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Spring has well and truly arrived, the grass is getting taller and it’s been a busy month for workshops and field trips here at Quorum Sense HQ. There’s loads in this month’s newsletter, so we’ll get right into it… scroll to the end for the inside word on regen events happening around the country.

‘Catch the Rain’ infiltrates the spring calendar!

Our ‘Catch the Rain’ project kicked off with three workshops in September held in Kaiapoi, Waimate and Mangatainoka - there’s one more to go in Gore next month.

They’ve been a great mix of learning, sharing, creativity and connection. Farmers involved have been identifying what management systems and practices they want to compare or trial over the next two years, with the goal of improving rainfall infiltration and soil moisture retention.

It was great to have scientists from Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research and Massey University attending, contributing their knowledge and ideas.

Over the next couple of months, farmers will be establishing their baseline monitoring while the project team gets SoilMentor up and running. A more detailed update will be up on the website soon.

Farmers interested in following ‘Catch the Rain’ or getting involved can email Sam Lang (Project Lead) at sam@quorumsense.org.nz

NEW EPISODE: Growing up in California, Phyllis Tichinin witnessed the abundance of local fruit orchards and their deep, rich soils begin to be concreted into what is now Silicon Valley.

After meeting her Kiwi husband, Phyllis moved to the Hawke’s Bay where she currently resides and is well-known as an eco-nutritionist with a passion for regenerative farming practices that produce nutrient dense food.

She says, “If we get agriculture right, we get everything else right”.

This is a conversation you won’t be able to peel yourself away from as Phyllis stoutly highlights the links and parallels between human health and the health of our food systems.

Out & About: The Integral Health Farm

Recently, Greer and Chloë visited the Integral Health Farm - a research project led by Pablo Gregorini at Lincoln University. This project is being designed to research and demonstrate what’s possible for dairy systems from an overall health focus (soil, plant, animal, human, community!), rather than a solely production focus.

This project will be incorporating diverse pasture swards, diverse and multi-functional browsing and shelter sites with medicinal species, phased replacement of synthetic inputs, variable milking frequencies, adaptive grazing and allowing livestock to 'self medicate’, and the list goes on!

We’re looking forward to seeing how this develops and learning more - watch this space!

Upcoming Events

It’s all happening in November!

Nicole Masters is set to be back on home soil in November. Register to be notified when her Soil Resilience Tour goes live. More details up on our community notices page.

Northland Farm Diversity Group and Kaipara Regenerative Farming Group Combined Groups Field Day in November - look out for dates on their Facebook pages.

Taranaki Regenerative Agriculture - second event in the "Around the Mountain Discussion Group Series" also in November. Keep an eye out here for details. 

Ngā mihi,

The Quorum Sense Extension Team