There’s been a surge in the number of farmers pooling their resources with their neighbours to aggregate their market power and capitalise on economic and environmental impacts of regenerative farming.
Regen Farmers Mutual, the first of a kind farmer-led co-op, with more than 200 businesses involved, and more than 100 landscape impact projects in the pipeline, has seen a spike in the number of landholders applying to join as well as projects approved in the past six months.
RMF co-director Andrew Ward said the mutual is now accelerating its growth with a $50 million capital raise to enhance the technology and scale up landscape impact projects, with an initial $6 million by December, before the major $45 million raise in the second quarter of 2025 to fund the expanding portfolio of projects.
“The mutual model unlocks enormous economic and environmental potential at the landscape level. The success of our projects has shown when farmers collaborate, the impact is far greater than what could be achieved individually,” Mr Ward says.
“We have a robust pipeline of projects that need funding early next year. This capital raise is a crucial step to ensuring we can continue to deliver large-scale environmental impact while empowering our farmer members,” he adds.
“This growth is not just about scaling up, it's about setting a new standard for how regenerative agriculture can be practised and funded in Australia.”
RFM has already completed seven landscape impact projects – four in NSW, one in Queensland, and two in Victoria – with another six more projects funded and in progress.
These projects have attracted significant support, with $5 million in grants from the Commonwealth, Queensland, NSW and Victorian governments, Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Cotton Research Development Corporation.
“Our mission is helping farmers understand the value of their natural assets, helping them to pool their resources and retain control over their data, all while delivering significant environmental and economic outcomes,” Mr Ward said.
“We're also seeing a shift in how environmental grants are structured, with more emphasis on funding groups rather than individual farmers.
“This change aligns perfectly with our model and demonstrates the broader potential of cooperative efforts in achieving large-scale environmental outcomes.
“We currently have the first group within the mutual registering with the Australian carbon credit units (ACCU) scheme, setting the standard for future deals to develop carbon projects using Regen Digital technology which helps examine, trace and prove the value of their ‘natural Capital’,” he adds.
