#99 - LEO, PEAT, FOREST
USDA’s Regenerative Pilot Gets Mixed Reviews, Leonardo DiCaprio-Backed Telmont, “Peat-Free” Mushroom Compost Into Scalable Regenerative Inputs, White Tiger Group Food Forests, Bueno Vista's Lab
This Week in Regenerative Agriculture
Wednesday, January 14th
5 stories. Every Wednesday. Right to your inbox.
Submit Your Own Story Here! (maybe it’ll be on next week’s edition!)
1. USDA’s Regenerative Pilot Gets Mixed Reviews
The USDA has unveiled a $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program (RPP), administered by NRCS, pitching it as “a farmer first, outcomes-based approach” that bundles previously siloed conservation efforts into a single, streamlined application to accelerate soil-health adoption. The funding is split between $400 million from EQIP and $300 million from CSP for FY2026, with states directed to set aside 25% of their EQIP and CSP financial assistance for the pilot, and participants required to conduct soil health testing in the first and last year of their contracts to document change. Reactions ranged from cautious support by pesticide-industry group CropLife America—calling for clarity on “operational challenges”—to strong backing from the Weed Science Society of America, which argued “weed control is what will make regenerative agriculture possible”.
Link
2. Leonardo DiCaprio-Backed Telmont Becomes the Region’s First Regenerative Organic Certified Producer
Maison Telmont—backed by Leonardo DiCaprio—has become the first Champagne house to earn Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) status, achieving Bronze-level certification after audits and on-site verification by Ecocert Environnement. Telmont says it has already converted 70% of its vines to certified organic, with a goal to move 100% of its estate and partner vineyards to organic and regenerative by 2031.
Link
3. “Peat-Free” Mushroom Compost Into Scalable Regenerative Inputs
Giorgi Mushroom Company has made what it calls a “landmark investment” in Modern Soils, a regenerative agriculture venture that converts mushroom compost—an abundant byproduct of mushroom cultivation—into premium potting soils, land-remediation blends, sustainable crop substrates, and peat-free mushroom casing. The deal spotlights a practical, circular-economy pathway for regenerative ag by targeting one of horticulture’s most scrutinized inputs: peat, with Modern Soils positioning its compost-based products as a lower-impact replacement that can improve soil health while reducing agriculture’s footprint.
Link
4. White Tiger Group Plans Biodiverse Food Forests and 100-Meter Domes in Southern Oregon
White Tiger Group (WTG) says it is acquiring multi-thousand-acre ranch properties near Ashland, Oregon and converting them into perennial, polycultural food-forest systems that combine permaculture with greenhouse-based controlled-environment agriculture (CEA), renewable energy, and water-generation technology to build closed-loop farms at landscape scale. The model hinges on biodiversity and infrastructure—sites are designed for hundreds of plant species, while geodesic domes up to 100 meters wide will house tropical food forests, vertical cultivation, and aquaculture.
Link
5. Buena Vista University Launches a 160-Acre Sustainable Ag “Living Lab” in Iowa
Buena Vista University has partnered with the Boettcher family to open the Boettcher Raccoon River Sustainable Agriculture Center on a 160-acre farm about 10 miles from campus, positioning the site as a hands-on hub for student training, applied research, and conservation practices aimed at protecting Raccoon River water quality. The farm’s enrollment in the USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) anchors the center’s focus on soil health and nutrient-management outcomes.
Link
EXTRAS
Grassroots Carbon Becomes First U.S. Company to Deliver 1.9 Million Tons of Carbon Removals Through Regenerative Ranching [Link]
Venture of the Week
Groundbreaking Organizations.
The Savory Institute is a global nonprofit advancing holistic management and regenerative grazing across grasslands worldwide. Through its Hub network in more than 40 countries and its Land to Market verification program, Savory works with farmers, ranchers, brands, and communities to regenerate degraded land while strengthening rural livelihoods.
savory.global
AND
This Week In Regenerative Agriculture is published by Why Regenerative. It is compiled by Jackson Baris with ChatGPT. Sign up for our newsletter here.