2026 GAP Report Launch

Jess Agnew

Director, GAP Initiative

Virginia Tech

Chellie Maples

Senior Research Technician, GAP Initiative

Virginia Tech

Shannon Tignor Ellis

Virginia Farmer

United Soybean Board

Bob Waring

Senior Conservation Specialist, Brandon Farms

Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District

Kara Isaak

Global Biofuel Strategy Lead

Bayer

Zachary Stewart

VP, Research Chief Scientist

IFDC

Aaron Tekle

Google

Ginya Truitt Nakata

Director, Global Agriculture and Food Systems Policy

The Nature Conservancy

Jim Kinsel

Virginia Fruit Producer

Indigenous Producer

to be announced

Angela Rosales

Global VP, Product & Strategy

Appnovation

Innocent Musabyimana

Chief Agricultural Technology Officer

African Development Bank

Sarah Gonzalez

Editor-in-Chief

Agri-Pulse

Komal Sahu

Senior Advisor

AVPN

Tassos Haniotis

Senior Guest Research Scholar

IIASA

Amanda Cather

Mid-Atlantic Deputy Director

American Farmland Trust

Chef Steph Baryluk

Founder

Nihkhah

Dan Simons

Co-Founder

Farmers Restaurant Group

Horrys Frica

US Representative

IICA

Joshua Mott

Assistant Professor

Virginia Tech

Kristin Lamoureux

Collegiate Professor

Virginia Tech

Adam van Opzeeland

Ethan Soloviev

Chief Innovation Officer

HowGood

Molly Leavens

Program Manager

Sustainable Food Lab

About the 2026 Report

Global agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) growth has stalled — just as volatile input costs, geopolitical supply chain disruptions, and mounting resource constraints make understanding regenerative agriculture’s potential both urgent and economically compelling. While the connection between regenerative practices and TFP growth is compelling in theory, it hasn’t yet been empirically demonstrated: no current study directly measures the TFP growth attributable to regenerative agriculture adoption.

This year’s report examines regenerative agriculture as a strategy for addressing three challenges long treated in isolation: stagnant productivity growth, thin profit margins, and long-run sustainability. The report is organized in two parts — a diagnostic assessment of current adoption and its observed productivity and profitability outcomes, and a forward-looking analysis of the R&D, decision-support tools, and policy design needed to translate that potential into measurable, scalable gains.

2026 GAP Report Launch Program

8:30 AM  |  WELCOME

Jessica Agnew, Director of the GAP Initiative, opens the 2026 GAP Report™ launch and sets the stage for a day focused on how regenerative agriculture can restart productivity growth and strengthen farm profitability.

8:35 AM · Opening Remarks

Virginia farmer Shannon Tignor Ellis of the United Soybean Board grounds the day in the decisions producers make every season about practices, investments, and risk.

International Year of the Woman Farmer in Maryland and Virginia

In recognition of the United Nations International Year of the Woman Farmer, this short film from Virginia Tech Communications highlights women farmers in Maryland and Virginia and their contributions to productivity growth, farm businesses, and rural communities.

8:55 AM · The 2026 GAP Report™ Findings

Tom Thompson and Chellie Maples present the findings of Restarting Growth, the 2026 GAP Report™. The report tracks where global agricultural productivity growth stands and what it will take for regenerative practices to deliver measurable gains. Their answer points to five essentials, including measurement systems, localized decision tools, extension support, transition finance, and outcome-based frameworks deployed where they fit.

9:25 AM · The Tension Table

Most panels end in agreement. This one is built for debate. Moderated by Sarah Gonzalez, Editor-in-Chief of Agri-Pulse, the Tension Table brings together leaders with contrasting views on a central question. Do regenerative practices actually improve productivity, and under what conditions? Panelists from AVPN, IIASA, Bayer, and IFDC test the evidence, with a producer perspective from Bob Waring of Brandon Farms.

10:30 AM · Coffee Break / Virtual Opportunity to meet GAP Initiative Partners

Recharge and connect before the GAP IQ™ platform launch.

10:50 AM · Unveiling GAP IQ™

Following opening remarks from Mario Ferruzzi, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Jessica Agnew leads a live demonstration of GAP IQ™, the GAP Initiative’s new decision support platform. Leaders from Google, Appnovation, The Nature Conservancy, and the African Development Bank then discuss how data and decision tools can help farmers, investors, and policymakers act on productivity growth.

11:30 AM · GAP IQ™ Design Workshop

Help shape what GAP IQ™ becomes. Participants rotate through four 15-minute stations covering decision support areas, data sources and types, scientific and data governance, and design opportunities. Your input will guide the platform’s next phase of development.

12:30 PM · Lunch Program: Specialty Crop, Small-Scale, and Indigenous Systems in the Regenerative Transition

Over lunch, the conversation turns to producers who are often left out of the regenerative agriculture discussion. Chef Steph Baryluk of Nihkhah and Dan Simons of Farmers Restaurant Group open the program.

Panel 1 · How can regenerative agriculture restart productivity growth for specialty crop, small-scale, and Indigenous producers? Moderated by Horrys Frica of IICA, speakers from American Farmland Trust, Virginia Tech, and Virginia fruit production discuss what these operations need to make the transition pay.

Panel 2 · Market System Opportunities for Regenerative Productivity. Moderated by Kristin Lamoureux of Virginia Tech, leaders from Farmers Restaurant Group, HowGood, and the Sustainable Food Lab, joined by a New Zealand agricultural trade diplomat, look at how buyers, supply chains, and trade policy can reward regenerative productivity.

2:00 PM · Closing & Networking

Final reflections and time to connect with speakers and fellow attendees.