It found that agrivoltaics performed differently in locations across the U.S. Midwest. In the more humid, eastern Midwest, agrivoltaics reduced crop yields and farm profits, while in semiarid western Midwest locations, solar panel shade helped reduce water stress, improving crop growth. One lesson we can take from this study is that agrivoltaics may be most useful in hotter or drier climates.

Supporting the Farms of Tomorrow

While regenerative agriculture and agrivoltaics have their trade offs, they offer farmers a hopeful path forward. Regenerative agriculture can rebuild soil health, reduce dependence on expensive fertilizers and pesticides, and even increase yields when matched to the right climate and crop, while agrivoltaics add another layer of economic support and provide shade and wind protection. Together these practices show that farming does not have to choose between profit and environmental responsibility. When carefully planned for local conditions, regenerative agriculture and agrivoltaics can help farmers earn money, protect their land, and build farms that actively fight against global warming.

Check out our other articles on regenerative farming, soil health, and all things food.

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What do pumpkin pie, banana bread, and apple cider all have in common? Not only are they perfect fall foods and drinks, the fruits that make up these sweet treats are all products of  animal pollination. It is estimated that 35% of the world’s food crops need animal pollinators to reproduce, which is one out of every three bites of food you eat. Without pollinators, the world would lose many crops we take for granted like coffee, chocolate, and strawberries. 

Pollinators include animals such as bees, butterflies, birds, and bats. As they move from flower to flower collecting nectar, they spread pollen and help plants reproduce. In recent years, however, the United States has seen a sharp decline in pollinator populations—driven by the oss of habitat  from urban development and deforestation, as well as harmful agricultural practices that destroy wild spaces and expose pollinators to toxic chemicals.

Pesticides Kill Pollinators

Conventional, often industrialized, farming relies heavily on pesticides and fertilizers to increase crop yields, but these chemicals have significantly contributed to the decline of pollinators. 

Even when exposure doesn’t kill them immediately, sublethal doses of common insecticides like imidacloprid can impair bees’ navigation, reduce reproduction, and disrupt colony health. Imagine a bee returning to its hive, carrying contaminated pollen on its legs and body. As it interacts with other bees, the toxins spread silently, weakening or even killing its hive-mates. 

What begins as a single exposure can ripple through the entire colony, undermining the health and productivity of one of nature’s most essential pollinators. One study found that over  90% of pollen samples from agricultural hives contained traces of multiple pesticides.

In addition, pesticide drift often spreads these toxins beyond treated fields, threatening wild pollinators and nesting habitats nearby.

To reverse this trend, regenerative agriculture focuses on restoring soil and ecosystem health by minimizing synthetic chemical use, like pesticides, promoting natural pest management, and creating pollinator-friendly habitats by protecting wildflower meadows and woodland to help both farms and ecosystems thrive together.

It’s The Blooming Economy, Stupid!

From a consumer perspective, it is undeniable that pollinators are crucial to the growth of everyday food items. However, even from an economic standpoint, pollinators are irreplaceable and invaluable drivers of the global food economy.

In the United States alone, pollinators contributed over $18 billion in crop production revenue annually as of 2022. They are able to increase crop yields; for example, the weight of a cherry can increase by 2.8% when pollinated by bees, and animal pollination can help increase the weight and quantity of watermelons per plot. 

Animal pollination improves the global crop output by an extra $235 to $577 billion annually as of 2016. Without pollinators, an estimate from 2009 showed that 5 to 8% of crop production would be lost each year around the world. 

Between 2015 and 2016 in the United States, 44% of managed honey bee colonies were lost mainly due to infectious diseases. In North America, over one-fifth of native pollinators have an elevated risk of extinction. A loss in pollinator populations would be detrimental not just to the U.S. economy, but the world. 

Cover Crops and Flowering Plants

While crop rotation — growing different types of crops on the same land each season — has become an increasingly common practice in farming, monoculture still exists. Monoculture is the practice of growing the same crop on the same land year after year.  While monoculture crops like soybeans are more economically efficient, it is a system that increases the risk of disease and pest outbreaks. The lack of diverse plant and animal species weakens natural pest controls, and monoculture crops drain nutrients from the soil and use large amounts of pesticides, harming the pollinators that come into contact with them. 

