Virginia, which has long been a farming state, is one of the most diverse in terms of agricultural production in the United States. Many Virginia commodities produced on farms rank in the top 10 among all 50 states. Major crops produced in Virginia include corn, soybeans, hay and tobacco.

The state known as the “birthplace of a nation” has 46,000 farms covering over 8.2 million acres of land, around 32% of the state.

The impacts of climate change are already being felt by millions of people around the world — and while Virginians may not feel the impact immediately, Phillip Stenger, Director for the Office of Climatology at the University of Virginia said that “things are changing and continue to change… It’s going to get warmer in Virginia.”

According to Virginia State University College of Agriculture, 85% of Virginians believe that climate change is happening and 67% believe that human activity is a factor.

There are a variety of projected impacts that climate change will have on Virginia. Wildlife may find it difficult to adapt quickly to weather and climate changes, the extinction of key species has the potential to destroy habitats, the state is at risk for deforestation and Virginia could see an increase in noxious plants, which thrive in warm temperatures.

Additionally, Virginia’s coastal regions are expected to experience 1.5 feet of sea-level rise in the next 20-50 years, putting coastal communities at risk of devastation. Hampton Roads, Virginia, which is home to 1.5 million people is second-most vulnerable to rising sea levels behind New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Nature Conservancy projects that by 2050, Virginia will be as hot as South Carolina.

From floods to heatwaves, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are already over 150,000 climate-related deaths each year.

Many things play into global warming, but one of the biggest factors is greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone are trapped in the atmosphere and ultimately lead to warming. Pollution from cars, factories and energy systems are widely known negative contributors of these gases, but the other main contributor is agriculture and farming.

With the current land and crop, livestock and manure management techniques that are used across the globe agriculture contributes to over 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions as of 2019. Current practices allow loads of nitrous oxide, methane and other fossil fuels to be sent into the atmosphere rather than back into the soil.

“What we're discovering is in agriculture, we know it's got one of the biggest impacts of causing climate change,” Tom Benevento, co-founder of Jubilee Climate farm said. “But it also could be one of the best positive alternatives if we do agriculture differently, in particular, using regenerative agriculture, with the focus around carbon sequestration.”

Farmers across the world are turning to a farming practice that helps to sequester carbon and other fossil fuels from the atmosphere in order to help keep the Earth’s atmosphere from its warming tipping point — between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.

There is a growing number of farmers who have turned to regenerative farming because sustainable agriculture just isn’t enough — they now want to fully regenerate the land on which they farm.

“What’s happening regenerative farming is that you’re reintegrating diversity into agriculture,” Caroline Fleury, a full-time staff member at Jubilee Farms in Harrisonburg, Virginia said. “One of the most basics is… keeping the ground covered, having … a living root system in the ground at all times — and like, at its core… that's keeping soil aerated.”

Regenerative farming goes by several names including organic agriculture, biodynamic agriculture and permaculture.

“We call these alternative agricultural endeavors,” Dr. Wayne Teel, an Integrated science and technology professor (ISAT) at James Madison University said.

Plant beds and fields that are covered in vegetation are full of living roots in the soil — another main principle of regenerative agriculture. The important difference in this compared to modern agricultural practices is the technique of no-till farming. If the roots are kept in the ground with little to no disruption it allows plant and biotic life to thrive while sequestering and filtering more toxins from the air.

Techniques such as this not only take out greenhouse gases from the atmosphere but also restore the land itself.

A number of farms in Virginia have begun to utilize regenerative farming practices including decreasing disturbances to the soil life and increasing plant diversity by protecting and enhancing biotic and fungal networks underground.

Regenerative farming is not only a way to fight the impact of climate change, but it also aims to work in harmony with nature and provide economic viability. Many practices, such as silvo pastures, create a mutually beneficial relationship between livestock, people and the land.

Each farmer may have their own approach to regenerative farming, but a rule of thumb with regenerative agriculture is forgoing some modern farming practices like tilling, avoiding the use of chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides and keeping the soil covered with vegetation. Some even say they are simply reverting back to traditional ways of farming before mass-production demanded the use of large machinery and chemical production.

While there are several regenerative farms across Virginia, regenerative farming in the state and nationwide is just beginning to make a splash — and farms in the area have hopes to share what they’ve learned in the process.

Dr. Teel takes his students to regenerative farms in the Harrisonburg area in order to show them firsthand why he is passionate about alternative agriculture. He also makes his students aware of volunteer opportunities on the farms for students who want to be involved.

For Dr. Teel, seeing his ISAT students become practitioners of regenerative farming is the “ultimate goal.”

“They can either do it in their backyard… if they live in suburbia or even an urban area, or if they can get involved with it in terms of jobs,” Dr. Teel said. “At some point, I would love to see more students go into agriculture.”

Tackling climate change isn’t on just one individual. It’s a collective, worldwide initiative.

Caroline Fleury, a staff member at Jubilee farms thinks that even one person or one small group can make a difference.

I… think that we owe it to nature, we owe it to each other to rise to this challenge,” Fleury said. “Because ultimately, it's possible — we're not out of time. Time's running out, but we're not out of time.”