While it isn't a new concept, a new movement is growing in agriculture toward the use of practices that restore soil quality by mimicking nature.

Restorative agriculture recognizes the key principles of keeping soil covered and undisrupted, maximizing crop diversity, keeping roots in the ground year-round and integrating livestock. Soil scientist and farmer Francis Thicke explained that these basic principles are found in natural ecologies such as forests and prairies.

"In the prairies, there were tens of millions of ruminant animals on the prairie before the European settlers came: bison and deer, and antelope and elk, and so on," he said. "And so, they interacted with the landscape to help create these rich soils. So, if we mimic that process, then we can start to regenerate our soils."

Thicke will examine the significance of regenerative agriculture in a keynote address to the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association's 43rd annual conference Feb. 17-19 at the Dayton Convention Center. Registration closes Thursday.

Thicke said innovative farmers across the Midwest are working with a combination of regenerative practices, including no-tilling, cover crops and rotating crops with grazing livestock.

"Water quality is one of the big benefits and, of course, carbon sequestration," he said. "So, all of these beneficial side effects really come as a result of regenerating soils. So, it's a natural byproduct of farming in the image of nature."

Thicke added that any farming method that involves reduced use of fertilizers or pesticides is considered regenerative.

"Conventional farmers use chemicals for weed control, and organic farmers use tillage," he said. "And if we can use some of these practices, we can eliminate the need for both the chemicals and the tillage. And so, it can help either kind of farmer."

Beyond healthier soil and water, he said regenerative agriculture also is linked to improved biodiversity and wildlife habitat.

From extreme drought to wet springs, Minnesota farmers are seeing firsthand the impact of climate change. To help address the growing threat, a new funding opportunity aims to give producers more tools to protect natural resources.

The McKnight Foundation is giving the state $100,000 to bolster its Water Quality Certification Program. It means adding a Climate Smart component, where current enrollees receive funds to assess and apply practices to make their land more resilient.

State Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said in the broader climate-change fight, Minnesota farmers are on the frontlines.

"What we've had in the last couple of years," said Petersen, "2019 we had the wettest year on record. 2021, we had the worst drought we've had since 1988. We had the worst week of drought we've ever had in August of 2021."

He said producers can be part of the solution through practices like grazing livestock or improved management of nitrogen fertilizer.

As for measuring the certification program, Petersen said they're approaching one million enrolled acres. He acknowledged they could be moving faster, but said demand is still promising.

Brad Jordahl Redlin - the manager of the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program - said competition for conservation aid is fierce, and their initiative fills some of those gaps.

He noted an official works closely with a farmer in assessing their operations. He likened it to an energy audit of someone's home.

"'Those windows are particularly leaky, but we love the insulation above the garage,' said Redlin. "We kind of do that for our Climate Smart farm endorsement. 'You have an opportunity here on this corner section to maybe do some no-till, or do some perennial plantings on a border.'"

In southern Minnesota, farmer Ron Frank has been doing conservation work on his land for several years. But he said the certification program pushes these efforts even further.

"The program has helped me get a little deeper into the cover crops and those kinds of things," said Frank.

Climate Smart participants can receive a minimum of $1,000 a year for up to five years. It's now the fifth endorsement water quality program enrollees can receive.

From the Frosted Elfin Butterfly to the Rusty Batch Bumble Bee, vital links of Ohio's ecosystem are in trouble.

This is Pollinator Week, bringing awareness to the crucial role of pollinators in our ecosystem and the challenges many of them face.

Marci Lininger, director of the Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative, explained roughly 40% of the world's pollinators are at risk of extinction or decline. She said several challenges are putting pressure on pollinator populations, including habitat loss.

"Infrastructure, we're constantly building, we're constantly growing," Lininger outlined. "You can also look at the use of herbicides and pesticides. Different things like roads, increased traffic, climate change. So, all those things kind-of factor together."

More than 75% of all flowering plants need help with pollination. Ohioans are encouraged to help support pollinators by providing organic habitat, like planting wildflowers on their property, or getting involved in Pollinator Week activities. Learn more online at ohiopollinator.org.

Pollinators are responsible for one out of every three bites of food, Lininger noted, which makes them essential to healthy food systems.

"Without pollinators, we're going to see changes in prices of the things that we want to eat," Lininger pointed out. "We're going to see changes in availability in the foods that we want to eat. If you're a vegetarian, that's super important, but even if you're a meat-eater, what do the cows eat? There are certain native grasses that cattle eat."

The Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative partners with organizations and groups to get the word out about the importance of pollinators. It also provides guidance and technical assistance for restoration events and other projects supporting pollinator conservation.

A program in the works is expected to help ensure the livelihood of farmers in Ohio and strengthen food-system resilience.

The Family Farm ReGeneration Act is a new law to incentivize established farmers and producers to sell land, livestock, buildings and equipment to those just getting started.

Amalie Lipstreu, policy director at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, said access to land is the greatest challenge for beginning farmers. With the average age of farmers in Ohio at about 55, she said the next generation must be well-equipped to grow food.

"It's in all of our interests to make sure that beginning farmers can access land," she said, "and also have the credit, the business planning assistance and the resources they need to not only start, but be successful over the long term."

The Ohio Department of Agriculture is developing the program, to provide income-tax credits to established farmers who sell agricultural assets to beginning farmers. The beginning farmers must take a qualified financial-management program, much like OEFFA's Heartland Farm Beginnings business course.

Ohio has the fifth-largest number of beginning farmers among states - about 33,000. Lipstreu said the Family Farm ReGeneration Act is a way to invest in them, which in turn will help make local food systems stronger during trying times.

"The COVID pandemic, war in Ukraine and the rise in the cost of fertilizers is really hammering home that issue of how vulnerable our food system can be," she said.

Lipstreu added that millions of acres of agricultural land will likely change hands as older farmers and ranchers retire, and these types of investments will help ensure those acres are kept in production.