This long evolution has improved his farm’s health and profitability. But Fuller is one of many regenerative farmers who feels that government policies have actively worked against them.

In 2012, a historic drought year, Fuller’s approach to farming cost him a crucial crop insurance payout: His insurance company denied his claim because days of harsh, dry winds prevented him from terminating his crops in line with the government’s strict timeline. He spent almost two years fighting for the money, and though he eventually won his case, he lost his operating line of credit at the bank while he waited—and subsequently lost much of his land.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has delivered perfunctory messages about the benefits of cover crops and other regenerative agricultural practices. But, for years, the agency has effectively discouraged farmers from planting cover crops through confusing and overly restrictive rules set by the Risk Management Agency (RMA), an agency under USDA that determines crop insurance eligibility, a lifeline for many farmers. Fuller and other producers have fought for those rules to be lifted, and the most recent farm bill finally does away with the worst and most restrictive rules. Now, as long as farmers make a good faith effort to terminate their crops according to USDA guidelines, they cannot be denied a payout if drought or floods or other acts of Mother Nature impede their work. However, until cover crops and other regenerative practices are branded by the government as good farming, instead of merely good environmental stewardship, adoption will never reach a critical mass.

In theory, the RMA is an independent government agency, a neutral arbiter of rules and regulations. But multiple sources told me on background that they believe the agency essentially publishes rules that the agribusiness industry supplies. And the industry doesn’t want cover crops. Crop insurance companies are reluctant to introduce variables they don’t understand and that might come with new risks; the broader agricultural industry has a vested interest in farmers needing to buy its pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers in ever-increasing quantities. The use of cover crops threatens that demand.