IFOAM North America and Natural Grocers are hosting a series of stakeholder conversations on regenerative agriculture topics to work towards an industry consensus on minimum regenerative standards for retail food label claims. The primary focus is to ensure that grocery shoppers can confidently choose products bearing a regenerative claim without being misled or confused.

We seek to enable gatekeeper retailers to evaluate potentially substandard claims so only bona fide regenerative products are for sale on their shelves. 10:00am – 11:30am Mountain Time Expert Panel | Q&A |

Open Discussion As our work groups sessions unfold, we now turn to sources of fertility such as compost, manure, cover crops and green manure. It’s imperative to know where these materials come from, how they are grown, and how they are incorporated into the cropping system. Just because it’s organic matter does not mean it qualifies as a regenerative input.

Some topics we will cover are: -Manure from conventional livestock operations vs hoofs on the ground. -Cattle, hog and poultry manure – challenges and opportunities -Municipal sources of organic matter – the good and bad -Using cover crops as soil armor -Herbicide use with cover crops -Using green manure as a nutrient source -Challenges of scaling compost operations using off-farm sources -Small scale agriculture approaches to organic matter

This session on Compost, Manure and Cover Crops builds on previous conversations by asking, where does additive fertility in a regenerative system come from? What practices protect and improve water and nutrition cycling? What materials can be used to increase fertility and soil health and which may cause damage to natural systems? Our panelists are practitioners of best practices with skills honed from decades of experimentation and learning. They also bring cautionary tales. More details available: https://ifoamnorthamerica.org/compost-manure-and-cover-crops/