Regenerative Ag Events in Southern Africa


EVENTS

January 2025

Richard Perkins & Gerardo Ruiz Smith - Regenerative Agriculture Design Course 

Date: 18 - 26 January 2025

Venue: Favour Farm, Groot-Brakrivier - www.favourfarm.co.za 

More Information:

Facilitated by Richard Perkins (Sweden) and Gerardo Ruiz Smith (Mexico) 

Based on the Keyline Scale of Permanence, this 9-day intensive training leads participants through a systematic approach to designing productive, resilient and efficient farm landscapes. Working through the 'layers' of the Scale of Permanence, with a strong focus on economics and the business and decision-making aspects of farm management, each day participants can develop the corresponding layers of their own land plans. We will also be focusing our attention on the host site, using the training as a live consult to develop and refine the strategies and planning of the clients. ​

KEY THEMES IN OUR APPROACH Managing Holistically Defining your Context is the very basis of Managing Holistically. It is the very foundation in all our design work, as well as how we manage our farm and lives. Farm Scale Permaculture offers principles and attitudes for designing success, but we always integrate Managing Holistically to deal with the complexity of making decisions regarding human relationships, ecology and economy. Keyline Design The Scale of Permanence offers us an organisational framework for the design of larger landscapes, which we have used for many years in our work. Our whole training program follows the same order of prioritisation with which we approach landscapes, to leave you with a coherent and intelligent approach to whole systems design. Topics include climate and biome considerations, landform and mapping, reading the landscape, understanding water in the landscape, water systems and management, trees and woody crops, access, infrastructure, integrated animal systems, soils and closed loop fertility management. Tree and woody crops Agroforestry is a vital component in the future of broadacre land regeneration. By understanding the functions of woody systems in different parts of our landscapes we can clarify the agroforestry assemblies suited to our land base. Virtually every farm on the planet could benefit from more woody crops, and so we look at design considerations, planting and management strategies and all the additional yields woody ag offers. Low Cost Infrastructure development With an ageing farmer/ landowner population, most farmers cannot afford to get out of farming as their capital is locked up in assets. Consequently young people wanting access to land have a hard time getting in the game. Due to the educational aspect of our work, we specialise in low cost, scalable and modular enterprises that could run on rented land and small properties alike. We delve into the mobile and modular infrastructure, fencing and appropriate technologies, etc, that help make small farms work. ​ Integrated Animal systems Pasture based production is so vital to farms of the future, as there are no shorter chains of production than converting sunlight to flesh via grasses. Yet so little emphasis and understanding has been placed on grass physiology and ecology. Diving deep into this fascinating subject, we will also gain insight into Holistic Planned Grazing and monitoring your grassland using different survey techniques. We will also look at Pastured Egg Mobiles, Broilers and turkeys; fantastic profitable small farm enterprises that play a very important role in rekindling tired pastures and that can easily be scaled up and down accordingly. Ridgedale operated one of Europe's lowest cost approved slaughter facilities, and has helped many other farms establish on- farm slaughter, processing and nutrient cycling facilities. A No-Dig approach to Market Gardening No-Dig represents the very best soil building approach to growing annual vegetables, and combined with BioIntensive spacings and good crop planning this makes for a fantastic small scale economically profitable enterprise. Ridgedale used innovative approaches to composting, growing microbiology as well as harvesting, storing and planning. We will get into the back end of the planning and design considerations that reduce the workload of this intensive enterprise. You'll also learn all about microgreens and intensive tunnel cultivation of tomato and cucumbers. Closed-loop fertility Soils are the basis of everything we are looking to create. For us, the basic premise of regenerative agriculture is that it must be soil building. There are many ways to capture carbon back into increasingly productive agricultures, which we cover as a theme in all the topics. We will also explore approaches to closing fertility loops on the farm as far as possible, including topics like making your own composts, bio-fertilisers, compost teas, biochar, growing microbiology, etc. Regenerative Enterprise Ultimately it is effective decision making, diligent planning and monitoring that make it all work. In Farm Scale Permaculture we aim to observe and understand natural patterns to be able to design more effective and resilient systems. Economic considerations are no different. We can design enterprises that benefit all involved and marketing local food systems presents opportunities and leverage points that give us an upper edge. Selling what you produce is half the work and so we explore CSA's, buying clubs, farm currencies and other innovative ways to reduce the work and risk whilst building community.