One powerful way to offset the damage of monoculture farming, and give pollinator numbers a much needed boost, is through cover cropping on farmland. A cornerstone of regenerative agriculture, cover crops literally blanket the soil, preventing soil nutrients loss and providing a feast of flowering plants to attract and support pollinators. 

Different varieties of cover crops can be planted, allowing them to support diverse populations of pollinators. Some examples of cover crops are sunflowers, barley, and oilseed radish, which all support pollinator populations through their flower blooms. Cover crop choices can allow for crops that bloom during different seasons, ensuring that pollinators have a year round source of nutrients. Additionally, these plants can help support pollinator habitats, and even improve soil health. 

Farm Better

Regenerative agriculture supports pollinators through minimizing use of pesticides. In order for agriculture to be qualified as Regenerative Organic Agriculture, there must be no use of chemical fertilizers or synthetic pesticides. Instead, integrated pest and disease management (IPM) is important for preventing the spread of harmful pests while protecting beneficial insects.  

IPM uses various methods to deter pests. Crops are consistently monitored to identify the early signs of pests and disease outbreak. Additionally, crop rotation is important for deterring pests by preventing pests populations from building up over time. Planting pest-resistant rootstocks such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants can also serve as natural deterrents against harmful insects. The use of IPM strategies lessens the need for synthetic pesticides, protecting both pollinators and plants from harmful chemicals. 

Farming with the Forest

Agroforestry is another key component of regenerative agriculture, where trees and shrubs are integrated into crop and animal farming systems. Crops are grown and livestock reared in alleys between rows of trees, that in turn can produce timber, fruit and nuts. Agroforestry protects topsoil, increases crop and livestock productivity, and improves surrounding air and water quality. 

However, the additional benefits of agroforestry help pollinators too – by providing habitat, nesting, and egg-laying sites for birds and insects while also lessening their exposure to pesticides. This supports all biodiversity, providing more food sources for pollinators through flowering trees and shrubs such as blueberries and raspberries, increasing the quality of their habitat, pollination services, and crop yields.  

Be The Change

Animal pollinators are essential to us all, not just environmentalists because without them, over a third of the world’s crops would disappear. Yet modern farming  practices are harming both the environment and the pollinators themselves. Shifting to sustainable agricultural methods is crucial to protect these vital species and ensure our food systems thrive.

It is not just pollinators, we are at all potentially at risk from pesticides. These chemicals don’t stay on the farm either; they travel through the food supply chain straight to your kitchen table where they can poison our families. Children are especially at risk; they take in more pesticide per pound of body weight than adults, and their developing brains and organs are particularly vulnerable to these toxins. 

Despite this, Congress is considering a measure that would make it harder, if not impossible, to hold pesticide manufacturers accountable even when their products harm people. A small clause in the Interior Appropriations Bill known as Section 453 would destroy legal frameworks used by the public to sue chemical companies when they fail to disclose the health risks of their products. Section 453 would also block state and local governments from taking their own measures to protect communities from pesticides.

Glyphosate, the most widely used pesticide in the world, was classified by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015. Many countries have banned or restricted it, but U.S. regulators have been slow to act. A new study even found it caused cancer in animals at doses considered “safe” by the E.U. There is scientific consensus that glyphosate can cause serious health issues, but Congress seemingly wants to make it illegal to warn the public of these dangers on product labels.Tell Congress: We Need Protection from Poison Pesticides and ask them to oppose Section 453 and keep our communities safe from dangerous chemicals. Plus, If you are interested in learning more about how to support a more pollinator-friendly agriculture industry, check out EARTHDAY.ORG’s Renewable Agriculture campaign, and discover how agriculture can be used to help the planet not harm it.

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Today is the world’s first-ever World Rural Development Day, as declared by the United Nations– in global recognition of the essential contribution rural communities make to their nation’s well-being, food security, and environmental health. Rural development is often overlooked, yet plays a vital role in shaping the economic, social, and environmental viability of countries. 

Regenerative agriculture is emerging as a key solution in this transformation. This farming practice helps capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and works to reverse the environmental damage caused by industrial farming. It goes beyond sustainable agriculture by actively restoring ecosystems so that they can naturally grow food. 

Here’s seven ways that regenerative agriculture is supporting rural development:

1. Boosting Soil Health for Long-Term Sustainability

A defining characteristic of regenerative agriculture is that it avoids the use of harmful pesticides or fertilizers. Regenerative agriculture works with the environment, rather than against it, so instead of using synthetic chemicals, farmers rely on natural and organic substances. This practice keeps the soil happy and healthy, allowing insects, bacteria, and other microorganisms to thrive in a balanced ecosystem.

