Level 1 is the phase in which concrete milestones for the farm's regenerative development are established.
TEIKEI and the farm jointly determine which development is meaningful, sustainable, and truly feasible on-site.
This is not about working through a general checklist.
It is about understanding the farm's concrete reality.
Every field is different.
Every soil is different.
Every climate, water situation, culture, work structure, and farm history brings its own conditions.
Therefore, regenerative development steps cannot simply be prescribed from the outside.
They must emerge from within the farm.
Level 1 means:
The farm itself develops which measures enable regenerative development from its perspective.
TEIKEI accompanies this process.
Agronomists and knowledgeable individuals from the network, together with the farm, review:
The milestones are therefore not defined abstractly.
They arise from the farm's concrete situation.
An organic certification can demonstrate that a farm meets certain formal requirements.
It also shows that a farm is capable of managing bureaucratic documentation.
This is helpful.
But it is not sufficient to describe regenerative development.
Because a certification cannot fully capture:
The EU organic baseline can therefore be a starting point.
But it does not replace the farm's own development.
Together, the following is clarified:
Milestones are concrete development steps that are developed from the farm's reality.
For example:
Important:
A milestone is not a wishful image.
A milestone must fit the land, the farm, and the work.
Regenerative development can mean:
That on one area, not just one crop is cultivated, but multiple foods are produced in a meaningful combination.
That the soil remains covered longer.
That water is retained better.
That more organic matter is built up in the soil.
That the carbon content in the soil increases.
That fertility increases.
That biodiversity on the farm is strengthened.
That the land is used more densely, diversely, and resiliently.
That the farm becomes less dependent on external inputs.
That harvest shares can be sustained more stably in the long term.
On Level 1, the farm is not the recipient of a directive.
The farm itself describes:
This self-assessment is central.
Because the farm knows its fields, soils, workflows, and risks best.
TEIKEI does not check against a rigid list from the outside.
TEIKEI accompanies the development.
Agronomists and knowledgeable individuals from the network help to classify the proposed measures.
Together, the following is asked:
This creates a milestone that can be taken seriously professionally and still comes from the farm's reality.
On Level 1, it also becomes clear which harvest shares the farm can sustain in the long term.
Harvest shares are typically renewed annually.
This creates stability.
This stability is important because regenerative development takes time.
A farm cannot meaningfully develop soil, water, biodiversity, and cultivation structures if everything is uncertain every year.
The harvest shares provide the farm with a foundation on which development becomes possible at all.
A farm advances to Level 2 when the milestones are defined and begin to be implemented.
Level 1 does not end with a general intention.
Level 1 ends with concrete, mutually understood milestones.
These milestones form the basis for Level 2.
One level up: Level System for Regenerative Agriculture
Author: Felix Schröder, with assistance from AI (ChatGPT)
Creation: written by Felix Schröder › formatted in Markdown by ChatGPT › published by Felix Schröder › layout adjusted by Claude
Created: 2026-05-01 · Last updated: 2026-10-10 · Questions or feedback? support@teikei.us