By Sarah Zeiler
In February 2026, Michigan State University Extension partnered with the MSU Center for Regenerative Agriculture to offer a special webinar series on regenerative agriculture. These sessions brought together farmers, educators and landowners who are interested in healthier soils, stronger farms and more resilient rural communities.
The series introduced six key principles that help guide regenerative agriculture. These principles focus on things like keeping living roots in the soil, minimizing soil disturbance, increasing plant diversity, integrating livestock, and understanding your unique farm context. One important message from the series was clear: regenerative agriculture is not “one size fits all.” Every farm is different. Climate, soil type, crops, livestock and personal goals all matter. The goal of the webinar series was not to tell farmers exactly what to do, but to share ideas, examples and research that can help guide decisions.
Understanding the land–water connection
In this webinar, participants learned how regenerative practices on farmland can also benefit lakes, streams and wetlands. The key takeaway was simple but important: what happens on land affects what happens in the water.
Erick Elgin, an aquatic ecologist with MSU Extension, shared how lakes are shaped not just by what happens in the water, but by what happens around them. Rainfall moves across fields, yards, roads and forests, carrying soil, nutrients and pollutants into lakes. This area of land that drains into a lake is called a watershed—or more specifically, a lakeshed.
Source : msu.edu