Inside the USDA’s New ‘Regenerative Pilot Program’
In June, regenerative farming advocates celebrated after President Donald Trump issued the first executive order (EO) ever dedicated to “advancing regenerative agriculture.”
“This EO now engages the administration’s resources into supporting regenerative agriculture on an expanded scale,” researcher Jonathan Lundgren wrote on LinkedIn. “We are cautiously optimistic that this first step will support our bottom-up efforts to change the culture of food in the U.S. and globally.”
At the center of the Trump administration’s plan is to “maximize the funding” and “expand the reach” of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Regenerative Pilot Program (RPP), announced at the end of 2025.
In an email, a USDA spokesperson told Civil Eats that the agency has exceeded its goals, giving out $851.7 million in 5,100 RPP farmer contracts through two conservation programs: the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).
Despite the fanfare, the program does not represent a significant new investment in regenerative agriculture.