What is regenerative certification?
Regenerative agricultural systems are focussed on improving the environment, soil, plants, animal welfare, health and communities.
The opposite of regenerative is degenerative. These types of agricultural systems use practices and inputs that damage the environment, soil, health, genes and communities, and involve animal cruelty.
The Regeneration International Standard was first published in February 2025, and uses principles and guidance rather than mandated practices. This allows farmers and land mangers to make decisions on the most appropriate practices and inputs for their farming system. The primary purpose of the Standard is to assist in a paradigm shift from the current degenerative industrial agricultural systems into systems that regenerate soil, biodiversity, climate, community, fairness, care and health.
Food and agricultural production systems certified to the Regeneration International Standard prohibit:
- Synthetic pesticides
- Synthetic animal feed supplements
- Synthetic food additives
- Water soluble chemical fertilizers, except for correcting deficiencies with trace elements
- Sewerage sludge/biosolids
- GMOs, including gene editing and GMO vaccines
- Nanotechnology
- Animal cruelty – all animals must be able to express their natural habits.
- Confined Animal Feeding Operations – all animals must spend adequate time on pasture and/or their natural habitat.
- Hydroponics – all systems must be soil-based.
- Clearing old growth and high-value ecosystems,
- Damaging tillage
- Burning crop residues, except for cool-season mosaic burns in First Nation agroecosystems
- Grazing that produces bare soil
Regenerative certification with OFC offers you:
✔ certification to a regenerative standard that will be recognised worldwide
✔ the recognition needed for access to niche regenerative domestic & export markets
✔ written guarantee of quality for your customers
✔ the potential of receiving a premium price for your product
✔ consumer reassurance that products are produced regeneratively, with regular monitoring by a third party inspection process
Anyone who produces or processes Regenerative In Transition or Regenerative A Grade products certified to the Regeneration International Standard must be certified through an approved Regeneration International certifying body such as OFC.
Go to this page for further information on how to become certified regenerative with OFC.
Looking for the Regeneration International Standard? Look no further! Here it is.
Producers
Regenerative agriculture is based on regenerating soils. Not all agricultural systems can be certified.
What can be certified?
✔ All soil based horticulture and livestock agricultural production systems.
✔ Apiaries in a forest, ranch or farm.
What can’t be certified?
X Non-soil production systems, for example hydroponics and aquaponics.
X Landless productions systems such as mushrooms, sprouts and wheat/barley grass.
Processors
Processors can be certified to make products which are certified Regenerative A Grade, Regenerative In Transition or Made with Regenerative. Off-farm processors must also be certified organic.
What can be certified?
✔ On-farm processing facilities on a certified Regenerative A Grade/In Transition farm.
✔ Off-farm processing facilities which process certified Regenerative A Grade/In Transition/Made with Regenerative products.
✔ Products from either of the above certified facilities.
What can’t be certified?
X Non-soil products, for example products of hydroponics and aquaponics.
X Landless productions systems products such as mushrooms, sprouts and wheat/barley grass.
