Mad Agriculture and Whole Foods Market's Wilding Initiative Surpasses $1 Million Goal to Rebuild Biodiversity Across U.S. Farmland

20 additional pioneering companies unite to invest in ecosystem restoration and resilience beyond their own supply chains.

BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mad Agriculture has surpassed its $1 million fundraising goal to launch their Wilding Pilot: a three-year initiative that will restore over 1,000 acres of marginal cropland in Wisconsin's Driftless Area into thriving native ecosystems. In collaboration with Whole Foods Market, the pilot will restore wildlife habitat in ways that support farmers and strengthen the resiliency of America's farmland.

The pilot represents the first phase of the Wild Grid, a 50-year regenerative agriculture strategy to restore biodiversity and increase climate resilience across 65 million acres of U.S. farmland. Fueled by Whole Foods Market's $500,000 matching grant, 20 leading food and beverage brands and a leading food distributor joined forces to make the vision a reality, marking an unprecedented coalition of companies investing in biodiversity restoration beyond their own supply chains.

"It's so exciting and heartening to see food companies recognizing biodiversity as the foundation of a resilient food future," said Elizabeth Candelario, Chief Strategy Officer at Mad Agriculture. "This partnership reflects the kind of bold action Wilding is designed to inspire: one that invests not in isolated fixes, but in the living systems that make healthy food possible."

WHY THIS MATTERS

Scientists say we need to keep about 20 to 25 percent of farmland as natural habitat [1]. Doing so builds biodiversity, which also helps farmers enhance productivity and ecosystem health. Without it, we lose crucial benefits nature provides, like bees pollinating crops, beneficial insects eating pests, and plants holding soil in place so it doesn't wash away.

There's another problem: our parks and nature reserves are too spread out. When animals and plants need to relocate due to shifting weather patterns, they cannot reach the next safe habitat, effectively stranding them. This disrupts ecological flows by blocking seed dispersal, animal migration, and water movement. This doesn't just hurt individual areas, it damages wildlife, biodiversity, and water quality across entire regions.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH

That's where Wilding comes in. Instead of setting aside big chunks of land for conservation, the initiative connects habitats by transforming the marginal edges of farms—the rocky corners, flood-prone strips, and low-producing, less profitable areas. These become bridges between larger wildlife habitat areas. Unlike traditional conservation, Wilding doesn't separate nature from farming. It weaves them together so both can thrive.

STARTING IN WISCONSIN

The three-year pilot focuses on Wisconsin's Driftless Area—a region of rolling hills and valleys in the southwest where some rare native prairie still survives. The plan is to begin transforming over 1,000 acres of underperforming cropland into thriving native grasslands and pastures. By planting prairie, adding rotational grazing, and connecting private farms with public lands and utility corridors, the initiative aims to restore the natural systems that support healthy soil, pollinators, clean water, and wildlife. Wilding is good for the land and the ledger, as it has the potential to open new income streams for farmers.

This pilot is just the beginning. The long-term vision includes 20% of all U.S. cropland converted into connected corridors where nature and agriculture thrive together.

"We're designing landscapes where biodiversity isn't an afterthought—it's an asset," said Omar de Kok-Mercado, Director of Wilding at Mad Agriculture. "We're beginning to rebuild the connective tissue of the continent by creating corridors of life that support farmers and inspire innovation. This could be the beginning of America's next great infrastructure project, built through collaboration with those who work the land and care for its future."

WHO'S INVOLVED

Whole Foods Market kicked things off with a $500,000 matching challenge. Then 20 companies stepped up: Adams Group, Ancient Nutrition,Applegate, Bel Brands USA, Bob's Red Mill, KIND, Little Sesame, Mariannes,MegaFood,New Belgium Brewing, Oatly, OLIPOP, Patagonia Provisions,The Campbell's Company,TreeHouse Foods,UNFI, UNFI Foundation, west~bourne, Yerba MadreandYogi Tea. Together, they unlocked and surpassed the full match.

The technical partners — including Meadowlark Organics Community Mill, Southern Driftless Grasslands, Wild Farm Alliance, Savanna Institute, and Adaptive Restoration — are providing region-specific expertise in perennial agriculture, habitat design, restoration ecology, and farm-based implementation. They support planning, ecological assessments, seeding and planting strategies, and long-term monitoring to ensure successful integration of perennials into working landscapes.

The Wilding pilot builds on commitments outlined in Whole Foods Market's 2024 Impact Report, where it's featured as a key part of the company's climate and nature strategy. Together with Mad Agriculture, Whole Foods Market is creating a blueprint that could be scaled across the entire country.

"At Whole Foods Market, we believe the future of food depends on healthy, functioning ecosystems. Wilding represents a fundamental shift in how we think about food system resilience by focusing on restoring full ecosystems that strengthen all of agriculture," said Caitlin Leibert, Vice President of Sustainability at Whole Foods Market. "We're proud to pioneer this coalition and demonstrate what's possible when the industry comes together."

ABOUT MAD AGRICULTURE

Mad Agriculture  is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2018 with the mission to create a regenerative revolution in agriculture and works toward a vision of an Earth where land, sea, and people thrive together forever. We work from heart to head, poetry to science, financing to markets, and soil to shelf, taking a holistic and collaborative approach to supporting farmers and ranchers. Along with our sister companies Mad Capital and Mad Markets, we meet producers where they are on their journey. Alongside our on-the-ground land and business support, we amplify stories from the field and food system with the goal of building a cultural movement.

SOURCE Mad Agriculture