As a result, soil biodiversity improves— both the variety of organisms living in the soil and its microbial function— which is especially important given that nearly 70% of the world’s soil is currently degraded. 

By restoring soil health farmers are able to grow more nutritious crops, help reverse environmental damage, and reduce the impact of climate change.  

2. Good Farming = Doubling Profits!

The majority of farmers are reluctant to implement regenerative practices because they are perceived as less profitable. This is far from the truth. Research on wheat farmers suggests that regenerative agriculture can increase profitability up to 120%— plus  farmers begin to notice benefits to their soil and crop quality within the very first growing season. 

This rise in profitability stems from a few key factors. Most importantly, farmers no longer bear the high costs of fertilizers, which account for up to 36% of their total expenses. In addition, regenerative farming opens diverse revenue streams, such as grazing livestock and selling organic or direct-to-consumer products. Often organic food is worth more too, so farmers can charge more for their crops and produce. 

3. Counters Drought and Flood Vulnerability 

Research suggests that regenerative agriculture can increase the productivity of crops in extreme weather conditions, like droughts. This is because the organic soil matter acts like a sponge, absorbing and retaining more rainwater than less organic rich soils, thus providing a buffer in dry periods. 

Flood risk is also reduced as regenerative practices such as composting, crop rotation, and agroforestry, the process of incorporating trees and shrubs into farmland, prevent erosion and boost water retention. As a result, farms become more productive while also reducing the amount of surface water flowing into nearby waterways— this provides natural flood protection!

4. Offers Diverse Ecosystem Services

Regenerative agriculture offers a wide array of ‘ecosystem services’— these are the benefits all of us receive from the natural environment. First off, regenerative  farming enriches and increases organic matter in the soil, making it more fertile and highly effective at carbon sequestration. It’s a positive cycle— better soil captures more carbon and more carbon improves the soil!

Another powerful benefit is that regenerative techniques can enhance local biodiversity. Regenerative farms often feature a variety of crops, together or in rotation, attracting a range of insects, birds, and other wildlife. Techniques like buffer strips, hedgerows, and prairie strips recreate pollinator-friendly habitats. Regenerative practices also promote no-till farming and cover cropping which reduce runoff, again protecting pollinators. Plus these areas offer safe spaces for nesting, foraging, and overwintering birds and animals. This helps to produce rich, diverse landscapes which are more resistant to pests and disease, giving rise to an even healthier ecosystem.

Regenerative farming is about rebuilding ecological networks. By mimicking nature, farmers create landscapes where pollinators can thrive, and in turn, these pollinators help improve crop yields and overall biodiversity.  

5. Bringing Jobs Back to the Land

Regenerative agriculture is not only restoring the land, it’s also expanding the job market in rural areas. By shifting away from heavy machinery and towards regenerative hands-on practices, farmers learn new skills and better techniques for soil management, cover cropping, and rotational grazing. This increase in manual labor opens up job opportunities all over the world. 

In Africa alone, it has been predicted that by 2030, one million full-time jobs will be created this way. 

Beyond the farming itself, regenerative agriculture also opens up jobs in food processing, local distribution, agriscience, and community-supported agriculture, a direct-to-consumer model which connects farmers to their local communities. As a result, rural areas’ economies improve and the livelihoods of their people become more secure, diverse, and resilient. 

6. Empowering Women and Marginalized Farmers

Regenerative agriculture’s emphasis on community, knowledge sharing, and small-scale operations creates entry-points for women, Indigenous people, and other marginalized growers. Involving and empowering women as part of the transition towards regenerative agriculture is critical— they contribute 43% to the agricultural industry and produce up to 80% of food in developing countries. Their role not only sustains communities, but also strengthens local economies and ensures a sustainable, inclusive food system. 

For marginalized communities and Indigenous people, agriculture is often tied to a long history of oppression and systemic exclusion. However many regenerative principles— like working with the land, agroforestry, and permaculture— are deeply rooted in traditional practices. So by recognizing this and involving marginalized groups in modern regenerative agriculture, both the people and land can benefit.

7. Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide

For as long as cities have existed, the rural-urban divide has had a strong impact on the economic, social, and political dynamics within and across national borders. Regenerative agriculture has the power to connect people in cities with the land, labor, and communities that feed them. 

Through systems such as community-supported agriculture and urban farming, regenerative agriculture can shorten supply chains and foster connections between people living in rural and urban areas. As shopping local and organic becomes increasingly popular, these systems make sustainable choices more accessible while also improving our food system. 

On this inaugural World Rural Development, EARTHDAY.ORG celebrates the vital importance of regenerative agriculture in revitalizing rural communities. To learn more, explore our interactive quiz or watch this informative video on regenerative practices.

Together, we can regenerate both the land and rural communities around the world.

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Regenerative agriculture isn’t just an investment in the soil, it’s an investment in profitability. At its core, regenerative farming focuses on restoring and enhancing the natural systems that support food production, from improving soil structure and fertility to boosting biodiversity and water retention. But it also delivers real economic value. 

Many regenerative farms have the potential to more than double their profits compared to conventional operations, thanks to lower input costs, improved soil productivity, and access to premium markets. It doesn’t have to be a trade off between higher profit and healthier land, with regenerative agriculture you can have both. Here’s how:

Regenerative Agriculture Pays Off Faster Than You Think

Contrary to popular belief, regenerative agriculture doesn’t take years to deliver results. While there may be some upfront costs, these are often quickly offset by reduced spending on synthetic chemicals like fertilizers and pesticides. In fact, many farmers begin seeing noticeable benefits to their soil and crops within their very first growing season.

For crop farmers, synthetic products and chemical inputs represent one of the most significant costs of doing business. According to the USDA, fertilizer, lime, and soil conditioners alone make up an average of 13.6% of farm expenses. Additionally, chemicals, fertilizers, and seeds account for another 31.4% of costs. 

By cutting back on these through regenerative practices such as cover cropping, composting, and crop rotation – methods that enrich the soil, reduce erosion, and recycle nutrients – farmers not only save money but also build healthier, more self-sustaining soils. 

The Long-Term Payoff

But the benefits don’t stop there, these practices lay the groundwork for long-term success. Regenerative soils are significantly more resilient than conventional soils with stronger composition, better moisture retention, and increased nutrient access.

In turn, this reduces the need for any form of external inputs over time and makes farms more stable in the face of market fluctuations, supply chain disruptions, and extreme weather, which offers lasting economic benefits.

Regenerative agriculture even has the ability to increase crop yields over time. As soil structure improves and organic matter builds, plants gain better access to nutrients and water, leading to stronger growth and greater productivity. Over successive seasons, this creates a compounding effect, where healthier soil continuously supports higher-yielding crops with fewer external inputs.

These broader benefits are playing out in real time on farms across the country. Farmer Jay Swede of New York has seen significant increases in yields which he attributes to regenerative farming. Since implementing practices like reduced tillage and cover cropping on his 1,500-acre dairy rotation, sweet corn yields have risen by over 31% and corn silage by more than 36%. These changes have also led to substantial cost savings including reduced spending on fuel, labor, and fertilizers. 

Swede has seen an overall improvement in his land’s soil health. His fields are far less compacted, water infiltrates more easily, and runoff and erosion have decreased even during heavy rains. For Swede, regenerative agriculture hasn’t just improved his land, it’s strengthened his bottom line.

Plus now he has access to premium, high-value markets for regenerative and organic products. As consumer demand for ethically grown, environmentally friendly food increases, retailers and buyers are willing to pay more for products labeled regenerative or organic. This creates new revenue opportunities for farmers, allowing them to capture higher prices while differentiating their products in a competitive marketplace.

Regenerative farming plays a crucial role in climate mitigation. If adopted on just 40% of the world’s cropland, it could eliminate approximately 600 million tons of carbon emissions, about 2% of global annual emissions.

Farming for the Future

By rebuilding soil health and reducing dependence on fossil fuel-based fertilizers, regenerative practices offer a powerful, nature-based solution to the climate crisis. Explore our website to dive deeper and watch the documentary Common Ground for a powerful, in-depth look at the movement transforming agriculture. 

Given agriculture’s pivotal role in feeding us as well as driving and addressing the stewardship of our land it’s critical that we support policies, programs, and most of all farmers that make regeneration on their farms the norm, not the exception. Let’s save the planet, one acre of farmland at a time.

