Can Rowe Farms do regenerative agriculture profitably?

On farms across America, planning for the next growing season is well underway. After a busy harvest period, it is time to reflect on the growing season, analyze critical data and finalize planning for the year ahead. Like many other farmers, I’m thinking about what adjustments we might make on my family’s Illinois farm, and what new products, technologies or practices we might introduce.

Contending with increasingly unpredictable weather patterns is one of our biggest challenges. Illinois farms enjoyed above-average rainfall in July, but the skies dried up in August and early September, according to the state’s official climatologist. While we did sustain some crop and building damage by high wind events, we were fortunate at Rowe Farms to have a successful and safe 2024 growing season.

That’s due to a lot of hard work by my parents, who have been dedicated stewards of our farm for more than 50 years, and by other members of my family. As a fifth-generation farmer, I appreciate all the care that they have put into it. And I’m fully committed to maintaining this mindset for our family’s future generations.

Doubling Down on Regenerative

One way we’re going to reinforce our commitment to the long term is through a greater emphasis on regenerative agriculture and soil health. Over the years, we have introduced soil conservation and restoration practices such as low till/no till, cover crops, crop rotations, and precision application of inputs. In 2025, we plan to do even more. And we will continue to be focused on capturing data and monitoring the results.

Our family sat around the kitchen table recently during American Thanksgiving week to talk about next steps. For example, we want to fine-tune our approach to cover crops because one of our early experiments came with some unwanted surprises.

The rye grass we seeded as a cover crop last fall served its purpose of protecting and improving the soil. However, we had some difficulty terminating the cover crop in the spring which made planting more challenging. Additionally, we discovered that some of the rye seed contained some amounts of rapeseed which was very difficult to control throughout the season. If planted deliberately, rapeseed produces a food oil that can be an alternative to olive oil. But the plant has a tenacious root and stalk that make it ill-suited as a cover crop. In short, we need to learn from the mistakes and improve our cover-cropping practices.?

Other possibilities include different cover crop seed mixtures and new ways to address soil compaction, as well as further experimentation with tillage and water drainage. When evaluating our fields, Abbey Wick, a group leader on Syngenta’s soil health team who has a PhD in Soil Science, noted that the greatest improvements often happen when regenerative practices are used together. Abbey also observed that timing is everything with cover crops and weed control. It’s good advice that we will put into practice.?

There’s Much More to Come

In the year ahead, I plan to share more about Rowe Farms’ next steps in regenerative agriculture and what we learn along the way. I think of it as an experiment — a chance to try new techniques and adjust as needed. It will be important to strike a balance between what’s possible and what’s practical — and profitable.

What is for sure, is that we and other farmers can’t just continue doing the same. Too much is changing too fast — from the weather, to crop yields, to the global economy. Data-driven farming is our best bet for innovation, productivity and profitability. And regenerative agriculture is the earth-friendly way to do that and secure the future of farming.