After two years of debate, the California Board of Food and Agriculture on Tuesday unanimously approved a definition of regenerative agriculture to inform state policy decisions. The California Department of Food and Agriculture will lean on the recommendation as it drafts regulatory language to cement the definition within state code.
The report incorporates eight target outcomes associated with regenerative agriculture. Some link to state and federal sustainability strategies within CDFA's Healthy Soils Program, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service standards and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation's Sustainable Pest Management Roadmap.
The definition describes regenerative agriculture as "not an endpoint, but a continuous implementation of practices." It does not tie regenerative to organic certification to ensure the practices and any related grants and policies are available to all types of growers and ranchers.
The long-simmering debate over the definition has highlighted the potential for California to influence federal law, disrupt markets and drive regulatory mandates.
At the hearing, Richard Filgas, assistant director of policy advocacy at the California Farm Bureau, remained skeptical of the final definition and pushed back on incorporating it into state statute. He worried about referring to the SPM roadmap, which has yet to name the priority pesticides DPR plans to eliminate by 2050, and said that opens "a whole other can of worms."
"Farm Bureau has had some issues with this definition since it was initially being established," he said. "But we think it definitely has come a long way."
At a board hearing in September, Filgas asked members to wait for a federal definition to avoid disrupting interstate commerce.
Despite the many disagreements, board members applauded the final definition and thanked CDFA staff and the various workgroups that contributed over the years.
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