Kia ora Subscriber First Name,

Say hello to the April newsletter from Quorum Sense.

This month features a brand new regenerative livestock journeys case study with Hamish Bielski, podcast with Peter Legg, webinar replay on the subject of electronic collars, RNZ audio player with Rachel Short and information about two upcoming field days in the Auckland area!

Regenerative livestock journeys case study collection - second release.

In 2016 Hamish and Amy Bielski had a lightbulb moment after listening to Dr Christine Jones speak at their local hall. Seven years on they have tried, tested and evolved a range of grazing, cropping and pasture management approaches to discover what works best in their context. The result is a resilient, low input and profitable high performance sheep farm that has proven itself through three successive summer/autumn droughts.

In this case study, Hamish generously shares their journey, lessons, learnings and results which will be extremely valuable for any current or aspiring regenerative sheep farmer.

Watch the video and visit the case study page below.

Podcast #29 - Learning off each other with Peter Legg

Peter talks about ‘right place, right time’ cultivation and success in raising soil organic matter levels. And he shares his experience with lime and biological nutrient brews, and his observations of the farm’s economic improvements.

Like most, Peter has concerns moving forward, but is also clear about the exciting opportunity farmers have with practices like green crops and maintaining soil cover all year round.

Rachel Short- RNZ audio player

Here's a great interview on RNZ well worth checking out. It features the organic, regenerative dairy journey of Taranaki farmers Rachel & Kenneth Short of Shortland Farms, an inspiring couple up to great things! (as seen in the opening picture of this newsletter)

Electronic livestock collars - webinar April '23

Watch out for the webinar replay of the first webinar in a series on the technology of electronic livestock collars

Events

Our events page features field days, workshops and conferences with a regen focus or aspect from around the country.

There are two great field days focusing on soil health and soil assessment coming up, both in the Auckland area.

1. South Auckland - Soil Health and Water Quality Field Day, Friday 12 May on the Awhitu Peninsula. Presenters include Charles Merfield and Robbie Hill. Register here - FREE

2. Kaipara - Soil Assessment Field Day, Thursday 8 June in Matakana. Hosted by Kaipara Regenerative Farming Group. Presenters include Jake Herron. Register here - FREE

For more details of these events and others, go to: https://www.quorumsense.org.nz/network-events

Please contact us if you have an event, field day or workshop you would like publicised or if you would like to organise something local with our support.

Hawkes Bay Future Farming- Toward regenerative recovery

BayBuzz has published a 3-part series where soil scientists Phyllis Tichinin and Phil Schofield (Future Farming Trust Chair) discuss regenerative practices for dealing with silt/sediment and restoring soil health in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.

“A natural ferment - it's the yeast we can do”- RNZ on Greystone Wines

“At Greystone Wines, the winemaking process starts among the vines. In the middle of their Waipara Valley vineyard, juicy pinot noir grapes are poured into a large vessel then left to ferment with wild yeasts for four weeks.”

A RNZ radio article on the winemaking process at Greystone on Radio New Zealand.

What makes a good farmer?

Quorum Sense is part of a team of researchers and rural practitioners aiming to identify ways to connect rural and producers with the wider public around farming activities and food production.

We are approaching this through exploring what farmers and the public consider to be the characteristics of a good farmer. We would like to invite you to complete a 10 minute anonymous survey. At the end, you can nominate a rural charity to which we will donate.

Ngā mihi,

The Quorum Sense Extension Team