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Europe 2024
Farmers are
the Future
Top 50 Farmers is an acceleration platform for scaling regenerative agriculture across Europe. We celebrate the work of pioneering farmers and bring them together with industry executive to unlock new opportunities across the value chain.
About Top 50 Farmers
Top 50 Farmers is an acceleration platform and a community hub designed to inspire the next generation of farmers, unite the regenerative farming space, and create pathways of opportunities to create resilient and profitable farming businesses.
Top 50 Farmers is built on three foundational pillars:
Celebrating Role Models
If the world understood how important and cool farmers’ work is, we as a society would value them like rock stars.
Each year Top 50 Farmers runs an open nomination to identify fifty diverse regenerative farmers practicing or transitioning to regenerative agriculture to serve as role models as part of the Recognition Program. These stories of regeneration will be widely shared on the Top 50 Farmers' website and across social channels to spread the voices of pioneering farmers.
A Network
of Solutions
Curious how you can join the regenerative farming movement in your country?
The Top 50 Farmers Network is an open database of nonprofit organisations and educational institutions providing education, resources, tools and opportunities for farmers scaling or transitioning to regenerative agriculture.
If you're a farmer or interested in regenerative farming, the Network is a valuable resource for you to tap into your local support system.
The Recognition
Program
The farmers selected to be part of the top 50 gain access to the Recognition Program.
Farmers will also get access to forums to connect and share feedback with key decision-makers, as well as mentorships, roundtables, and learning sessions to support the development of their work towards a resilient and profitable business. We aspire to make regenerative agriculture the industry standard, requiring new pathways to markets and financing opportunities that empower the work on the ground.
We are making regenerative farming the norm instead of the exception.
Scaling regenerative practices to 40% of global agricultural cropland will be pivotal in limiting climate change, improving soil health, sequestering carbon, enhancing food systems and ecological resilience, and safeguarding biodiversity and livelihoods.
About Regenerative Agriculture
At its core, regenerative farming works with nature rather than against it. While there is no universally-accepted definition, Top 50 Farmers views regenerative agriculture as a holistic farming approach that enhances the environment, the soil, plant and animal welfare, and communities.
Top 50 Farmers believes in the importance of a food system that doesn’t rely on synthetic and chemical inputs, but builds living soil—the foundation of regenerative agriculture—rich in microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and earthworms that aid in nutrient cycling, improve soil structure, and boost water retention.
Regenerative practices include crop rotation, cover cropping, reduced tillage, composting, and livestock integration to revitalise soil health. As a result, crops grow stronger and build resistance to pests, eliminating the need for agrochemicals and synthetic input.
By improving soil fertility and working in harmony with natural ecosystems, regenerative farming creates resilient, sustainable systems that address biodiversity and environmental challenges while producing nutrient-rich food for future generations.
We're seeding the future
Top 50 Farmers understands that regenerative agriculture is not just another farming method. It actively restores ecosystems, bolsters soil health, and heightens biodiversity. This approach is crucial as it not only maintains food production, but also aids in planetary healing.
By sequestering carbon, optimizing water usage, and fostering healthier crops, regenerative agriculture directly address climate change, safeguard food supplies, and protect the Earth for future generations.
A Community Hub for Regenerative Farming
The ambition of Top 50 Farmers is to empower the work of regenerative farmers and inspire a new generation to accelerate the adoption of regenerative practices that build healthy soil, create resilient food systems, and support surrounding communities.
Top 50 Farmers aims to foster collaborations across the value chain, create pathways for connections, and access to capital, market opportunities, and peer networks to scale regenerative farming in Europe and beyond.
Founding Funders
Top 50 Farmers is backed by a consortium of European foundations that have spent decades working across the value chain to support the regenerative transition.
Top 50 Farmers has received seed funding from Astanor and is financed by the DOEN Foundation, the AVINA Foundation, and the Nest Foundation with multi-year commitments.
Astanor
Avina Foundation
DOEN Foundation
The Nest
Foodprint Nordic
Future Food