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This Valentine’s Day, show some love for Mother Earth because February 14 is also National Regenerative Agriculture Day! So while you celebrate with that special someone (or re-watch Bridget Jones with a carton of chocolate ice cream — no judgement here), take some time to reflect on how we can all play a part in cultivating resilient soil, growing healthy food, restoring biodiversity, and cleaning our air. 

Regenerative agriculture, the practice of farming in a way which revives and maintains soil health by restoring organic carbon levels and nurturing soil biodiversity, is an important initiative for EARTHDAY.ORG.

The farming industry contributes to billions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year, degrades farmland with harmful tilling and over grazing methods, and wastes huge amounts of water, energy and other vital resources. As the planet continues to deal with the devastating effects of climate change, it is becoming increasingly important to find ways of producing food for our growing population in a safe and sustainable manner. Regenerative agriculture is the solution. 

Regenerative Agriculture Does NOT Use Harmful Pesticides, Fertilizers and other chemicals

Every year, about 3.5 million metric tons of pesticides are used around the world, with herbicides accounting for over half. Pesticide use has dramatically increased in the last few decades, doubling from 1990.

Since the Green Revolution in the 1960s — a period of intense agricultural innovation and progress — pesticides and fertilizers have been widely used to reduce disease, control pests, and increase yields. However, despite the benefits of using these chemicals in agriculture, there are many serious environmental and human health implications. 

Crops produced with chemicals are potentially hazardous to humans, as the chemicals used in the growing process can be retained in the final products we eat (not to mention released into the air and water.) They can then enter into our bodies, leading to various health problems including sterility, birth defects and some cancers. Farm workers who are directly exposed to pesticides are even more vulnerable. 

Regenerative farming practices, however, do not use any chemicals, and instead focus on restoring soil ecosystem health and sustaining biological processes. 

Regenerative Agriculture Supports Soil Biodiversity 

A handful of healthy soil is teeming with life — from insects, spiders, and worms, to millions of bacteria and other microorganisms. Scientists estimate that more than half (!) of all known species on Earth reside in soil, including 90% of fungi and 86% of plants. 

Without its inhabitants, soil is just dirt — unable to provide any of the environmental services that all life relies on. It is estimated that less than 0.1% of pesticides actually affect their intended target weed or pest, meaning that 99.9% of applied pesticides unintentionally kill other organisms that call soil their home. 

These tiny creatures play a crucial role in carbon cycling and retention. Invertebrates, such as worms, break down decaying organic matter and convert the carbon into more stable and useful forms for microorganisms, store it in their own bodies, and release the rest into the soil for retention or uptake by plants. 

Many soil invertebrates are also “ecosystem engineers,” building and maintaining the physical structure of their homes. The burrows and tunnels they make enable the flow of air, water, and nutrients, more effectively allowing the soil to retain water and resist erosion. 

Higher soil biodiversity also supports healthier plants  — reducing the incidence of diseases and pests, and increasing the nutritional value of our crops. 

So, by avoiding fertilizers and pesticides in our own gardens, and choosing organic and ethically grown produce, we can all be soil conservationists and climate heroes, and protect the insects, worms and bacteria we need for healthy soil! 

Healthy Soil Stores Carbon (and Combats Climate Change!)

When ecological balance is reached and biodiversity is high, our soil is much better equipped to perform the functions that are critical to combating climate change. 

The carbon storage capacity of soil is immense. Soil is the second largest carbon sink in the world, after the ocean, and it is estimated that soil is able to sequester more than a billion tons of carbon per year with the right management. However, intensive farming practices have long been degrading farmland around the world, releasing billions of metric tons of carbon from topsoil and making further planting more difficult. 

Many scientists consider soil restoration to be one of the most promising ways of reversing the damage caused by man-made carbon emissions over the past several decades, in addition to supporting efforts to scale up food production for the growing human population. 

Regenerative Agriculture is “No-Till Agriculture”

Industrial farming often uses tilling, the preparation of soil for seed planting by mechanically digging or turning over the soil. While there are some benefits to tilling soil, including removing weeds and drying out wet soil, there are also many drawbacks. Intensive tilling destroys organic matter, releases carbon, and destabilizes soil, resulting in less productive soil over time.  