Richard Perkins has inspired farmers all over the globe with his pragmatic no-nonsense approach to profitable system design, instructing thousands through his live trainings and online courses. A recognised leader in the field of regenerative agriculture, he is the owner of one of Europe's foremost examples, Ridgedale Farm. He is also the author of the widely acclaimed manual Regenerative Agriculture, which was declared "a must on every aspiring farmer's bookshelf" by the world's best-known farmer, Joel Salatin. The two other books in the Ridgedale trilogy are Ridgedale Farm Builds and Farm Fish Hunt Pick Bake. Richard advocates small-scale, diversified farming and mainly uses Permaculture Design, Holistic Management and Keyline Design. His approach to no-dig market gardening and pastured poultry production has been emulated by thousands of people in all corners of the globe and many of his students have started their own successful farming businesses. He has worked professionally in every major climate zone across several continents consulting to projects, farms and industry, and is now focused on educating a new generation of farmers who want to restore soils and feed their local communities whilst making a good living from it. 

Gerado Ruiz Smith is currently based in the Chihuahuan Desert of northern Mexico, and has spent most of his life amongst the deserts of Mexico and the southwest United States. Through his work as founder and director of Agroasis, a regenerative agriculture design and consultancy business, he is able to combine his engineering background with his deep appreciation and understanding of arid ecosystems and traditional ecological knowledge from indigenous cultures. For the last 10 years he has worked throughout North America, both as a consultant and as educator, in the regeneration of arid landscapes through holistic land planning, grazing, Keyline Design and agroforestry systems. Throughout his career, he has had many unique opportunities to collaborate and learn directly from indigenous elders in Mexico as well as from world-class mentors like Eric Toensmeier, John D Liu, Gary Nabhan, Darren Doherty, Joel Salatin, Eugenio Grass, Jairo Restrepo and Richard Perkins. He is a visiting professor at both the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and the Universidad del Medio Ambiente (UMA), where he teaches Holistic Land Planning courses for their Master's degree programs in agroecology and agroforestry sciences. Additionally, he Serves on the board of directors of two non-profit organizations and it's the current director of Fundación Pro Cuatrocienegas, a bioregional organization working to preserve and restore the Biosphere Reserve of Cuatro Cienegas in the Chihuahuan Desert through rewilding, silvopasture and regenerative grazing initiatives.

PAST EVENTS

June 2024

20 June 2024 - Regenerative Grazing & Growing Day, Deja-Moo Micro Dairy, Ballito.

Speakers:

Dr Nicola Manning – Regenerative Micro Dairy Farmer

Convert the Dirt - Regenerative Composting

Cheeky Naicker - Market Gardening

Andrew Ardington - RegenAg SA


July 2024

15 - 21 July Carbon Cowboys' Roots so Deep SA Roadshow

The South African Roadshow is over! But now you can watch the whole documentary - you can rent it in South Africa from their website - Roots So Deep South Africa


April 2024

Smallholder Regenerative Grazing & Growing Day, Cullinan - 20 Apr 2024

Speakers:

Christian Schlotfeldt – High Density Grazer, Rustenburg

Andsen Mutasa - Mixed Regenerative Farmer, Bela Bela

Siphiwe Sithole aka African Marmalade - Vegetable Farmer, Centurion

Pieter Kemp - Mixed Regenerative Farmer, Hartebeespoort

Andre Grobler - Host, High Density Grazer, Cullian

Andrew Ardington - RegenAg SA


Tickets: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/255371-regenagsa-smallholder-regenerative-grazing-growing-day#/



March 2024

The Landbouweekblad Regenerative Agriculture Conferences bought to you by Landbouweekblad, Riemland Study Group, Grain SA, Ottosdal No-Till Club, Asset Research, The Maize Trust


July 22-25 2024

9th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture - Cape Town - https://wcca9.org/ 

  • 22-24 July - Cape Town International Convention Centre
  • 22-24 July - Practical day,  Langgewens Research Farm, between Malmesbury and Moorreesburg



Oct 2023

Bushveld Regenerative Grazing Day, Rustenburg - 17 Oct 2023

RegenAg SA, in conjunction with Christian Schlotfeldt, is hosting a Bushveld Regenerative Grazing Day.

