Industrial agriculture is a significant driver of climate change, but there are regenerative farming techniques which have been developed to mitigate and undo these environmental changes. Regenerative agriculture is a farming and grazing system that works to reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity—resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle. Currently, there is no comprehensive account of the utilization of regenerative agricultural practices at the state level in New Jersey, which creates difficulties when attempting to formulate policies to better influence the development of these techniques.
This research project will survey farmers and ranchers across New Jersey that employ regenerative agricultural practices to gain a better understanding of their economic viability and assess attitudes and perceived resilience to climate change. The intention of this survey is to uncover trends, identify unique case studies, and spur further investigative avenues into New Jersey’s regenerative agriculture sector.