Generally, regenerative farming follows a “conservation tilling” approach, which encompasses no-till and minimum-till practices. Minimum-till allows the turning over and refreshing of soil with minimal disruption to soil integrity. This approach also retains crop residue, leftover organic material from plantings, on the soil surface which mitigates erosion, water loss, and carbon release. Crop residue is also thought to prevent the formation of “soil crust” after heavy rain which can hinder air exchange and seed emergence. 

Another regenerative practice that helps to maintain soil health and productivity is crop rotation, the cycling of crops on a plot of land to increase diversity, reduce soil erosion, and disrupt pests. One popular form of crop rotation is cover cropping, the planting of crops during the off-season to protect soil for the next round of “cash crops” — crops being grown for profit. 

So, rotating what you plant season to season is not only helpful in improving yields, but also eliminates the need for harmful pesticides, allowing all kinds of other organisms to flourish!

Regenerative Agriculture Helps Pollinators

All of the benefits discussed in this article, including the reduced use of pesticides and increased soil and plant biodiversity, help pollinators. Pollinators, animals which help facilitate plant pollination by transferring pollen from one plant to another, are one of the most important groups of organisms, but are also threatened by a host of things, including habitat loss, disease, and pesticides. 

Butterflies, beetles, flies and bees play particularly significant ecological roles in global plant pollination and human food security. About 80% of the world’s flowering plants require a pollinator to reproduce. Since most of our food comes from flowering plants (fruits, vegetables, coffee — you name it,) we would be in serious trouble without our pollinator friends. 

And yet, because of human activity, many of these creatures are experiencing serious population declines and could disappear altogether if current trends continue. Regenerative practices of farming, however, aim to produce food in the least environmentally intensive way possible — prioritizing natural processes and protecting the other organisms which rely on the land we farm. 

Crop rotation and cover cropping ensure a diverse array of flowering plants for pollinators, minimum tillage protects nesting habitats and insect eggs, and pesticide-free pest management techniques reduces the number of pollinators that are unintentionally killed. 

Hungry For More? 

If these facts have sharpened your appetite for further information on the far-reaching benefits of regenerative agriculture, EARTHDAY.ORG has a wide selection of resources to choose from, including overviews of principal regenerative techniques, educational videos, and knowledge quizzes. 

Plus, look out for the new Amazon Prime film, Common Ground, coming out on Earth Day, April 22, 2025. The film is a followup to the award-winning 2020 documentary Kiss the Ground, and explores the ways in which regenerative agriculture is a hopeful and promising solution to our most pressing environmental problems. 

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is also cleared for use. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org.

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With climate change and the state of the planet making headlines daily, it is not surprising that filmmakers are rising to the challenge of examining what is happening to our planet, highlighting specific issues and showcasing the people making a difference. This month we reviewed three of the best out there.

Plastic People is a documentary released in 2024 that explores our relationship with plastic and how microplastics affect the human body. Directed by Ben Addelman, his film follows author and science journalist Ziya Tong as she explores the existence of microplastics in her own body and meets with scientists to reveal the dangers of plastic. 

Humanity became addicted to plastic from its very creation, and our planet is now full of plastic products and plastic trash as a result. We can find plastic in the ocean, on the ground, and even in the air. The toxic cocktail of chemicals in these microplastics affect the human body, but we have yet to fully understand what the consequences of this are. In the documentary, they tested for plastic in the human body and found plastic fibers and microplastics, even in human placentas and breast milk. The actual chemicals that make up plastics are often protected by law, so it is virtually impossible to know what exact additives chemicals have been used in every instance to make a huge range of products.

This film unpacking how plastic products are not inert and in fact break down over time, with external forces such as sunlight, weather, waves, reducing them into tiny plastic pieces that we cannot see. Nowadays, plastic can be found in the dust in your home, on your baby’s pacifier, even in the snow in your backyard. A lot of this sort of take out is widely known now and discussed in the media but what this film did a good job of was revealing the ways plastic are used that are less well known.

For example, plastics are used for cultivating the crops that we consume daily. How? When we farm, we use plastic to cover and drain the ground. While these techniques help save time in crop cultivation, this documentary stressed that there is a real need for increased awareness and regulation concerning the disposal of the plastic used in this way and much more transparency.

The film Plastic People stresses that we can’t escape plastic; however, it underscores that we must rethink our relationship with this polymer and decide how to manage our exposure to it. They really do sound the alarm on how our planet is literally covered in plastic — and we need to act to control it, if not for the environment’s sake, for own health.

