Agriculture has long been a vital element of New Jersey’s economy and food system, providing fresh vegetables, fruits, dairy, and products such as milk, cheese, and jams to local and regional markets. Despite its small geographic size, New Jersey remains one of the country’s most agriculturally productive states, with nearly 10,000 farms generating billions in economic activity.[1] However, farmers today face increasing challenges, including high input costs,[2] market volatility,[3] extreme weather events,[4] and labor difficulties.[5] Addressing these challenges entails a re-evaluation of existing agricultural practices. As these pressures intensify, regenerative agricultural practices—such as cover cropping, rotational grazing, reduced tillage, and agroforestry—are gaining attention for their ability to improve soil health, enhance water retention, and increase farm resilience.[6]
But what role does regenerative agriculture play in New Jersey? How do farms currently utilizing these regenerative practices fare in the face of these mounting pressures? To better understand this convergence, we are distributing a short survey to New Jersey farms that utilize regenerative practices. This tool will survey these farms across multiple avenues, including their economic structures, role in local food systems, and efforts to grapple with environmental and financial disruptions.
Encompassing a potentially wide array of farming practices, regenerative agriculture aims to re-orient agricultural production to minimize the industry’s environmental footprint. While regenerative agriculture has been lauded for its environmental benefits, less is known about its economic sustainability. Understanding cost structures and revenue streams is critical, especially as agriculture famously operates on thin margins.[7] By assessing financial factors, this research will help identify where these farms are struggling and what policy interventions could provide meaningful support.
The role regenerative farms play in local food systems is key to understanding their economic viability. Many farms sell directly to consumers through community-supported agriculture (CSAs), farmers’ markets, and local co-ops, reducing regional reliance on global supply chains. However, logistical challenges,[8] price competition,[9] and consumer awareness of farming practices[10] remain barriers to growth. This study will provide a clearer picture of how regenerative farms fit into local food systems and what interventions—such as improved infrastructure, cooperative models, or targeted incentives—could enhance their success.
Lastly, farm resilience is crucial as climate change increasingly impacts New Jersey’s agricultural sector. Rising temperatures, erratic precipitation cycles, and frequent storms threaten farm production.[11] Regenerative practices offer solutions by sequestering carbon, reducing erosion, and improving drought resistance,[12] yet farmers need financial and technical support to implement and maintain these methods. If informed by robust data on New Jersey’s existing regenerative farming landscape, public policy can scale up regenerative agriculture through financial and logistical mechanisms.
A key tenet of regenerative agriculture is careful consideration of local ecological and economic conditions. By analyzing data on existing conditions on New Jersey’s farms, this survey will provide a critical foundation for policy recommendations that can make regenerative agriculture more viable across New Jersey. Understanding where farmers are struggling, how they engage with local food systems, and their experiences with regenerative practices can inform the levers of public policy needed to promote and sustain regenerative practices in the face of climate and economic challenges.
References:
[1] New Jersey. (2022) U.S. Census of Agriculture. United States.
[2] U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry. (2023, July 13). USDA says high farm production costs not easing in 2024.
[3] Huffstutter, P. J., Douglas, L., & Polansek, T. (2025, March 10). Farmers put plans, investments on hold under Trump USDA spending freeze. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/farmers-put-plans-investments-hold-under-trump-usda-spending-freeze-2025-03-10/
[4] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Climate change impacts on agriculture and food supply. https://www.epa.gov/climateimpacts/climate-change-impacts-agriculture-and-food-supply
[5] Economic Research Service US Department of Agriculture. (2025; January 8). Farm Labor. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-labor.
[6] Wezel, A., et al. (2020). Agroecological principles and elements and their implications for transitioning to sustainable food systems: A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 40(6), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-020-00646-z
[7] Horn-Muller, A., & Sadasivam, N. (2025, March 5). Slim margins, climate disasters, and Trump’s funding freeze: Life or death for many US farms. Grist. https://grist.org/food-and-agriculture/trump-funding-freeze-usda-us-farms/
[8] Goyal, R., et al. (2024). U.S. agricultural trade challenges amid climate and geopolitical disruptions. Choices Magazine. https://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/submitted-articles/us-agricultural-trade-challenges-amid-climate-and-geopolitical-disruptions
[9] Salisbury, K., Curtis, K., Pozo, V., & Durward, C. (2018). Is local produce really more expensive? A comparison of direct market and conventional grocery produce pricing. Journal of Food Distribution Research, 49(1), 13–21. Retrieved from https://www.fdrsinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/JFDR_49.1_4_Curtis.pdf
[10] Regenified. (2024). Exploring consumer appetite for regenerative agriculture: Insights from Regenified’s 2024 consumer report. Regenified. https://regenified.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Regenified-2024-Consumer-Report.pdf
[11] IPCC. (2023). Summary for policymakers. In Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (H. Lee & J. Romero, Eds.). IPCC. https://doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.001
[12] Sharma, Arohi & Lara Bryant. (2021). Regenerative Agriculture Par 4: The benefits. NRDC: Expert Blog. https://www.nrdc.org/bio/arohi-sharma/regenerative-agriculture-part-4-benefits.