Do you want to be able to use regenerative grazing techniques to improve soil health for more balanced and productive pastures?

On this course, led by agroecological adviser Niels Corfield with the FarmED team, you will learn how to apply the principles of regenerative agriculture to improve and monitor soil health on your farm, for optimum pasture and livestock health.

In addition to the formal training, we will facilitate peer to peer learning and discussion. You will also hear from a guest speaker, take a tour of the various enterprises at FarmED, and be fed nutritious, seasonal, and locally produced food from the FarmED kitchen.

Course content and structure

This course is split into two sessions and is run over three days as follows:

Session 1: Fundamentals of Soil Health & Regenerative Agriculture – 31st August 2021

In this session you will be introduced to how natural ecosystem processes affect your soil, and how by following regenerative agriculture principles you can work with these processes to improve soil and pasture health. Crucially you will learn about the important role soil biology plays in pasture health and farm resilience and how regenerative grazing practices and pasture management can be used to build healthy soils.

We will define what healthy soil looks like and take a walk around FarmED to demonstrate how to measure this in the field using practical soil tests. You will also learn how to read the health of your own soil and pastures and how to use the SoilMentor app so you can collect data from your own farm to analyse before the second session.

Session 2: Improving and monitoring the health of your soil – 28th & 29th September 2021

In this 2-day session you will analyse the soil observations you collected on your farm using SoilMentor as a basis for developing an action plan for improving soil health. Based on these results you will then apply the principles of regenerative agriculture and pasture health to your farm.

To do this, you will:

● Create a regenerative grazing plan to improve soil health and maximise forage resources

● Design an effective farm layout to minimise work

● Learn how to select appropriate equipment and flexible infrastructure to reduce expenditure

We’ll also take a closer look at:

● Optimising animal performance & health

● Upcycling manure resources

● Plant health and nutrition basics

● Transition strategies for grazing operations

To make sure you can measure the benefits of the changes you make to your soil you will be given further training on monitoring soil health as well as signposting and advice on how to get the most from lab testing.

Who's this course for?

This course is designed for livestock farmers and grazers but is also suitable for landowners, estate managers, farm advisors and ecologists. To gain the most benefit from the course it is recommended that you have access to land on which you can practice the lessons during the course.

You will need to be able to bring a laptop with Excel, up-to-date farm maps with field names and sizes, livestock numbers and age-class or liveweights, and records of key dates (e.g. prescriptions, testing etc.)

About the trainer

Niels Corfield has been working to deliver truly sustainable food and farming systems for more than 15 years. He is an independent adviser and trainer. He has 12 years’ experience in adult education and is formally trained in Holistic Management and Regenerative Agriculture Design. On a mission to create regenerative landscapes and farms in the UK and Europe, Niels focuses on agroecological systems that are low maintenance yet productive.

Tickets:

£350.00 + VAT

Total: £420.00

Ticket price includes three hot lunches and one hot dinner (evening of the 28th September).

Participants receive all course handouts and complimentary access to the SoilMentor app for use during the course.

Special offer - 10% discount for members of the Pasture Fed Livestock Association. Please use the code 'PFLA10' at checkout.

This course is part of our regenerative soil health series for 2021 – choose which one suits you. Discounts are available if you wish to do more than one:

● Regenerating Soil Health for Arable Farmers

● Regenerating Soil and Pasture Health for Graziers & Livestock Farmers

● Regenerating Soil Health for Horticultural Growers

The FarmED Bursary

If funding is a barrier to you, we can help. We have a small bursary pot which we can use to help fund or part fund course fees and other expenses for those that will benefit most.

Click here for more info: www.farm-ed.co.uk/bursaries

GREAT Project Participants

As part of the project we can offer subsidised places to existing and aspiring farmers, growers and advisers in Gloucestershire to the suite of regenerative agriculture and agroecological transition courses at FarmED. To book, please select the GREAT ticket option below. You will be asked for a few eligibility details including evidence of your involvement in regenerative agriculture and your potential impact in Gloucestershire.

More information and booking

If you require more information on FarmED please email sophie@farm-ed.co.uk.

Your booking is safe. If we cannot run any element of the training face to face due to Covid restrictions, you will be refunded, or you can switch to an alternative course/date.