REGENERATIVE farming is going gangbusters.

From curious youngsters wanting to work for a better world and Uni students seeking a career in the field, to scientists, farm owners and ecologists, Regenerative Agriculture is a business that is booming.

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Southern Cross University is pioneering Regenerative Agriculture with a range of science-based study opportunities from short courses to graduate degrees and industry partnerships backed by industry through the Regenerative Agricultural Alliance and Farming Together program.

Founder of these initiatives is a passionate working farmer of 35 years, whose knowledge and experience is deeply embedded in the academic and practical gamut of Regenerative Agriculture.

Lorraine Gordon, Director Strategic Projects and Program Director of Regenerative Agriculture Alliance and Farming Together at SCU told News Of The Area, “Regenerative Agriculture is fast becoming huge, the norm, whereas when it started it was more a movement on the fringe of farming.

In a sentence it can be described as, “Leaving the land in a better condition than we found it”.

“I’ve recently been talking with kids in high schools about going into agriculture and I’m very heartened by their interest in the industry.

“There is a constant moving feast of challenges and it’s always an exciting place to be working in; you can just merge into so many spaces and spheres of the industry – where ecology, sciences and agriculture merge.

“The next generation of young farmers get this stuff – they’re already beginning to farm differently.

“There’s so much talk today about carbon farming – you cannot be a carbon farmer unless you’re using Regenerative Agriculture practices.

“That’s why we are seeing a keen interest in our graduates – with jobs lined up for them before they graduate.

“We equip our students (many of which are mature age) to know who they need around the table to help them solve the complex challenges they will face – which team will provide them with the expertise they need to assist them solve a particular problem.

“Our students learn how to read their landscape and be able to identify what the landscape is telling them it needs.”

Field work is a huge part of SCU’s courses.

“We take our students, who come from all over Australia, over the Great Divide.

“We need to expose them to different landscapes rather than to just what’s on the coast.”

Through the Farming Together program, SCU has a number of cluster groups of expertise around the country which the students have access to.

“There is a major cluster in the Bellingen Shire which brings together our researchers, our National Resource Managers (NMRs), Landcare representatives, local farmers, our consultants, students, and our teachers and mentors, all working together looking at the challenges and how to go about solving them.

“One of the reasons I am so drawn to this sector is because no day is ever the same, no challenge is ever the same.
“We are never stuck in groundhog day,” she laughs.

Lorraine lives in Urunga, farms at Ebor and her offices are in Coffs Harbour and Lismore, on site at SCU.

“I’ve lived and breathed agriculture for a very long time, and I put my money where my mouth is, for instance investing in carbon farming and associated regenerative practices.

“I’ve come from the lived experience of making mistakes and learning from them.”

To find out more about Regenerative Agriculture in general and what Lorraine and the SCU team is up to, subscribe to the Farming Together newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/farmingtogether.com.au/subscribe-2020.

For more information see: https://farmingtogether.com.au/.

By Andrea FERRARI