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Regenerative Agriculture Accelerator Programme

Image of a herd of Hereford cattle grazing in a summer wildflower field

 

Supporting a farmer-led transition in the Cotswolds

Introduction

The Regenerative Agriculture Accelerator Programme has invited a group of 25 locally-based farmers and advisors on a mission to deepen the adoption of regenerative farming practice and agroecological thinking in the Cotswolds National Landscape – producing nutritious food, improving soil health, enhancing biodiversity, and building resilience. 

From April 2024, having successfully applied to join the programme, the group started an intensive, 12-month programme of workshops, farm walks and other events that include:

  • Sessions with regen pioneers Gabe Brown and Allen Williams
  • Participation at the Regenerate Outcomes Soil Academy at FarmED
  • Study tour to Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival
  • Agronomy clinics
  • The Cotswolds’ first regenerative agriculture conference

Members of the group are also invited to co-design and organise elements of the programme themselves, in response to their specific needs and interests.

Over the course of the programme, selected activities and events will also be open to the wider community of farmers and advisors in the Cotswolds – giving them opportunities to get involved and contribute too.

Specifically, the programme aims aim to:

  • Help build a confident and innovative regenerative farming community in the Cotswolds.
  • Connect pioneers with those taking their first and second important steps.
  • Facilitate high impact peer-to-peer learning and mentoring.
  • Introduce and share specialist knowledge.
  • Communicate regenerative farming principles, practices, and stories to a wider audience.

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Image of a man's hands brushing the top of a field of oil seed rape crop.

Programme Background and Objectives

The transition to a regenerative farming future is a deep and complex journey.

High levels of motivation, knowledge and confidence are required to successfully put the key principles into practice. The barriers and journey can be overwhelming, and pioneers can feel isolated. The evidence base is still evolving – it can feel like a leap of faith at times. Risks must be taken while definitions and codification are resisted.

All farms are different, and everyone is at a different stage of the journey.

While there are a small number of regenerative farming heroes doing great things and leading the way, many farmers in the Cotswolds are just taking their first and second steps. FiPL funding has helped some of these farmers. Farm contractors, used by many, are also crucial to the transition. The wider network of advisers and facilitators with regenerative knowledge and passion is growing too, with agronomists, conservation advisers, vets and agroecologists all playing an important role.

All these people are asking similar questions:

  • How can we speed up and deepen the transition?
  • How can we support those taking their first steps and those that feel isolated?
  • How can we share knowledge and amplify good practice?
  • How can we inspire and facilitate others?
  • How can we optimize the use of ELMS for regen ag and the build the FiPL ripple?
  • Can we link and learn more from UK practitioners and bring in heroes from further afield?

One solution is a high impact Regenerative Agriculture Accelerator Programme – designed for, and run by, regenerative farmers and advisors in the Cotswolds.

The Core Group

The core group comprises 25 farmers and advisors that are active in the Cotswolds National Landscape and have successfully applied to take part in the programme.

For this project, we’re defining:

  • A farmer as: anyone practically managing farmed land – landowners, tenants, farm managers, enterprise leads, farm contractors and graziers.
  • An advisor as: anyone influencing how farmed land and livestock are managed, including agronomists, vets, ecologists, cluster group facilitators, agroecologists, and soil researchers.

We wanted a diverse cohort – across age, gender, and other factors – with participants:

  • Managing or advising on farms throughout the Cotswolds National Landscape
  • Running or working with different operations – arable/mixed/livestock – allowing for a full range of rotation and cropping/stocking options.
  • Following or advising on conventional, organic, or hybrid systems.
  • Taking first, second and advanced steps – bringing early adopters, champions, and those new to regenerative agriculture, together.

The Wider Audience

We will open the programme up and reach out to farmers and advisors across the Cotswolds, inviting them to join selected activities and events. This wider audience will:

  • Help spread awareness and build the community
  • Be able to get involved in a more informal way
  • Bring different perspectives
  • Need to pay for some activities

Image shows an aerial shot of the Cotswolds. The images features trees, hedgerows, and fields used for grazing sheep. In the background are arable fields.

Programme Outline

Core participants could receive over 150 hours of free or subsidised contact time and learning if they engage with the whole programme.

Over a 12-month period, the core audience will engage with and benefit from:

  • A launch event and co-design session (April 2024).
  • 10 farm walks on fellow participants’ farms with a technical focus on regenerative practice.
  • 4 special events with guest speakers and/or technical talks/training.
  • 2 regenerative agriculture agronomy clinics and research updates.
  • Attendance at the Regenerate Outcomes Soil Academy event at FarmED (May 2024).
  • A 1.5-hour group session (online) with farmer, author (Dirt to Soil), mentor and regenerative champion, Gabe Brown, from Understanding Ag.
  • A 4-hour group session with rancher, regenerative grazier and consultant, Allen Williams, from Understanding Ag.
  • A study tour to Groundswell (June 2024).
  • Media Training with Anna Jones and team from Just Farmers (Winter 2024).
  • Rural Facilitator Training with Rural Link (Winter 2024).
  • Plan and record a Cotswold Regenerative Farming Podcast (February 2025).
  • Help design and deliver a Cotswold Regenerative Farming Conference (March 2025).

The wider audience (with numbers limited to suit each event) will be invited to:

  • 2 of the 10 farm walks.
  • 2 of the 4 special events with guest speakers and/or technical talks/training.
  • The session (online) with Gabe Brown.
  • The session (face to face) with Allen Williams.
  • Media Training Just Farmers (Winter 2024).
  • Rural Facilitator Training from Rural Link (Winter 2024).
  • The Cotswold Regenerative Farming Conference (March 2025).

Programme Management

The Regenerative Agriculture Accelerator Programme is being hosted and administered by the Cotswold National Landscape (CNL) team. The programme is being funded with a Farming in Protected Landscapes grant.

The group is being set up as an independent, facilitated, farmer-led group. The CNL has invited Cotswolds farmer, agroecological mentor and advisor, Jonty Brunyee, to lead and facilitate the programme and group. Other UK specialists and leaders, such as Nikki Cannon (RAU), Anna Jones (Just Farmers), Fiona Galbraith (Ruralink) and Niels Corfield are currently being engaged to support the programme. Additional support is provided by Regenerate Outcomes bringing in specialists from Understanding Ag from USA (including Gabe Brown and Allen Williams).

If you would like to discuss the programme in more detail, please email Jonty Brunyee at jonathan@conygreefarm.co.uk or phone 07886 305508.