The Penn Regenerative Ag Alliance Workshop

Event Summary

Regenerative agricultural describes holistic farming and grazing practices aimed at improving soil health. Unlike sustainable agriculture that intends to maintain farming systems, regenerative practices apply techniques to restore and revitalize farms and neighboring ecosystems.

Agriculture today is under scrutiny, because it is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Regenerative agriculture offers a solution by rebuilding soil organic matter, reviving degraded soil biodiversity, and facilitating carbon sequestration. New approaches, however, must not compromise productivity, since the world population is growing exponentially.

How can we increase production as we simultaneously reduce emissions?

To address this generational challenge, the Penn Regenerative Agriculture Alliance hosts its first annual workshop to stimulate interdisciplinary discourse around future models of agriculture. The alliance is a collaboration between the Center for Stewardship Agriculture and Food Security at Penn Vet and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. The workshop is funded by a research community grant from Penn’s Environmental Innovations Initiative and welcomes participants from schools across campus.