The 2024 REGENERATE Conference, held in Denver, Colorado at the National Western Center from November 6-8, was a huge success with over 800 people signed up for workshops, the virtual conference, and the in-person conference which was hosted by HMI, the Quivira Coalition, and the American Grassfed Association. Participants came from all over the country as well as Ecuador, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Saudia Arabia, Ghana, Uganda, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria, Nepal, and Mexico.
This three-day event included a full-day of pre-conference workshops and presentations on such topics as: Thriving People, Lands, and Livestock, Drones On the Range, Economics of Transitioning to Regenerative Ranching, Rebuilding Soil and Soil Health, Resilience in the Face of Change: Fostering Collaborative, Engagement for Sustainable Grassland Conservation, Getting Value from Regenerative Grazing Equipment, Integrating Livestock and Principles of Soil Health to Build Resilient Vegetable Crop Systems, Digging Deeper on Soil Carbon, Policy Changes to Support a Sustainable Ranching and Farming Future, Farmers Organize: Workgroups for Policy Change, Prioritizing YOUR Next Steps: Holistic Succession/Transfer Planning, Implementing Adaptive Grazing for Resilience, Regenerative Grazing for Watershed Health, Training Regenerative Technical Assistance Providers, It Starts With the Root, Regenerative Beef and Bison Byproduct Supply Chains, Land Trusts as Leaders in Agricultural and Community Resilience, From the Inside Out: A Hands-On Look at Healthy Organs. HMI also had an opportunity to celebrate our 40th anniversary with 40 awards to 40 Outstanding Holistic Management Demonstration Site Award winners.
The two-day conference included a host of plenaries and panel presentations that including: A Conversation About Land Access with Alicia Thompson, Zara Šaponja, Sarah and Andrew West, and Commissioner Kate Greenberg; Partnership on the Prairie - Dan Probert; Soil, Plant, Animal, and Human Microbiome - Dr. Meg Cattell; Tipping the Scales Beyond the Status Quo - P. Wade Ross; Innovation and Moving the Needle Forward - Adolfo Alfuzar; Building the Next Generation of Land-Based Stewards and Cultivating Just Community Self Governance Systems - Jose Luis “Agua y Tierra” Muniz y Ortiz; Buffalo Restoration at Blackfeet Nation - Latrice Tatsey; Changing the Paradigm of Science to Foster the Evolution of a Regenerative Food System - Jonathan Lundgren; Adding Layers to the Ranch - Dave Shields; From Farm to Spoon: Using Yogurt As a Conduit to Create Sustainable Change - Hayley and Stephanie Painter; Drone Technologies for Forage and Grazing - Tracy Shane
Additionally, there were multiple roundtables that encouraged audience participation and networking on such topics as: How to Raise Money and Build Brand; Advocacy, Storytelling, and Allyship; Centering Farmer and Rancher Voices in Carbon Removal; Agricultural Management and Asset Transfer Opportunities and Challenges; Creative Solutions to Addressing Labor Challenges in Agriculture; Supporting Innovation and Flexibility in Public Land Grazing; Is your Management Team Struggling? Moving from Conflict to Alignment; What is Meaningful Regenerative Agriculture Monitoring and Research?; Silvopasture Dreams and Challenges; Smarter Together: Peer to Peer Land Management Troubleshooting; A Community Approach to Regenerative Agriculture; Regenerative and Conservation Grazing—Building Soil Health, Wildlife Habitat, and Economic Opportunity; Challenges and Solutions to Navigating Animal Health; How Are You Really? Supporting Rancher Well-Being for One Another; and Working with Conservation Easements and Other Agricultural Land Protection Ideas.
Thanks to our conference sponsors: No Regrets Initiative, Mystic Artists, 11th Hour Project, Thornburg Foundation, Lydia B Stokes Foundation, Grasslans Charitable Trust, Western Landowners Alliance, National Young Farmers Coalition, Natural Grocers, Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT, Colorado Department of Agriculture, Taos Ski Valley Foundation, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, Tecovas Family Foundation, Meridian Institute, Audubon Conservation Ranching, El Pomar Foundation, Forum for the Future, Grassburger, Mesa Business Services, Nancy Ranny & David Levi, Advancing EcoAgriculture, Kinsey Agricultural Services, American Farmland Trust, Carbon 180, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Colorado Cattlemens Agricultural Land Trust, Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, Dixon Water Foundation, Noble Research Institute, High Country News, Farm to Power, Gallagher Fence, Growing GRASS, Greenacres Foundation, Organic Farmers Association, National Center for Appropriate Technology, Powerflex Grazing Supply, Tomkat Ranch Educational Foundation, Women, Food & Agriculture Network, Ferrell Ranch, Lone Mountain Ranch, Shaniko Wool, Animas Foundation, Aspen Business Center Foundation, D&K Printing, Merrill, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Stockman Grassfarmer, and The Nature Conservancy in Colorado.
Thank you also to our food and drink donors including: Audubon Conservation Ranching, Conscious Coffee, Elliot Farms, Frantoio Grove, Hungenberg Produce, Mile High Fungi, Natural Grocers, Painterland Sisters, Pasture Bird, Root Shoot Whiskey, Santa Fe Brewing, StarWalker Organic Farms, To’ak Chocolate, and Topp Fruits.