  • The day will begin on Christian's farm Halali where there will be a number of farmer presentations.
  • After a sandwich lunch we will go on a farm tour to see Christian's livestock operations.
  • After the farm tour there will be braai on the farm.

Speakers

  • Christian Schlotfeldt - Rustenburg
  • Gerhard Olivier - Swartruggens
  • Peter Ardington - Howick
  • Gerrit van Zyl - Dewetsdorp
  • Andsen Masuta - Bella Bella
  • Andrew Ardington - RegenAg SA

Start Time: 08h00

Entrance is Free - includes teas, lunch and braai


Sept 2023

Regenerative Grazing Day in Tweeling - 27 Sept 2023

RegenAg SA, in conjunction with Desmond Meyburgh, is hosting a Regenerative Grazing Day

  • The day will begin on Demond's farm Boomplaas where there will be a number of farmer presentations.
  • After a sandwich lunch we will go on a farm tour to see Desmond's livestock operations.
  • After the farm tour there will be braai on the farm.

Bloomplaas is a combined farm with cattle, sheep, pigs and cash crops. Regenerative implementation began 5 years ago, with zero synthetic fertilizer implemented in the last 2 years to improve soil health and soil biology, in return decreasing risk.

Speakers

  • Desmond Meyburgh - Tweeling
  • Johan Bezuidenhout - Parys
  • De Wet Coetzee - Lindley
  • Izak Dreyer - Vrede
  • Christian Schlotfeldt – Rustenburg
  • Andrew Ardington - RegenAg SA

Start Time: 08h00

Entrance is Free - includes teas, lunch and braai

Booking: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/232787-regenerative-grazing-day-tweeling-free-state/?ref=algolia-search#/ 


May 2023

Regenerative Grazing Workshop - Graaff Reinet

RegenAg SA, in conjunction with James Brodie, is hosting a Regenerative Grazing Workshop in Graaff Reinet on 16 & 17 May 2023.

16 May:

  • The day will begin in Graaff Reinet at Profcon Resort where there will be a number of presentations
  • Followed by an afternoon farm visit to James Brodie's farm.
  • After the farm tour there will be braai on the farm.

17 May:

  • Morning farm visit and lunch at the Herding Academy

Cost: R500 per person

  • includes teas, lunch and braai on 16 May
  • lunch @ Herding Academy on 17 May

Speakers

  • James Brodie – Regen Livestock Farmer - Karoo
  • Roland Kroon – Accredited Savory Field Professional
  • Gerrit van Zyl – Hanzyl Bonsmara - Southern Free State
  • Rowan Stretton – Regen Livestock Farmer - Molteno
  • Erwin Woolward -- Segard Masurel
  • Rolf Pretorius - EOV
  • Andrew Ardington – Regenerative Agriculture Association of SA

Tickets : https://www.quicket.co.za/events/212982-semi-arid-region-regenerative-grazing-day#/


August 2022

Jack Human Conservation Agriculture Week

Conservation Agriculture Western Cape (CAWC) together with the Soil Health Support Centre looking forward to presenting the tenth conservation agriculture conference in August - in person and on the farm!

  • 2 August 2022 -  Lecture day at Nooitgedacht Wine, Stellenbosch
  • 3 August 2022 - Practical day at Tygerhoek Research Farm near Riversonderend

International and South African experts and farmers will share their research, practical advice, stories and observations. On Tygerhoek we will visit and discuss a variety of trials.

