Regenerative farming adoption amid European drought

As Britain faces its hottest summer on record and Europe experiences extreme heatwaves and drought, farmers are increasingly adopting regenerative farming practices to build climate resilience. Sam Squier's beef farm in southeast England, using herbal leys and rotational grazing, has maintained lush pasture while neighboring fields are scorched, improving soil water retention and reducing reliance on inputs. The shift is supported by a coalition of banks, insurers, water companies, and major food groups. Lloyds Banking Group, with Wildfarmed, Severn Trent — Severn Trent, Affinity Water, and AXA — AXA XL, created the Food & Nature Resilience Fund. The Routes to Regen initiative involves McCain, McDonald s, John Lewis Partnership — Waitrose, Lloyds, Barclays, NatWest Group, Aon (company), and Tokio Marine Kiln. McDonald s plans to spend at least $1 billion on supply-chain resilience; McCain offers transition support to over half its farmers; Nestlé benefits from insurers offering lower fees for regenerative practices; Assicurazioni Generali — Generali Italia launched a pilot linking sustainable practices to higher indemnity limits. The European Union and Britain face up to 2.3 billion euros in crop losses from the June heatwave, adding urgency to the transition.