Regenerative agriculture

About this expertise

In short
  • Developing and evaluating regenerative cropping, farm and regional food systems
  • Applied research with farmers and at experimental sites
  • Monitoring soil health, biodiversity, emissions, CO₂ and socio-economic impacts
  • Gaining insights into business models and new value chains in regenerative agriculture
  • Collaborating with farmers, advisors, value chain partners and policymakers
Get in touch with us

Regenerative agriculture works with nature to restore soils and agroecosystems - securing the long-term production of food, feed and fibre. Wageningen University & Research (WUR) develops knowledge and innovations together with farmers, agribusinesses, governments and partners across the value chain to bring regenerative solutions into practice.

Regenerative agriculture strengthens the natural foundation of farming - focusing on healthy soils, clean water, rich biodiversity and viable business models for farmers. The result is a resilient farming system that works in harmony with nature and supports a healthy living environment.

This approach takes a systems view: every part of farm management is connected - from soil preparation and crop choice to fertilisation, pest management and landscape design. Cover crops, crop rotation and tailored fertilisation improve soil structure and boost soil life. Landscape elements such as field margins and hedgerows enhance biodiversity and contribute to sustainable water management. By closing nutrient cycles and strengthening natural processes, regenerative agriculture increases both productivity and resilience.

Wageningen University & Research helps companies and policymakers apply regenerative principles in practice. We identify effective measures for different conditions and explore how they can be scaled within existing and new value chains. Together, we create sustainable and profitable farming systems with broad societal support.

Related products, services and facilities (7)

Products, services and facilities
Facility

Agro-innovation centre De Marke: research, learn & innovate

Agro-innovation centre De Marke is a dairy farm for scientifically based applied research, focusing on nature-inclusive and circular dairy farming, climate resilience, and precision agriculture

Researcher in greenhouse
Facility

Unifarm – Research facility for plant science

Unifarm provides companies with access to advanced facilities for high-quality plant and crop research. From large-scale field trials and controlled greenhouse experiments to studies with specific plant material, including quarantine organisms – we create the right research environment with professional support. Our experts are client-focused and combine a hands-on approach with technical expertise to ensure professional execution of experiments.

Facility

Trial site Lelystad

Trial site Lelystad is WUR’s largest experimental site, located on young marine clay. With 700 hectares of trial-ready fields, we have the capacity to set up everything from small-scale to very large and complex field experiments. These can be combined with laboratory analyses and high-quality storage facilities.

Facility

Trial site Marwijksoord

On the sandy soils of Drenthe in Marwijksoord lies the Kooijenburg experimental farm. This research and demonstration site for arable and forage crops is the only WUR trial location on northern sandy soils in the Netherlands, with a historic nutrient deficiency field. On 60 hectares of sandy soil, we conduct practical research in cooperation with farmers and chain partners.

Facility

Trial site Valthermond

Trial site Valthermond is the only Wageningen University & Research trial location on peat-colonial sandy loam. This makes the site uniquely suited for practice-oriented research into soil quality, cropping systems, biodiversity and new technologies. Collaboration with farmers, chain partners and governments is central.

Facility

Trial site Vredepeel

Vredepeel, located in Venray, is the trial site for the sandy soils of the southeastern Netherlands. We conduct practical field trials on crops and cropping systems, focusing on soil quality, resilient cultivation, fertilisation, water and erosion. Together with Trial Site Wijnandsrade, we also carry out field research on loess soils in South Limburg.

Facility

Trial site Westmaas

The Westmaas field crops trial site, situated in the Hoeksche Waard region of South Holland, specialises in research on potatoes, cereals and sugar beet. The soils are predominantly heavy silt loam to light clay. In addition to field trials, the location offers extensive facilities for potato storage research. With its excellent infrastructure, Westmaas enables integrated chain research from field to product quality.

Get in touch with our expert

Contact

Do you have a question or would you like to collaborate? Contact our expert.

dr. MB (Margriet) Goris

Expert regenerative agriculture