Walther Farms Case Study: Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Health

February 3, 2026

When the limits of conventional farming became impossible to ignore, Walther Farms chose not to chase quick fixes, but to re-examine the system itself—seeking solutions that would strengthen both the land and the business over time.

Walther Farms has been practicing regenerative agriculture long before the term filled conference agendas and sustainability reports. For this third-generation family farm, soil health and biodiversity have always been more than environmental ideals—its core business strategy and the foundation of longevity for the 4th and 5th generations already stepping into leadership.

The story of Walther Farms begins in 1946, when Leonard Walther Sr. and his wife Regina worked their Michigan fields between overnight shifts at a nearby Buick plant. From these modest beginnings, the farm has grown into a multi-state enterprise of more than 20,000 acres across 10 states. Today, the company is a leading producer of potatoes for chip, French fry, and fresh markets, while also growing sweet potatoes and watermelons. Through this expansion, their mission has remained unchanged: to lead with sustainable excellence in service to their people, their communities, their customers, and the environment.

The Challenge:
Soil Disease, Water Loss, and an Unsustainable Status Quo

Like many potato producers, Walther Farms faced persistent pressure from Verticillium dahliae, a tenacious soilborne pathogen that causes vascular wilt, premature decline, and yield losses that can reach a quarter of total production. Although soil fumigation suppressed the disease, it did so indiscriminately, wiping out beneficial microorganisms, reducing soil biodiversity, and ultimately diminishing the land’s ability to cycle nutrients and retain water. As a result, the farm became increasingly dependent on fertilizers and other inputs, driving up costs and undermining long-term soil function.

Simultaneously, the traditional hill-bed planting system used across much of the industry resulted in significant water loss. Rain and irrigation water shed off the rounded potato beds and disappeared into furrows rather than infiltrating the soil profile. Deep ripping, which some regions use to improve drainage, had the opposite effect on its soils, disrupting structure and further reducing water-holding capacity.

These compounding challenges made it clear that the conventional system—deep tillage, high inputs, and heavy fumigation—was not sustainable for the long term.

The Solution:
Layering Practices for Compound Impact

Walther Farms recognized the importance of variety selection in managing Verticillium and began evaluating potato varieties for disease resilience and nitrogen requirements to reduce physiological stress and input dependence. While this supported disease resistance, the company knew it needed to take a more holistic approach.

Walther Farms responded by redesigning its farming system from the ground up, layering complementary practices to address soil health, disease pressure, water limitations, and input costs simultaneously and began integrating regenerative agriculture practices in the early 2000s. Through small, deliberate adjustments rooted in long-term thinking, the company introduced cover crops and began experimenting with farming practices that focused on how to retain water and minimize soil disturbance.

Rethinking Tillage and Water Management

It began by rethinking the farm’s tillage and water-management approach. Dammer diking became a cornerstone practice, creating small water-retaining pockets across the field that reduced runoff, increased infiltration, and buffered crops through both prolonged dry spells and heavy rain events. Paired with shallow, conservation-based tillage that used shortened blades and minimal soil disruption, the fields began to recover structure and biological activity. As its understanding of the soil ecosystem evolved, crop rotations were extended from three years to four or five, giving the land longer recovery windows and interrupting pest and disease cycles.

Formalizing the Regenerative Strategy

By the 2010s, the company formalized its regenerative strategy and set a forward-looking goal of reducing emissions by 40 percent per hundredweight by 2030, while improving water-use efficiency. Walther Farms began tracking metrics in 2015 and, supported by agronomic and plant nutritional data from CropTrak, were able to quantify meaningful soil and water improvements by 2021. Its philosophy—start small, adjust as you learn, and commit to continuous improvement—became the foundation of its approach.

Cover Crops and Livestock Integration

With the rotations lengthened, this allowed non-host crops to break disease cycles, giving soils more time to rebuild. Cover crops planted in the off-season, such as triticale and wheat, further reduced Verticillium host species, contributed organic matter, improved nutrient cycling, and provided grazing opportunities. To support this, Walther Farms began farming only half of each crop circle at a time and grazing cattle on the other half—an approach that introduced natural fertility, strengthened partnerships with regional livestock operators, and enhanced soil structure without chemical dependency.

