Commercial agriculture stands at a crossroads. Years of relying on chemical fertilizers have exposed producers to a cascade of problems—depleted soil vitality, frequent remediation costs, and the harsh drag of regulatory oversight as runoff and emissions draw global scrutiny. As margins tighten, input bills break records, and yields slump despite every extra dose, even the most established enterprises confront hard limits to the old model. Customers once motivated by price now demand...

Every year, drought stretches farther across the landscapes of Southwestern Colorado, California's Central Valley, and dozens of parched breadbaskets abroad. Water, once depended on like seasons, now arrives unpredictably or not at all. Wells run low. Reservoir caps shrink allocations. On top of mounting scarcity, growers navigate unpredictable regulations and rising fees—pressures that tighten around both profit margins and long-term planning. For many in production agriculture—whether...