A critical narrative review is conducted of “regenerative agriculture” literature. An outcome-oriented definition, aiming beyond sustainability, is defended as consistent with evidence of regenerative farmers’ usage. It is partly a response to problems of soil degradation and has scientific rationale in contemporary understandings of soil formation and soil ecology. Potential benefits include input reduction enabled by an enhanced soil microbiome, improvements to farming livelihoods, farm scape ecosystems, health and wider environmental public goods. Research at a systems level is lacking, however; and scale of adoption is contingent on the business and policy environment.