An agricultural field with green plants and an overhead irrigation system watering the crops under a cloudy sky.

Innovative Planting Architecture

One of the most transformative shifts came when Walther Farms altered its planting architecture. By moving from four rows of potatoes per bed to five, they increased plant density without expanding land area. The shift required custom-engineered equipment and extensive field trials, but the results were striking. Because the soil had improved through regenerative practices, the higher-density plantings did not compete for limited resources; instead, the company produced more marketable potatoes using the same amount of water. This efficiency extended to nutrient uptake as well, creating a more productive and resilient cropping system that aligned perfectly with market demand for smaller-sized potatoes.

A Coordinated System for Performance

Walther Farms’ progress did not stem from a single innovation but from a coordinated system tailored to the specific conditions of its regions. Its soils were well-suited for flat beds and dammer diking. Its proximity to cattle operations allowed grazing integration and extended rotations. Its adoption of digital agronomic tools provided the data needed to refine nitrogen strategies and measure performance. And the market shift toward smaller potatoes made dense planting economically viable.

Seen individually, these changes may have delivered only modest improvements. But, when combined and when viewed through the lens of long-term soil function, they produced compounding benefits in water retention, nutrient efficiency, disease resilience, and economic performance.

"How do we get better as growers? You start small and do incremental changes that continue to develop over time. They get bigger and bigger, and the impacts follow,” says Brian Zens, General Manager – Central Region for Walther Farms.

The farm treats each region and field as its own evolving experiment, adjusting practices based on soil feedback, agronomic data, and performance outcomes. Regenerative agriculture for Walther Farms is not a certification, it is a mindset—an ongoing commitment to challenging assumptions, testing new ideas, and measuring progress against sustainability performance metrics.

The Takeaway:
A More Resilient System for the Next Generation

Through this integrated, regionally informed approach, Walther Farms has:

Reduced reliance on fumigation
Strengthened soil biodiversity
Improved water-holding capacity and increased infiltration
Optimized nutrient efficiency
Reduced emissions intensity

Together, these improvements translated into measurable relative economic gains—lower use of inputs, more efficient use of water and nutrients, and higher yields per acre—allowing Walther Farms to mitigate a portion of cost inflation without expanding land or sacrificing soil health. The company’s cropping system is now more resilient, more efficient, and more aligned with the long-term health of both the land and the business.

Walther Farms’ journey illustrates that regenerative agriculture is not a singular practice but a holistic system that, when thoughtfully implemented, creates durable benefits for productivity, profitability, and environmental stewardship—ensuring that the land will remain vibrant and productive for the generations that follow.

Walther Farms Sustainability Case Study: Turning Soil Health into a Competitive Advantage

The Challenge:
Soil Disease, Water Loss, and an Unsustainable Status Quo

The Solution:
Layering Practices for Compound Impact

Rethinking Tillage and Water Management

Formalizing the Regenerative Strategy

Cover Crops and Livestock Integration

Innovative Planting Architecture

A Coordinated System for Performance

The Takeaway:
A More Resilient System for the Next Generation

Related Resources

Walther Farms Sustainability Case Study: Turning Soil Health into a Competitive Advantage

The Challenge:Soil Disease, Water Loss, and an Unsustainable Status Quo

The Solution:Layering Practices for Compound Impact

Rethinking Tillage and Water Management

Formalizing the Regenerative Strategy

Cover Crops and Livestock Integration

Innovative Planting Architecture

A Coordinated System for Performance

The Takeaway:A More Resilient System for the Next Generation

Related Resources

The Challenge:
Soil Disease, Water Loss, and an Unsustainable Status Quo

The Solution:
Layering Practices for Compound Impact

The Takeaway:
A More Resilient System for the Next Generation