From the field...
Kia ora <<First Name>>,
Welcome to the Quorum Sense Newsletter for November 2022. Most districts have had excess rainfall, hopefully it's a blessing and not a curse for y'all.
BREAKING NEWS! Dylan and Sheree Ditchfield take Leadership in Farming Award.
Among the prize winners in the Environment Southland Community Awards were dairy farming couple Dylan and Sheree Ditchfield, who won the Leadership in Farming Award.
The judges commented that the Ditchfields were inspirational and real leaders in the farming sector, with the philosophy of people being at the core of their operation. "This approach is good for the cows, good for the soil, good for the water and good for the people".
Reminder: Kaipara Regenerative Agriculture Introductory Day
10am - 2pm, Tuesday 6 December
This field day is on a Kaukapakapa property which has been implementing regenerative farming practices over recent years including planting cover crops and multiple species grass mixes, and using humates, vermicast, EM, fish fertiliser and dung beetles. This is your chance to find out what they have been doing and to see and discuss some of the results, both successes and problems they have learnt from.
FREE although registration required via link here
Podcast #23 - Gaining confidence through knowledge with David Birkett
2022 Arable Farmer of the Year Dave Birkett is a pioneer in New Zealand regenerative arable systems.
Rising input costs and the power of soil-building cover crops steered Dave’s transition. Through acquiring and understanding knowledge, he’s gained the confidence to try new things, and emphasises that it’s okay to take ‘a step back’ in order to move forward.
Listen to the episode here
Navigating the maze of regenerative grazing - Grazing Webinar Nov '22
In this QS webinar we hear from Pete Blair from South Otago and Michael Reilly from the Hawkes Bay about their experiences with navigating the multi-faceted maze of different grazing techniques in different contexts in NZ.
This is followed by a Q&A session.
”If you’re transitioning [from a high input to low/lower input system], it’s like planting a tree. The best time was 10 years ago. But the second best time is now.…I wanted to do this within a year but it can take time.”
Michael Reilly, Hawkes Bay
Watch the full webinar at the link here, Watch out for Jono's Movember effort, it's impressive!
Align Farms Regenerative Trial Field Day
10.30am - 1.30pm 7th December 2022
After last year's cancellation due to covid restrictions, Align Farms are hosting a field day at Clareview in December that includes a BBQ lunch and optional farm walk.
Please RSVP to environment@alignfarms.co.nz or click "Going" on the Facebook event for space and catering purposes.
Review: Workshop at Glenlands Farm 23 November
Organised by Hawkes Bay Regenerative Agriculture Group with support from Quorum Sense.
Despite the storm gods passing over during the night we did actually manage to have some reasonable weather during the day and even an opportunity to sit in the sun after lunch while we listened to presentations by Robbie Hill on 'monitoring and tracking your progress' and Phil Schofield from HBFF (Hawkes Bay Future Farming) telling of the soil carbon measuring that they have been doing on several Hawkes Bay farms.
There were some clear objectives for the day being ..
- View Dean's operation and benefit from his knowledge
- Create an environment for people to meet, network and exchange knowledge
- Identify and discuss attendees key questions
- Identify the key regenerative drivers.
Check out the QS highlights video reel on Vimeo here
Seeking a Northland sharemilking, farm lease or partnership opportunity - Janette & Carla Perrett
"We are searching north of Whangarei for a new home for us and our family of 190 Kiwi cross dairy cows from 1st June 2023. We would consider 50/50 sharemilking position, farm lease or a financial partnership.
"We are a devoted mother and daughter team who have been farming organically/biologically for 16 years to date with a lifetime experience in the dairy industry."
Janette and Carla were guests on a QS podcast here
Contact details for the Perretts can be found here
Soil Health & Building Resilient Farm Systems - Taranaki Regenerative Agriculture
Fri 9th Dec 2022, 9:30am - 3:30pm
Save money and reduce reliance on synthetic and chemical inputs. Improve farm, farmer and environmental outcomes.
Join Jules Matthews from Integrity Soils and the team from Taranaki Regenerative Agriculture for a practical workshop to support you to improve the health, resilience and prosperity of your farm system.
Suitable for dairy and other pastoral farmers as well as horticulturists and anyone interested to learn about soil health and regenerative farming.
For costs and more information go to this link
Review: Canterbury Microscope Workshop, Nov '22
This was a very absorbing workshop on how to use a microscope to look at soil microbes such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa, amoeba and nematodes. Find of the day was a tardigrade, one of the toughest creatures in existence - some have even survived being taken into space!
New Zealand’s national open farm day is set for Sunday 12 March 2023!
Open Farms helps urban Kiwis reconnect with our land, food and farmers and they’re now looking for farmer hosts. You bring your passion and pride for farming, and they’ll bring the marketing, planning support and kit to streamline your open day.
“At least a third of our hosts identify as regenerative farmers” says project founder Daniel Eb. “They see the value in fresh perspectives, community building and sharing the regenerative story with others. For visitors, farms that showcase regenerative practices are always amongst our first to book out.”
Like Open Farms, Quorum Sense believes that every Kiwi should get up close and personal with the land – so let’s invite them.
Learn more and register at www.openfarms.co.nz
Ngā mihi,
The Quorum Sense Extension Team
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