The fashionable farming trend attracting investor dollars

Despite lacking a governing body or universally-accepted definition, this fashionable farming practice has seen more than a 200 per cent rise in donations.

More Australians are investing their money and interest in regenerative agriculture, with one not-for-profit recording a more than 200 per cent rise in financial donations.

But despite becoming a fashionable term in farming, there is no regulatory body for the farming practice, nor accepted or regularly-defined terms.

Farmers Footprint executive director Blair Beattie said while regenerative agriculture was an exciting and dynamic space, producers were not commercially rewarded with a price premium or brand recognition at the consumer end of the supply chain.

The non-profit, which operates nationally and shares regenerative agricultural principles and success stories, recorded a 228 per cent rise in the number of donations between 2022 and 2023, with total unaudited revenue rising 185 per cent from $9262 in 2022 to $26,481 last year.

The organisation’s Instagram account also saw a 81 per cent lift in engagement between 2022 to 2023.

Farmers Footprint, a non-profit which shares information and success stories about regenerative farming practices, has noted an uptick in financial donations. Picture: Supplied.

“There are a lot of people doing amazing work, pushing these new boundaries, and having a lot more care involved for the products they create, but they still don’t get rewarded,” Mr Beattie said.

“There are some who break from the mould and sell direct to market, cut out the middleman, and do the brand. And we tell stories around those people … but that’s not the norm. Because it’s a pretty big industry, and a lot of what we grow doesn’t stay here in the country.”

A quick internet search yields a number of definitions of regenerative agriculture as centring on holistic land management, improving soil health, and boosting natural diversity.

Mr Beattie said the sector was still at an innovative stage, with producers only recognised for their efforts in recent years.

“Most of our audience are consumers, who care about the food that their kids eat,” Mr Beattie said.

“There’s a lot of traction there … a lot more people are understanding that what we get on supermarket shelves doesn’t support great health.”

Research and development body GRDC, in conjunction with Southern Cross University, is undertaking a national study aimed at understanding regenerative agriculture, its potential benefits or disadvantages to the grains industry across a range of metrics, including soil health and economic indicators.

Southern Cross University regenerative agriculture program co-ordinator Hanabeth Luke said the study will work to contextualise regenerative agriculture in Australian grain production, helping growers make informed, evidence-based decisions.