Regenerative Grazing Group
Connecting like-minded farmers to build community and share knowledge.
- LEP23-033
The issue
Grazing enterprises make up 31.5% of land use in the Nambucca Valley (Ecohealth Report 2018), and most of these would be considered conventional farming, though there has been a recent increase in the adoption of regenerative farming approaches. Many new landholders moving into the Nambucca Valley since COVID have no prior farming experience, and as a result there is a lot of interest in regenerative farming techniques. Additionally, many established farmers who are looking to change their practices were finding themselves isolated and struggling to connect with like-minded farmers.
The solution
Nambucca Valley Landcare (NVL) hosted a Regenerative Grazing workshop where we heard from some experienced regen farmers. From this workshop, NVL formed a Regenerative Grazing Group which has been meeting every eight weeks for the past year. The group consists of approximately 15 people and we rotate visits to all of their farms where we discuss any hot topics of the season, learn new information through guest presenters and do a farm walk to share knowledge.
The impact
The group has formed a close bond over the first year and have formed a network of farmers who have similar interests and are able to help each other out. This will be particularly important as we start to experience wider climate variations and they are able to support each other through challenges such as drought, fire and floods.
Additionally, there has been much interest from other farmers in joining this group and this has led to the formation of a second regenerative grazing group.
Key facts
- Farming 'differently' can be an isolating experience.
- Building a network of like-minded farmers provides support and reduces the isolation.
- Sharing knowledge and experience helps to improve regenerative farming.
- There is always something new to learn.