Spotlight Stories
Spotlight 1 – The Croatan Institute discusses the importance of mobilizing capital to build soil wealth. Read the story, here.
Spotlight 2 – Nature offers reviews of two new books that explore the damage caused by our unsustainable extraction of raw materials. Check it out, here.
Spotlight 3 – Civil Eats reports that in order to make progress on climate, some farmers won’t discuss climate itself. Take a read, here.
Industry Updates
A new commercial farming model leveraging weather intelligence and digital technology has been launched in Nairobi. The model aims to transform smallholder agriculture across East Africa into a climate-resilient, productive, and bankable sector. [link]
Australia’s national science agency CSIRO has launched a five-year, nearly A$8 million research program on regenerative farming. The program will test whether regenerative practices developed largely in Europe can be adapted to the older, drier soils of Australia’s grain growing regions. [link]
The Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Healthy Soils Competitive Grant Fund will accept applications through January 8, 2027. The fund offers up to $50,000 to help Maryland farmers and organizations fund practices over three years that minimize soil disturbance while maximizing cover, biodiversity, and living roots. [link]
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is awarding American Farmland Trust (AFT) nearly $5 million over five years. The funding comes through the Conservation Innovation Grants On-Farm Trials program and will expand AFT’s national soil health demonstration trial network. [link]
Hot peppers could become an unlikely ally in the effort to improve soil quality and manage environmental contamination. The article explores whether hot pepper plants can help clean contaminated soil. [link]
Nevada farmers and ranchers will have access to five additional conservation practices under USDA’s Regenerative Pilot Program in fiscal year 2027. The added practices are conservation cover, soil carbon amendment, pasture and hay planting, range planting, and tree and shrub establishment. [link]
Bank of Montreal (BMO) will award $200,000 to organizations accelerating regenerative agriculture innovation across Canada and the United States. BMO announced the awards at the One Young World Summit in Cape Town, South Africa. [link]
A new research project in Lombardy, Italy is testing whether adding trees and shrubs to vineyards can benefit vineyards and the environment. The trial will assess whether vineyard agroforestry can reduce biodiversity loss, protect soils, and help grapevines cope with heat, drought, and other climate pressures. [link]
The U.S. Wheat Associates board of directors has approved continuous improvement sustainability goals for its members. The goals call for reducing land use by 5%, energy use by 4%, and greenhouse gas emissions by 2% by 2035. [link]
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited a ranch near Bismarck, North Dakota. During the visit, he talked about the importance of soil health for human health. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
In late August, Scientists at Texas A&M successfully cultivated chickpeas in soil that mimics the Moon’s surface material. See more, here.