The short answer. Often, but not always, and not by the same amount on every farm. Research finds that some regenerative practices, such as grass leys in arable rotations and less cultivation, raise soil carbon in the topsoil over years. For others, such as cover crops, some studies find gains and some find none. How much a farm gains depends on its soil, its starting point, its weather and how deep you look, and gains can be lost again. The honest answer for your farm comes from measuring it.
Last reviewed September 2026.
What regenerative farming means
There is no single definition. Most farms that call themselves regenerative work to the same principles: disturb the soil less, keep it covered, keep living roots in it for as much of the year as possible, grow a more diverse rotation, and often bring livestock or grass back into arable land. Farms apply those principles in different combinations, which is one reason the evidence varies. The practices themselves are set out in how to increase soil organic carbon.
What the research shows, practice by practice
Grass leys in arable rotations
Among the most consistent findings. A 2022 meta-analysis of temperate studies, averaging 15 years in length, found a significant increase in soil carbon for each year of ley in an arable rotation. Long-term experiments at Rothamsted Research have shown for decades that carbon built under grass is lost again when the land goes back to continuous arable.
Less cultivation
The same 2022 meta-analysis found a significant increase in soil carbon concentration where tillage was reduced. The depth matters, though. Studies that sampled below 40 centimetres have found that no-till moves carbon towards the surface rather than adding it across the whole depth sampled, and an influential 2014 review concluded that much of the apparent gain under no-till comes from that shift. More carbon near the surface is still good for the soil. It is just not the same as more carbon in the soil.
Cover crops
The evidence is split. A 2015 meta-analysis found an average gain of 0.32 tonnes of carbon a hectare a year in the top 22 centimetres where cover crops were grown. The 2022 temperate meta-analysis found no significant effect. Species, growing time, how the cover is destroyed and the soil it grows in all differ from study to study, and from farm to farm.
Organic manures and amendments
Manure, compost and other amendments add carbon to the field they are spread on, and feed soil life. But carbon brought in from somewhere else is not all new carbon taken from the air, which is why a credible measurement accounts for it. Under our methodology, if organic amendments went on within six months of sampling, the carbon they added is estimated and deducted.
Why results differ from farm to farm
- The starting point. Soils that have lost carbon tend to have more room to gain than soils already rich in it.
- The soil. Texture, drainage and depth all affect how much carbon a soil can hold and how securely.
- The weather. A wet winter or a dry summer can take carbon out as well as put it in, whatever the system.
- Time. Gains slow as the soil approaches a new balance. The IPCC’s default assumption is that it takes 20 years for soil carbon to settle after a change in management.
- Permanence. Carbon built by a practice can be lost if the practice stops.
- How it is measured. Sampling depth, the number and position of samples, and whether the error is stated can hide a real change or suggest one that is not there.
Carbon is not the only reason to do it
Research has not shown that these practices raise average yields, and the 2022 meta-analysis found they did not lower them either. The value we see is in the hard years. On our UK projects, fields that held their carbon lost less yield in dry years. Rising soil carbon goes with better structure, more water held and more nutrients cycled, and that is what protects a crop when the weather turns. A carbon credit is the cherry on top.
How to know whether it is working on your farm
A system can look regenerative on paper while a field quietly goes backwards, and soil carbon loss does not show up in a yield map, a nutrient test or a set of accounts. The only way to know is to measure: a baseline, then the same fields at the same point every year, with the error stated. Because we relate soil carbon change to management practice across every project we monitor, we can also tell you what turned the same pattern around on farms like yours. How it is done is in how soil carbon is measured.
Questions we are asked about regenerative farming and soil carbon
Does regenerative agriculture sequester carbon?
It can. Grass leys in arable rotations and reduced tillage have been found to raise soil carbon in the topsoil, and other practices show mixed results. Whether a particular farm is sequestering carbon, and how much, can only be shown by measuring it over time.
Does no-till increase soil carbon?
It raises carbon near the surface. Across the whole depth of soil, the gain is often much smaller, because some of it is carbon moved up from lower down rather than new carbon. That is why sampling depth matters when no-till fields are measured.
Do cover crops increase soil organic carbon?
Sometimes. One large meta-analysis found an average gain, and a later one focused on temperate farming found no significant effect. They protect the soil over winter either way, and whether they build carbon on your fields is what annual measurement shows.
How long does it take to build soil carbon?
Years, and the rate slows as the soil approaches a new balance. Year-to-year change can go in either direction with the weather, which is why the trend across several annual measurements tells you more than any single year.
Can I be paid for farming regeneratively?
Soil carbon credits pay for a measured result, not a practice. With Ecometric, credits are issued for each tonne sequestered after greenhouse gas emissions are deducted. Some supply chain programmes and government schemes pay for practices, and each has its own rules. More in how much a farm can earn from soil carbon.
How do I find out whether my practices are building soil carbon?
Measure your fields against a baseline, once a year, at the same point in the year. Send us your SBI number and your hectares and we will send a written quote within two working days. Minimum project area is 150 hectares. Get a quote.
Sources
- Jordon, M.W. et al. (2022). Temperate Regenerative Agriculture practices increase soil carbon but not crop yield: a meta-analysis. Environmental Research Letters 17, 093001. Read the paper
- Poeplau, C. and Don, A. (2015). Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils via cultivation of cover crops: a meta-analysis. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 200, 33 to 41. Read the paper
- Luo, Z., Wang, E. and Sun, O.J. (2010). Can no-tillage stimulate carbon sequestration in agricultural soils? A meta-analysis of paired experiments. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 139, 224 to 231. Read the paper
- Powlson, D.S. et al. (2014). Limited potential of no-till agriculture for climate change mitigation. Nature Climate Change 4, 678 to 683. Read the paper
- Rothamsted Research. The long-term experiments.
Part of our guide to soil carbon measurement for farms. Related: how to increase soil organic carbon · soil carbon and yield · soil sampling for soil carbon · SFI26 soil actions
