03/01/2026
The other day, I posted on the rise of regenerative farming and the relatively rapid adoption into main stream farming practices which has been exciting to watch and participate in.
But there is also a structural problem with the benefits of regenerative farming reaching the end consumer in a state that reflects the inherent environmental value of the output of regenerative farming eg livestock, crops or horticulture.
The problem lies post the farm gate. In very basic terms our food system consists of 3 distinct stages Producer > Processor > Product.
Without processors we don’t have a product we can consume - this is particularly relevant to the livestock sector of Ag.
And here in-lies the structural problem with regenerative farming achieving its full potential benefit. There are no “regenerative processors”(with the exception of yours truly) that is focused on solely processing regenerative sourced livestock. This means that almost all regeneratively farmed output is homogenised at the point of processing with conventional farmed output meaning that consumers (you) can’t differentiate between regenerative and conventional products.
Sure, there are processor led “grass-fed” labels that run quality assurance programs but the end out put is homogenised with conventional farmed output.
Until the processors get on board with playing their role in getting regenerative farmed output from their paddock to your plate - the amazing benefits of regenerative farming won’t be realised beyond the farm gate.
A more decentralised and diversified processor sector is required to achieve this. I am hopeful that several projects will kick off in 2026 to start to realise this.