TICKETS - Book on Quicket

TICKETS FOR STUDENTS

  • Lecture day and practical day (students) - R350
  • Only lecture day (students) - R250
  • Please send e-mail to events@landbou.com 


March 2022

The Landbouweekblad Regenerative Agriculture Conference bought to you byLandbouweekblad, Riemland Study Group, Grain SA, Ottosdal No-Till Club, Asset Research, The Maize Trust and Soil Health Support Centre

  • 7-8 March - Reitz (with Riemland study group)https://www.quicket.co.za/events/164442-landbouweekblad-se-herlewingslandboukonferensie-2022-reitz/#/
  • 10 March - Ottosdal (with Ottosdal no-till club) https://www.quicket.co.za/events/164447-landbouweekblad-se-herlewingslandboukonferensie-2022-ottosdal/#/
  • 15 March - Stellenbosch https://www.quicket.co.za/events/164445-landbouweekblad-se-herlewingslandboukonferensie-2022-stellenbosch/#/ 


February 2022

The SA Savory Hub and the Herding Academy offer a Regenerative Land Management Workshop


October 2021

Richard Perkins will present two, 3 day workshops on Regenerative Agriculture

  • Santa Paloma, East London - 3rd - 5th October 2021
  • Spier, Stellenbosch - 9th - 10th October 2021
  • Victoria Yard, Johannesburg - 16th - 17th October 2021


July 2021

WEBINAR - The Costs of Regenerative Agriculture - hosted by Landbouweekblad

For farmers who would like to obtain the latest information on Regenerative Agriculture in the summer rainfall areas. Farmers and experts will share their practical experiences as well as the latest research results from trial plots across the summer rainfall areas. It also looks at the cost of Regenerative Agriculture.

Speakers: Dr. Jonathan Lundgren (American speaker), Dr. Hendrik Smith, Mr. Danie Bester, Prof. Erik Holm, Dr. Gerhard du Preez, Prof. James Blignaut, Mr. Loran Steinlage (American speaker), Mr. DF Fyfer, Mr. Frits van Oudtshoorn, Mr. Johan Bouwer, Mr. Hannes Botha

  • 27th July 2021 - Scientists and Farmers give insights into Regenerative row cropping
  • 28th July 2021 - Scientists and Farmers give insights into Regenerative livestock farming

QUICKET Link: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/142886-landbouweekblad-webinaar-die-koste-van-herlewingslandbou/?#/


Geoff Lawton will present two Permaculture courses

  • Spier, Stellenbosch - 6th - 9th July 2021
  • Santa Paloma, East London - 2 Week Permaculture Intro and Design Course, 11th - 25rd July 2021

Enquire at: info@permacultureinstituteforsouthernafrica.org 


February 2020

The South African Savory Hub is hosting Holistic Management Courses during the week 17 - 23 February.  These courses will take place in Hogsback in the Eastern Cape.

February 2020

Regrarians Platform Regenrative Farm Planning Workshops with Stephen Barrow  - Bothaville - starts 16 Feb - email: ftsu.rsa@gmail.com 

March 2020

Green Bio Farmers Day, featuring Dale Strickler, Dr James Blignaut and Danie Slabbert - Northern KZN, 11 March 

March 2020

The Landbouweekblad / Grain SA Regenerative Agriculture conferences

  • 16-17 March - Reitz (with Riemland study group)
  • 18-19 March - Ottosdal (with Ottosdal no-till club)
  • 24 March - Somerset West

QUICKET Tickets:

Reitz: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/96205-landbouweekblad-se-herlewingslandboukonferensie-2020-reitz/ 

Ottosdal: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/96207-landbouweekblad-se-herlewingslandboukonferensie-2020-ottosdal/ 

Kaapstad:  https://www.quicket.co.za/events/96180-landbouweekblad-se-herlewingslandboukonferensie-2020-kaapstad/ 

April 2020

Effective Micro‐organisms Workshop with Stephen Barrow - Bothaville - 25 April - email: ftsu.rsa@gmail.com

June 2020

Heal the land, heal the people manifesto launch - 18 June 2020, 8am - 1pm - on Food For Mzansi sign up for the Webinar here