Ata Regenerative is a strong supporter of the Underground Festival, having been a major sponsor last year through Regen to Market and recently attended the second annual Underground Festival at Greystone Wines on 18–19 February as exhibitors.
Underground is a gathering point for thinkers, practitioners and farmers working in regenerative agriculture. This year reinforced just how quickly the conversation around regenerative farming is evolving.
Participants were treated to a packed programme of speakers, workshops, and field walks that ran from early morning through to evening. Ata had a presence in one of the supporting tents where the team engaged in conversations with farmers, land managers, and industry participants as they passed through.
Across those conversations, one theme became clear: regenerative farming is gaining traction, and farmers are increasingly looking for practical ways to apply regenerative agriculture principles within their own context.
Photo credit: Underground Festival
From inspiration to application
While enthusiasm for regeneration is growing, many farmers are still searching for clear answers about how to transition their systems.
In many discussions there was still a tendency to seek prescriptive solutions or step-by-step formulas. Yet regenerative agriculture does not operate as a fixed recipe. Each farm operates within its own climate, soil type, landscape, and management constraints.
Creating greater awareness of individual context and understanding regeneration as a principle-based design system remains one of the greatest opportunities for farmers wanting to move forward.
Professor Pablo Gregorini (Lincoln University), John Chester (The Biggest Little Farm), and Dr Hugh Jellie (Founder of Ata Regenerative)
The power of story in regeneration
This theme was powerfully showcased by John Chester, who opened the festival with a riveting account of the eight-year journey to transform a degraded 200-acre orchard into a thriving, regenerative ecosystem.
The story, documented in the award-winning film The Biggest Little Farm, illustrated both the promise and the difficulty of restoring landscapes through nature-based approaches.
John spoke candidly about the challenges, setbacks and unexpected lessons that shaped the transformation. His storytelling was visceral, honest and deeply relatable for a room filled with farmers and land stewards navigating similar uncertainties.
The audience connected strongly with this message. Regeneration is not a linear process. It requires patience, adaptation, and a willingness to learn from the land itself.
Photo credit: Underground Festival
Why regenerative farming is gaining momentum
Interest in regenerative agriculture continues to grow as farmers look for ways to improve soil health, ecosystem function and farm resilience.
Across New Zealand and globally, more producers are exploring how regenerative systems can restore landscapes while maintaining productive farming businesses.
Events like Underground provide a space where farmers can exchange ideas, challenge assumptions and share practical experiences. Rather than presenting regeneration as a fixed model, the festival encourages participants to return to their own farms and explore what these principles mean within their specific landscape.
For many farmers the question is no longer whether regeneration is possible. The real question is how those principles can be applied within their own environment and management system.
A community of practice
As always, Underground was not just about the presentations.
Conversations continued between sessions, food was shared, relationships were rekindled, and new connections were made across the regenerative community.
After two full days, our cups were full.
We left the festival renewed, inspired, and eager to continue exploring the potential of regenerative agriculture within our own landscapes and with the farmers we work alongside.
Underground 2026 was a success not because it provided all the answers, but because it created the space for the right questions to be asked.
Those questions are where real change begins.
Congratulations to Fran and her team for another memorable event.
Photo credit: Underground Festival
Ready to regenerate your land?
Ata Regenerative partners with farmers to track and improve regenerative practices on their unique landscapes. Using Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV), we measure real results across soil health, biodiversity, and ecosystem function.
As one of the largest certified EOV providers globally, the farms we work with are seeing verifiable ecological improvements:
- Increased forage cover and energy flow
- Improved drought resilience and pasture growth
- Enhanced soil structure and water retention
- Reduced bare soil and erosion
- Higher dry matter production without costly supplements or fertilisers
Our international experience—from Australia to South Africa and the U.S.—shows long-term pasture recovery, restored water cycles, and greater farm resilience are achievable.
This is your chance to be part of the transformation our landscapes urgently need. Get in touch to see how we can help your farm transition to regenerative.
