The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently launched a US$700 million Regenerative Pilot Program. It aims to help farmers adopt practices that improve soil health, enhance water quality, and boost long-term productivity, while strengthening America’s food and fiber supply.
“Protecting and improving the health of our soil is critical not only for the future viability of farmland, but to the future success of American farmers,” says U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. Alongside U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, Rollins framed the project as a part of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.
The pilot is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It will fund two existing conservation programs that pay farmers to implement conservation practices, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program. USDA is aiming to streamline the application process, enabling farmers to bundle multiple practices into a single application, reducing barriers to entry for both beginning and advanced producers.
The program also emphasizes whole-farm planning to address soil, water, and natural vitality concerns as part of a holistic management approach. And it will leverage private investment through public-private partnerships, which the USDA says will stretch taxpayer dollars further and bring new capacity to producers interested in adopting regenerative practices.
NRCS Chief Aubrey J.D. Bettencourt is currently assembling a Regenerative Agriculture Advisory Council which brings together producers, consumer advocates, and supply-chain and corporate partners. “By including voices from across the food system, the council helps ensure the Regenerative Pilot Program is aligned with real market needs and buyer expectations, strengthening connections between farmers and the markets seeking regeneratively grown products,” USDA tells Food Tank.
The program’s focus on soil health is a welcome investment among groups that have long been advocating for regenerative agriculture on American farms. “This moment reflects a growing federal recognition that healthy soil is foundational to a secure food system, climate resilience, and human health,” says Jeff Tkach, CEO of the Rodale Institute.
But significant staffing cuts at the NRCS raise concerns about the agency’s ability to implement the program. The NRCS has lost nearly one in four of its staff in 2025, according to the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
Sarah Starman, Senior Food & Agriculture Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, calls the pilot project “a step in the right direction.” But she says the program “will only be effective if USDA reverses the past year of massive cuts to on-the-ground conservation staff.”
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Photo courtesy of Andrew Gaz, Unsplash
