Agriculture, long a dominant industry in Tennessee, remains one in the 21st century, contributing about $89 billion to the state’s economy annually. Soybeans, cotton and tobacco rank among top products – and farmers continue to seek innovative methods of protecting farmlands and increasing productivity

Regenerative farming, a centuries-old concept, aims to restore the health of soil and the environment.

In Southern states, it was a practice brought over from Africa by enslaved people who knew the importance of farming techniques, such as crop rotation. Native Americans have used it for hundreds of years, diversifying crops and using natural farming methods, including using corn as a support for beans and other climbing crops.

But it wasn’t until the organic farming organization Rodale Institute coined the term, “regenerative farming” in the 1980s that a name was given to the age-old practice. The idea soon took root in farms across America and was further boosted by Kiss the Ground, a nonprofit raising awareness of soil health’s importance.

Soil specialist Forbes Walker, a professor at the University of Tennessee, said Tennessee is a leader in regenerative farming, a move from conventional farming that has created “more understanding of nature’s systems.”

“It actually makes the systems more profitable and, of course, has great environmental benefits,” he said.

Cody Franklin, a district conservationist with Natural Resources Conservation Service for the East Tennessee counties of Cumberland and Morgan, said the area he covers is witnessing an increase in the number of farms converting to methods used in regenerative farming.

“We work with traditional agriculture producers who are slowly adopting a more regenerative mindset, but most of our customers are landowners who are beginning farmers and are very interested in regenerative and conservation-minded farming,” Franklin said.

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John and Kathryn Holler raise beef cattle, hogs and chickens on their 240-acre Bee Creek Farm in Crossville, Tennessee.

The couple admittedly have no background in farming but have chosen to incorporate regenerative methods into their farming enterprise. It’s something they learned while visiting a bison ranch in Texas.

“Here we were, at a bison ranch in Central Texas in the middle of what was basically a desert, but the grass was lush, about chest high,” John Holler said. “The neighboring farm used conventional farming methods and its soil was cracked, eroded and bare. It blew our minds.”

So they studied and learned how regenerative farming uses animal impact to harness natural cycles – water, mineral and carbon cycles among them.

The couple, who owned a Texas brewpub, are veterans of the craft beer revolution of the early 21st century, a movement that focused on artisan, natural ingredients for its brews and the foods served alongside.

“It helped solve one of the world’s biggest problems: how to produce nutrient-dense, delicious foods sustainably,” Holler said. “So we thought, ‘Hey, regenerative farming might even be a bigger deal than beer.’ And we were immediately hooked.”

So they partnered with John’s brother, Adlai Holler, and friends Scott and Cynthia Porter, bought the property on the Cumberland Plateau, and in March 2021, bought a conventional farm and immediately converted it into a farm using regenerative methods.

Five years later, they see a significant change in the land – thicker forage for their livestock, cleaner air and water, less erosion, better water retention, and a noted increase in minerals in the topsoil.

“The most noticeable effect is our land absorbs and retains water better each year,” Holler said. “The last official soil tests we ran were in 2022, and we’ll be testing again soon and I’m excited to see the results. We expect to see a significant increase in the percentage of organic matter.”

Cattle are moved once, sometimes twice a day at Bee Creek Farm. Holler said this mimics the “natural predator-prey movement that characterized the relationship between ruminant herbivores and perennial grasses long before humans entered the equation.”

This, in turn, provides natural stimulation for the grass and the vast ecosystem living beneath it.

Franklin said reducing resource concerns offers long-term protection for regenerative farms, improving productivity on farmland in Tennessee.

“A lot of those resources, once they have been depleted or negatively affected, can take a long time to become productive or functional again,” Franklin said. “So protecting them in their current state is priority.”

(READ MORE: Cotton ranks as Tennessee’s third highest agricultural export, generating $278 million in 2023)

Matt Griggs is a fifth-generation farmer on his family farm in Humboldt, Tennessee: Griggs Farms, one of the state’s Century Farms with 2,000 acres planted with cotton, soybeans, corn and wheat. The certification means the farm has been in continuous operation in the Griggs family for at least 100 years, and that’s how long traditional farming methods took to totally deplete nutrients in the soil, Griggs said.

Griggs Farms began experimenting with no-till farming in the 1990s. When Matt Griggs took over the farm after his father died, he experimented with more regenerative farming techniques, such as finding which cover crops worked and which didn’t.

“In 2014, we went at it on a large scale, and by 2015, we used regenerative farming 100% for all of our crops,” Griggs said, adding that noticeable improvement was seen in water retention almost immediately.

“Our crops have become more resilient to extreme weather, too,” he adds. “But after 100 years of conventional farming, our soil was so degraded and there was so much erosion, it will take at least another hundred years and longer to make it fertile again. We’re doing all we can, though.”

Franklin said a lot of farmers practice some form of regenerative agriculture, picking techniques or practices that fit with their operation.

“But I think the number of fully adopted regenerative farmers would still be relatively low for Tennessee, possibly around 5%,” he said. “It would be a very hard figure to quantify but that would be my guess.”

Converting to regenerative farming techniques can be a financial risk for farmers who need a learning curve to absorb new techniques and invest in new technology, roadblocks to the expansion of the practice.

Nonetheless, what’s good for the farmer is good for the consumer, Franklin said.

“Regenerative agriculture can help producers by lowering input costs during production which could lead to more potential for profit,” he said. “And it can benefit consumers by offering products that require lower input cost at a lower market price. Consumers may also benefit from regenerative agriculture leading to producers having more sustainable and long-term supply of products.”

It’s a win-win for the environment.

“Following a more regenerative approach to farming and implementing conservation practices will have a good chance of improving the overall quality of farms and hopefully improve their sustainability and self-sufficiency,” Franklin said. “Also, it can greatly improve not only soil health but also water quality, livestock and wildlife health.”

Read more at TennesseeLookout.com.

    n keeping with regenerative farming practives, cattle are moved daily at Bee Creek Farm. (Tennessee Lookout Photo by Anne Braly)