Roots to Regeneration
Planton Farm, Shropshire
An article by Clare Hill, who has developed Planton Farm in Shropshire into a model regenerative farm offering workshops, mentoring and the Roots to Regeneration Transition Accelerator programme.
Accelerate your journey to a farming system that delivers what you need
Making the shift into a 100% pasture fed system is a game changer for many farmers. Letting go of the outdated belief systems that surround livestock nutrition, as well as the input costs and dependence associated with brought-in feed, is wonderfully liberating.Yet if you ask any early adopter what it was like transitioning to a 100% pasture approach, they will have many tales to tell of the obstacles, criticism, steep learning curves and uncertainty they grappled with. Fortunately for farmers making that transition today, there is a clear and reassuring path to follow, thanks to the pioneers that came before and the solid support network that has gathered around organisations, such as PFL. Not only do farmers now widely accept that a financially viable pasture for life approach is do-able, but consumers are recognising its value and driving the demand. Long may this continue!
Amidst huge shake-ups in the farming world, the pioneers forging a path ahead are at it again. With a growing number now leading the way towards regeneration – not just of soil, plant, livestock and human health – but also of social, economic and cultural value. True regeneration plugs each farm and farmer into an interconnected, interdependent, complex and resilient web of natural processes and holistically designed human systems.
If farms are going to remain viable in the coming months and years, then alongside support from organisations such as PFL, they will also need to fast track their transition to a truly regenerative model.
It is from this need that the Roots to Regeneration: Accelerator Transition Program was created. Much like feeding ruminants the diet that nature intended, this program feeds/reconnects farmers back into their natural capacity to work with complex whole systems.
The current trend in the ‘regen’ world is to adopt some practices that have worked on other farms and have a go! Many hours on youtube, a few inspiring books and several practices later and many farmers find that things are better in some ways, or perhaps drastically worse. Rather than leave farmers – at such a critical period of change – to just ‘have a go’, the Roots to Regeneration team decided to share an alternative set of paths, where someone is on hand to offer orientation, directions and signposts, to support the regenerative journey.
The Roots to Regeneration (R2R) program is co-designed and led by two highly regarded regenerative agriculture consultants and farmers, Caroline Grindrod of Roots of Nature and Clare Hill of Planton Farm. Made up of farm-based training days; live discussions, expert sessions with leading regenerative farmers, vets and coaches including Joel Williams, Rob Havard, Nikki Yoxall, Russ Carrington, Claire Whittle, Tim Parton, Tim Coates, James Daniel and others; self-led online learning; fortnightly coaching, and peer-to-peer mentorship.
Launching its first intake in February 2024, the R2R Program offers proven practices, alongside principles that will enable more effective decision making. It is designed to gently unearth the mindset required for plugging back into complex, interdependent systems. This all leads to optimal productivity from harnessing the power of whole system function.
R2R points towards sustainable, optimal productivity, resilience, healthy soil, plants and livestock, nutrient dense harvests, economic rewards, social harmony and community value. Crucially R2R helps farmers unlock a totally unique way forward, designed to fit their own unique context.
There is no need for farmers to waste time, money and effort ‘having a go’ with approaches that just won’t deliver the results they urgently need. Get fast tracked instead.
Find out more about the R2R program and request a course prospectus here:
https://rootsofnature.co.uk/farmers-guide-transition-regenerative-agriculture/
Or e-mail us directly:
Clare Hill: info@plantonfarm.co.uk
Caroline Grindrod: info@rootsofnature.co.uk
