The notion of regeneration is as old as time. It’s something indigenous wisdom keepers have known as a philosophy and way of being for eons. Modern farmers and scientists understand regeneration–the principles, benefits, and optimistic future it can create, yet they have to fight to practice it. Why?

What many citizens fail to truly grasp are the invisible restraints on US farmers. They are bound by the rules of modern farm production, which suppresses innovation and withholds understanding. The silent driver behind production and consumption is America’s Farm Bill–the foundation for all agricultural decisions. Because some of the unyielding rules and policies within it haven’t evolved, we as a country are being held back from waves of innovation and progress on climate change. The time to act and change the game is now.

By addressing the constraints of the Farm Bill, we can unlock the means and mechanisms for wide-scale adoption of regenerative agriculture

Since inception eight years ago, Kiss the Ground has been working to bring voice and understanding to the principles of regeneration. The movement has coalesced around the need for collaboration, diversity, justice, sovereignty and care for people in our food system, but political will has been largely missing. It’s clear that what is required in this moment is a broader coalition to come together with united voices so that systemic changes will be made to heal our soil and reverse climate change.

By addressing the constraints of the Farm Bill, we can unlock the means and mechanisms for wide-scale adoption of regenerative agriculture. How our food is being produced matters. Regeneration will mean more positive outcomes on human health, resilience against flooding, drought and fire, capturing carbon, biodiversity, farmer prosperity, improving rural economics, increasing healthy food access, creating water security and protecting animal welfare.

We’re jumping in. We’re reaching out. We know that to Regenerate America, we need to build bridges to help everyone understand that Soil is Our Common Ground. At Kiss the Ground our mantra has always been “Together, we can do this” and we know it will take all of us—not just farmers and ranchers and a few policy makers to do it.

This is an opportunity and a call to action for all of us to work to ensure that we rewrite the story of our future, shifting the trajectory for our children and grandchildren so they will live in a place of abundance, diversity, equity, and balance. As we begin this journey and launch the coalition in the new year, we encourage you to join us by advocating on behalf of healthy soil, our climate, our health, and our future.

Note: This piece first appeared in Kiss the Ground’s RE:GENERATE Journal.