Insights from Measure to Improve | October 2026
Message from the CEO
October is always an important month for the fresh produce industry, and we’re looking forward to being together at the 2026 Global Produce & Floral Show.
This year, regenerative agriculture and fresh produce sustainability will be part of several conversations throughout the show, from what implementation looks like on the farm to how growers, buyers, and the broader supply chain can work together to create meaningful market opportunities.
At Measure to Improve, we’ve spent a lot of time this year working to make regenerative agriculture more approachable for specialty crops. That starts with creating a shared understanding, but it can’t stop there.
Moving regenerative agriculture forward also requires growers implementing practices and measuring outcomes, buyers sharing what matters to them, and opportunities for the supply chain to learn from one another.
That connection between shared understanding, on-farm action, and market opportunities is the main focus of this month’s Insights from Measure to Improve.
We hope to see many of you at The 2026 Global Produce & Floral Show. If you’ll be there, please reach out. We’d love to connect.
Nikki Cossio
Founder & CEO
Measure to Improve
Regenerative Agriculture: Creating a Shared Understanding in Specialty Crops
Regenerative agriculture continues to gain attention across the food and agriculture industry, but there is still no single definition or approach.
Rather than adding another definition, we looked at what existing approaches have in common and what those themes mean in the context of specialty crop production.
Regenerative Agriculture in Action
Our latest blog also introduces our Regenerative Agriculture in Action graphic as a practical way to organize the conversation.
This graphic shows how these ideas can come together in regenerative agriculture for specialty crop production, recognizing that implementation will vary by farming operation.
From Regenerative Practices to Market Opportunity: Why Buyer Participation Matters
Creating shared understanding is an important starting point. But connecting regenerative agriculture with market opportunity also requires understanding what buyers need and value.
In this blog, we explore why buyer participation matters and how bringing grower and buyer perspectives together can help create stronger alignment between what is happening on farms and what the marketplace is looking for.
USDA AMP Grower Recruitment Continues
Measure to Improve is continuing to recruit specialty crop growers in California and Washington to participate in the USDA Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) project.
Participating growers will have an opportunity to implement regenerative practices, measure outcomes, and contribute to a broader effort to better connect farm-level action with the marketplace.
Interested in participating or know a grower who may be a good fit?
Will You Be at the 2026 Global Produce & Floral Show?
Whether you want to talk about regenerative agriculture, USDA AMP, buyer engagement, EPR, GHG emissions or sustainability reporting, the Measure to Improve team will be available throughout the show. We’d love to connect.
Schedule time with Measure to Improve by contacting us at hello@measuretoimprovellc.com
If regenerative agriculture is on your agenda, several conversations are happening throughout the show:
Thursday, October 15 — IFPA’s Global Sustainability Framework: A discussion of IFPA’s framework and five industry priorities, including regenerative agriculture, sustainable packaging, food loss and waste, social responsibility and climate change.
Friday, October 16 — Regenerative Agriculture Tour: A show-floor tour highlighting regenerative agriculture practices within the produce and floral industry, hosted by IFPA and Elevated Foods.
Friday, October 16 — Regenerative Ag IRL: Growers participating in the USDA AMP Grant will share what is working, what is challenging and what they are learning from implementing regenerative practices in real-world operations.
Rethinking Sustainability
Every sustainability investment creates an opportunity.
The investment is often easy to measure.
The return is not.
Too often, organizations measure success by the report they submitted or the requirement they fulfilled.
The organizations creating the greatest long-term value ask a different question: How can this sustainability investment strengthen our business, improve decision-making, differentiate our brand, strengthen customer relationships, and better prepare us for what’s next?
