Key Takeaways
President Trump signed an executive order on June 25 directing USDA, HHS, and EPA to advance regenerative agriculture and study cumulative chemical exposures in the food supply.
The order launches an NIH prize challenge and directs ARPA-H to prioritize research into reducing reliance on chemical crop protection while improving health.
It builds on a February commitment of more than $1 billion from the three agencies to modernize American agriculture.
The federal government is putting its weight behind regenerative agriculture.
On June 25, President Trump signed an executive order, Advancing Regenerative Agriculture and Strengthening American Farm Resilience, directing the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency to work with farmers on soil-friendly practices and to build a research framework for studying chemical exposures in food. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins joined the signing alongside four regenerative farmers, as Food Business News reported.
Regenerative agriculture is a farming approach that aims to improve soil health, biodiversity, and water resources while supporting farm profitability. The order frames it as both an agricultural and a public-health goal, tying how food is grown to how healthy Americans are.
The order sets several efforts in motion. HHS will launch a National Institutes of Health prize challenge to speed up ways to evaluate and address cumulative chemical exposures, and it directs the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health to prioritize technologies that cut reliance on chemical crop protection. The USDA will expand its Regenerative Agriculture Pilot Program and, per an accompanying USDA rule, reward farmers who voluntarily adopt regenerative practices while growing crops for the bioeconomy.
The move builds on a February commitment of more than $1 billion from HHS, USDA, and EPA to modernize farming and strengthen the food supply, and it arrives with a new HHS issue brief on how regenerative agriculture connects to population health.
The through line is familiar in WYDE's coverage: what happens to the food system lands on the same households that feel every shift in food costs and benefits, from the SNAP cost shift to consolidation in grocery like the Kroger and Giant Eagle merger. Worth watching.
People Also Ask
What does the regenerative agriculture executive order do?
Signed on June 25, 2026, it directs the USDA, HHS, and EPA to expand regenerative farming, build a framework to study cumulative chemical exposures in food, and launch new health research efforts.
What is regenerative agriculture?
It is a farming approach focused on improving soil health, biodiversity, climate, and water resources while supporting profitability for farmers and their communities.
Which agencies are involved?
The Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency, building on a February commitment of more than $1 billion to modernize agriculture.
How does the order connect farming to health?
It ties how food is produced to public health, launching an NIH prize challenge and directing ARPA-H to prioritize research that reduces reliance on chemical crop protection while improving health outcomes.