USDA’s New Regenerative Ag Program, Called Greenwashing, Diverts Resources Needed for Organic Transition
(Beyond Pesticides, January 8, 2026) In a press release published on December 10, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the creation of “a $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program to help American farmers adopt practices that improve soil health, enhance water quality, and boost long-term productivity, all while strengthening America’s food and fiber supply.” The agency specifically ties the program to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA), diverting resources that could be used to support organic transition and phase out pesticides that are clearly defined as prohibited by USDA’s National Organic Program under the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), but allowed in regenerative agriculture programs. Regenerative agriculture, embraced by major food companies, has been identified by Beyond Pesticides and many organizations as greenwashing because it typically allows wide use of weed killers and other petrochemical pesticides and is not defined as a transition to organic practices and compatible products. (See here.)
Public health and environmental advocates, farmers, and businesses fear that pouring funding into a loosely defined “regenerative agriculture” program will not only undermine existing efforts to transition farming and communities to more sustainable and truly regenerative systems but also contribute to greenwashing, where corporations that are enabling the climate, biodiversity, and public health crises are rewarded. (See here for Bayer advert on how it supports “Regenerative Agriculture.”)
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will administer the Regenerative Pilot Program, which is purported to divert $400 million in funds from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and $300 million from the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) for Fiscal Year 2026. The NRCS, meanwhile, has lost almost 25 percent of its staff since January 2025, according to an analysis by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition in September 2025. Family farmers are often distrustful of USDA, which is seen as aligned with industrial agribusiness—as captured in a recent expose by More Perfect Union.