By Broderick Raleigh and Christine Charles et.al
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 to help guide decisions.
Tillage and soil health
Jodi DeJong-Hughes, tillage Extension Specialist from University of Minnesota Extension, led a February webinar to ask the age-old question: to till or not to till. Reducing tillage is a fundamental way to maintain soil structure, minimize soil compaction and increase water infiltration. Intensive tillage breaks apart these aggregates, increases runoff risk and reduces macropore space, which is responsible for 70% of water infiltration. With a wide range of equipment and management considerations, reducing tillage can be customizable for each farm and does not have to be a daunting task.
Tillage types and minimizing soil damage
Different tillage types mix and distribute the soil in different ways. Tillage intensity is rated by how much and how deeply equipment inverts, lifts, fractures, mixes or compresses soil while in the field. Tillage equipment is generally categorized into two groups: disks or points and shanks. Points and shanks lift and separate the soil while disks invert and mix the soil.
Source : msu.edu