The second film to cover the issue of plastics was Plastic Earth, a film from 2023 that examines the issue of plastic pollution sweeping the planet. Directed by Janice Overbeck and Jack Winch, the film unashamedly campaigns to alert people to the very real hazards of the plastic problem.

The film begins by introducing Janice Overbeck, a mother of four children who is concerned about the amount of plastic pollution that her children will inherit. To get some perspective, the United States is the one of largest producers of plastic waste, creating 42 million metric tons a year. Almost 80% of the beach litter worldwide is plastic, and 1.45 million metric tons of plastic debris is estimated to have entered the coastal environment from the United States in 2016. To find solutions to these sorts of problems, Janice embarks on a journey around the world looking for fresh ideas.

Along the way, the documentary gives us “The top 10 solutions to solving the plastic crisis.” Some solutions encourage people to use biodegradable plastic and reduce their use of plastic. Others suggest the government support new green technologies and invest worldwide in infrastructure. The government can accelerate the shift from traditional energy sources to green energy by promoting sustainable practices, and it can also support nations which haven’t developed waste recycling systems, particularly for plastics. The film makes the case that companies should be responsible for solving the plastic problem and actively involved in reducing and replacing their plastic products with plastics that can be reused much more easily.

There were moments of revelation in the film. We discover that most of the trash that enters the ocean comes from rivers, prompting Janice to investigate new ways to remove trash from waterways. One such solution is The Great Bubble Barrier, a perforated tube which is placed diagonally across the riverbed pumps out air to create a “curtain” of bubbles that directs plastic up to the surface and into a waste collection system, without obstructing wildlife or boats. But beyond technology, the documentary also emphasizes the need for constructive guidance on what to do with plastics globally. 

Plastic Earth showcases real innovation that gives some hope that our planet can be clean again and even free from a lot of our plastic pollution — if only countries, societies, companies, and individuals work together to fight the plastic problem.

The third film, Common Ground (2023), directed by Josh Tickell and Rebecca Tickell and narrated by Laura Dern, Rosario Dawson, Jason Momoa, and others, is an environmental documentary released in 2024. It is not focused on plastics but instead of farming. The movie recommends that the first thing we need to do to save our planet is to make our soil fertile again.

The film begins by emphasizing the importance of the regeneration of soil. Even when farming on the same land, the difference between a regenerative farm and a conventional farm is significant. Regenerative means farming rebuilding the land, which includes requirements such as no-tillage, using cover crops, no chemicals, and planned grazing. 

Regenerative farms have a huge impact not only on the environment, but also on the farmers: regenerative farming has the potential to create a huge number of jobs and increase production, improve water infiltration rates by 60%, increase nitrogen content by 24%, and increase carbon content by 20%. Nitrogen and carbon are essential for land to be fertile, and they also have a major impact on the yield of agricultural products. Also, regenerative farms grow microbes, meaning stronger plants will grow. The land will hold more water, revitalizing the ecosystem and regulating the amount of precipitation in the area. Regenerative agriculture is therefore not only good for the planet, but also for humans. 

Unlike regenerative farming, today’s agriculture is full of chemicals such as pesticides. These chemicals are not only found in produce but also in the air and water, and they pose a threat to our health. 

Farmers are taught from the time they are trained to farm that they need these chemicals, making it difficult to farm without them, and farmers go into debt to purchase these products. This debt, in turn, contributes to the fact that farmers have the highest suicide rate of any occupation in the United States. Regenerative farming is the only way to break this vicious cycle and return to healthy farming. It’s estimated that farmers who have a 2,500-acre grain farm can save at least $1 million a year by cultivating and farming the land naturally and not relying on chemicals.

The movie also suggests that today’s agriculture is in the shadow of government regulation and big business. Lobbying by big chemical companies in the U.S. prevents legislation from being issued to restrict agriculture from using chemicals. Consumers then buy the produce without question.

Reviving sustainability through regenerative farming is achievable through collaboration between governments, consumers, and farmers. Governments should propose legislation in support of regenerative farming and at the very least regulate the use of chemicals on farms and farmers need to think about how their practices impact the planet.  

All three films have real knowledge to impart and whether it’s through the use of celebrities to draw you in or an ‘ordinary’ Mom looking for solutions – they are all thought provoking, timely and worth the watch.

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