This year’s Innovation Series continues to explore how innovation and sustainability are shaping the future of farming in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our next event turns to regenerative agriculture — a concept that has generated significant debate, curiosity and experimentation across the primary sector.
Rather than beginning with theory, regenerative agriculture in New Zealand has largely emerged from farmer-led experimentation and practical innovation. As interest evolves, the focus is shifting toward understanding the evidence, defining what regenerative agriculture means in a New Zealand context, and assessing where it can deliver real value.
Can regenerative approaches improve soil health, biodiversity and resilience while supporting productive and profitable farm systems? What does the science tell us so far, and where are the gaps? How are farmers interpreting and applying regenerative principles on the ground? And how might markets, data and policy shape the future of adoption?
Join researchers, practitioners, advisors and policymakers as they explore regenerative agriculture from practice through to evidence. Together we will examine what regenerative agriculture is — and isn’t — where it fits within broader agroecological thinking, and what it could mean for the future of land-based production in New Zealand.
Tuesday 7 July
9.00am - 2.00pm
S1, Stewart Building, Lincoln University
Programme
9.00am — Welcome
Session 1: Understanding Regenerative Agriculture: Concepts, Science and Evidence
This opening session establishes the foundations: how regenerative agriculture is defined, how it fits within agroecology, and what the science currently tells us about soils, freshwater and nutrient cycling in New Zealand systems.
9.10am — Keynote 1
What is regenerative agriculture — and what is it not?
Provides an overview of regenerative agriculture in the New Zealand and global context, its relationship to agroecology and other alternative systems, and key areas of agreement and debate.
9.25am — Keynote 2
Regenerative grazing systems in pastoral agriculture
Explores how grazing management, plant diversity and animal behaviour interact to influence pasture productivity, ecosystem function and system resilience.
9.40am — Keynote 3
Measuring soil and ecosystem change
Overview of current methods used to assess soil carbon, structure, biodiversity and nutrient cycling under changing management.
9.55am — Keynote 4
Land management and freshwater outcomes
Examines evidence on how different farming systems influence nutrient loss, sediment transport and freshwater quality.
10.10am — Keynote 5
Soil fertility and nutrient cycling in pasture systems
Explains how nitrogen and phosphorus cycling underpin pasture productivity and how emerging management approaches interact with established soil science.
10.25am — Q&A
10.35am — Break
Session 2: From Principles to Practice: Regenerative Farming on the Ground
This session focuses on how regenerative ideas are interpreted and applied at farm scale, and the realities of transition and risk management.
10.55am — Keynote 1
On-farm transition and system resilience
Practical experience of shifting farm systems and managing change.
11.15am — Keynote 2
Lessons from implementation
Reflections on challenges, trade-offs and measurable outcomes.
11.35am — Keynote 3
Integrating regenerative thinking into farm systems and advisory
Explores how regenerative approaches are influencing farm planning, decision-making and long-term system design.
11.55am — Q&A
12.05pm — Break
Session 3: Markets, Data and Policy: Enabling or Constraining Change
This session connects regenerative agriculture to verification, market signals and policy direction.
12.15pm — Keynote 1
Data and verification in regenerative agriculture
How farm-level data, monitoring systems and verification frameworks are shaping trust, claims and emerging opportunities.
12.30pm — Keynote 2
Policy and incentives for evolving farm systems
12.45pm — Keynote 3
Innovation and research directions
1.00pm — Panel Q&A
1.10pm — Event summary and closing
1.15pm — Lunch and networking
2.00pm — Event finishes