Regenerative agriculture could produce the same quantity of food as conventional farming, and at an equal or lower financial cost in the long term

It is increasingly necessary to promote approaches that strike a balance between the requirements of the agricultural sector, nature, and adaptation to drought and rising temperatures. One such approach is regenerative agriculture, which prioritizes methods conducive to soil health. Scientists have already proven that, among other things, healthier soil can sequester more carbon from the atmosphere and absorb more water. But is this kind of farming profitable? Regenera.cat is a regenerative agriculture project led by CREAF and financed by the Climate Fund of Catalonia’s Agency for the Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR). Its preliminary results show that, contrary to popular belief, after the first few years and once soil health has been restored, regenerative methods can produce the same quantity of food as conventional farming, and at a similar or, in some instances, even lower cost. For example, such methods led to savings of over 30% in the case of courgette production in vegetable gardens. 

That figure is part of data obtained through a year-long comparison of sites farmed regeneratively on the four farms participating in the project (all of which are in Catalonia) and conventionally farmed plots of land, where practices such as tilling with heavy machinery and applying pesticides and chemical fertilizers are still in use. The team working on the project has also been able to compare 100% grass-fed cows in two different scenarios, involving some grazing in fields and others being fed baled hay. To calculate costs and output, the team studied a different food on each of the four participating farms: courgettes at the Verdcamp Fruits vegetable garden; pears at the Pomona Fruits orchards; grass-fed cow’s milk at the Planeses farm; and grapes at the regenerative vineyards of Família Torres. 

As team members point out, the results obtained are from the first 12 months of the project but the four farms have been using regenerative methods for years, so the calculations of financial costs do not factor in the initial investment required to restore soil health, a process that may take several years before such profitability is attained. The upside is the evidence that the regenerative and conventional approaches are equally productive and that the former, once fully established, is no more expensive than the latter and can even be more economical.

“One of the agricultural sector’s reservations about implementing more sustainable practices stems from claims that they’re more costly and less productive, so these results are encouraging, even though they’re currently on a small scale and require further research,” remarks Autonomous University of Barcelona lecturer and CREAF researcher Javier Retana, the project’s coordinator. He warns that switching to regenerative farming is not easy, especially in the first few years, and that such a change is best made when supportive policies, guidance and financial aid are in place. Nonetheless, he feels that “dismantling the myth of low production and high cost” is a vital step. 
 

For its financial calculations, the team conducted a meticulous analysis encompassing the costs of personnel (broken down by activity, such as pruning, planting, and applying plant protection treatments), machinery (including fuel, maintenance and rental), and products applied in fields (e.g. compost and fertilizers). According to the results, using regenerative rather than conventional methods entailed savings of over 30% in the case of the courgettes grown by Verdcamp Fruits. “In general, the greatest cost reductions correspond to machinery and plant protection products like chemical fertilizers or pesticides,” says Retana. And while the cost of regenerative practices did increase slightly — by around 10% — in the case of the pears cultivated by PomonaFruits, production was 20% higher on the site farmed regeneratively. “That happened because they applied natural treatments to prevent pests, which does drive the price up a little,” explains Retana. “On the other hand, though, production was higher,” he adds. The final results for Família Torres, meanwhile, are not yet known, partly due to the drought of 2024. As Retana notes, the team will have to wait until the second year of the project for definitive data on grape production. 

In terms of crop production capacity, the sites farmed regeneratively gave similar yields to those farmed conventionally. By way of example, in the case of Verdcamp Fruits, both the conventional and regenerative plots produced approximately 35,000-37,000 kg of courgettes. At PomonaFruits, production was actually higher under the regenerative system, with a harvest of 22,000 kg per hectare, compared to around 18,000 kg with conventional farming methods. A company statement reads: “Last year, pear production was low throughout Catalonia; even so, our comparison showed that the regenerative plot’s yield was almost 20% higher than that of the conventional plot.” The data available for Família Torres suggest that the quantity of grapes produced on regeneratively and conventionally farmed land is similar, although the 2024 harvest yields were not representative owing to the effects of the drought.

At Planeses, meanwhile, a comparison was made between 100% grass-fed dairy cows in two different scenarios, with one herd grazing in fields, following the Voisin method (planned daily rotation through different plots), and another being fed baled hay in an enclosure. Data show that the former approach is far more economical — more than halving financial costs — as the only outlay required is to pay for workers to move and milk the animals. In contrast, using bales of hay involves additional expenses: cutting and gathering grass, drying it out, transporting it and storing it, as well as collecting dung and returning it to fields.

According to Retana, the use of baled hay is sometimes unavoidable, especially when fresh pasture is unavailable, as happens in winter in high mountain areas or during hot Mediterranean summers. “However, if you want to produce milk from 100% grass-fed cows, letting them graze directly in fields whenever possible is much more cost-effective,” he says. Definitive data on milk production are not yet available, but cows fed on fresh grass appear to yield more milk than those fed on hay or silage grass.

Each of the farms participating in the project opted for a regenerative approach a number of years ago, with the aim of restoring the fertility and biodiversity of its land to ensure continued food production in the face of the climate crisis. “Increasing soil’s organic matter content enhances its capacity to store water in dry conditions, as well as to store carbon from the atmosphere,” explains Retana. The practices the farms employ include eliminating tilling, maintaining year-round soil cover, increasing plant diversity and production, and integrating crop and livestock farming.

Each of the four farms has its own specific practices and produces different foods. Chickens, hens and grass-fed cows are raised on the Planeses farm (Sant Ferriol, Girona), which also has a vegetable garden and uses woodland resources to make biofertilizers. Família Torres (Pacs del Penedès, Barcelona), a family-run winery, brings in flocks of sheep to graze among its vines and has installed nesting boxes for bats and birds. The PomonaFruits farm (Ivars d’Urgell, Lleida), where apples, pears, apricots and peaches are produced, incorporates pruning litter, live microorganisms, and organic matter into its soil. It plants flowers on the edges of cultivated areas, has introduced Osmia bees (solitary bees) to help pollinate fruit trees, and uses donkeys in some plots to fertilize the land and control weeds, thus reducing the use of machinery. Last but not least, Verdcamp Fruits (Cambrils, Tarragona) produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and is notable for a practice it calls floral intercropping (planting flowers between crops to promote biodiversity). The farm also uses a crop roller to bend and flatten crops growing alongside weeds, once their productive cycle ends, without cutting or shredding them; this creates a layer of biomass on the soil which acts as a natural mulch and green manure, retaining moisture. Additionally, all the farms have installed bee hotels to encourage the presence of pollinators.

Scheduled to run until January 2026, the Regenera.cat project is continuing its efforts to scientifically quantify the benefits of regenerative agriculture. “We’re now measuring other parameters, such as carbon and water footprints, the nutritional quality of the food produced, pollinator diversity, and water and atmospheric carbon storage capacity,” Retana concludes.

In the coming months, the project’s farms will hold open days so that members of the public can visit them and find out about their implementation of regenerative practices. Sign up for the Regenera.cat newsletter to keep abreast of all the project’s latest developments.

The Climate Fund is funded by 50% of the income obtained from the tax on CO2 emissions from mechanically propelled vehicles and 20% of the collection of the tax on installations that impact the environment.