Charlie started his Regenerative Farming journey 15 years ago. Previously he and his family had been farming conventionally on their 5,000 hectare property “Hanaminno” for over 35 years, in an industrial high input/ high output farming business model, heavily reliant on pesticides, herbicides and man-made fertilisers.
After a series of epiphanies and through education Charlie found the Regenerative Agriculture movement, a movement which reflected his instinctive connection to the land and his ethos of producing quality food for his family and the world.
Today, Hanaminno is managed using organic, biodynamic and holistic grazing principles, and produces beef, lamb and pigs, pasture raised on 100% native and exotic species, raised sympathetically within the landscape and the resources it provides, proactively marketing products direct to their clients, focusing on providing clean healthy nutritiously dense food direct to butcher and families.
The animals are handled in a ‘low stress stock’ fashion, considerate of their individual and mob behaviour; they are 100% chemical free and are not treated with any hormones, vaccines or drenches.
Charlie believes the decision to move away from trying to get nature to do what man wants, and instead learning how best to collaborate with nature, is key to not only a prosperous farming business, but also to a farmer’s health, consumer health and the land’s health.
The business is not certified organic, nor Biodynamic, however prefer being known as ‘Certified by Community’, given the transparency and openness to the public and clients under which the farm operates. Clients are considered ‘co-producers’ as they play a vital role in guiding the production of food through their feedback and connection with the farm.
Charlie and his team host and facilitate 2 day workshops at Hanaminno and across Eastern Australia, teaching farmers, gardeners and families the principle and practices of Biodynamics, and hold open community preparation making events on farm to foster the skills and experience for farmers to create a relationship with their landscape, and be self-reliant.
Charlie considers himself and his team sunshine and water harvesters, soil builders, pasture and animal nurturers, change facilitators, educators, community supporters and Nature partners. With a focus on putting the ‘culture’ back into Agri-culture.
Charlie has received several agricultural industry awards for leadership, resource management and conservation, more recently the prestigious Bob Hawke National Landcare Award 2018. The award acknowledges a person who has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to caring for the land, champions better practices, and gives their time to share knowledge with others.
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Testimonials
/in Home Page /by Michele Justin– Ros Denney: President Otway Coast Regenerative Farmers
– Random Feeder
– Random Eater
– Random Farmer
Podcast_ATF
/in Carousel, Podcast Page /by Michele JustinPodcast
Ep 3 | Damon Gameau
/in Podcast_Ep /by Michele JustinIn this episode Charlie chats to award winning film director & change maker Damon Gameau.
He delves into his own Regenerative Journey, from his early career as an actor, and the pivotal moments that were the catalyst for his change in direction. They talk Covid-19 and the opportunities the pandemic is providing to reshape redundant mindsets, including the role of regenerative agriculture has to play in a new paradigm. No chat with Damon is complete without of course, delving into his 2040 film as we learn more about Damon’s inspirational fact based dreaming approach.
Listen now:
Episode Takeaways
It felt like a noble job to be playing another human being.. but then, you have to juxtapose that with paying the bills | At the time I had really spent a lot of effort cultivating this persona of myself, of this rollie smoking, velvet jacket wearing actor.. who just loved the first 3 months of relationship, who just then ran for the hills | People who are genuinely doing amazing things.. like trying to help the planet, we just don’t have any accolades or awards ceremonies for those people.. this has always been baffling to me | We are so controlled by the story that we tell ourselves | With Covid-19 all those illusionary forms and structures have suddenly dissolved and we have seen how fragile our system is | Off the back of 2040, there has been so much travel with that…I just burnt myself out, traveling every week. It’s been quite a revelation to stop…to be at home | This is a moment – a rare moment, that the door is slightly a jar…This is the moment that we have been waiting for. Suddenly we have pressed stop on the system. In this pause moment, it’s the chrysalis, it’s the caterpillar going into the cocoon | All these key different elements of our biodiversity, they are so under the pump right now. Going back to normal (post Covid), is a suicide mission | We cant be outsourcing everything overseas anymore, the current system is not robust. It’s a 20th century model that’s trying to deal with 21st century problems. We have to adapt | Regenerative agriculture is absolutely the most exciting ‘bio tech’ that is emerging this century | All the magic is under our feet – it’s just waiting patiently, calmly | Be kind – don’t over think this, as a race we do actually get on. We do care about each other.
Links
Whats your 2040 ? – website for Damon’s 2040 film (released 2019)
Kate Raworth – Uk economist
Charles Massy – author of ‘Call of the Reed Warbler’
Regen Ag course – Southern Cross University
Martin Royds – Jillamatong, Braidwood
Impossible foods – plant based food co.
Sustainable Dish – Diane Rogers.
Polyface farms – Joel Salatin
Raymond Williams – quote
The Intrepid Foundation – improving livelihoods through sustainable travel experiences
Tim Flannery – Australian palaeontologist
The Living Mountain – book by Nan Shepherd
The Future we Choose – book by Christiana Figueres
Fantastic Fungi – film
The Tim Ferriss show – podcast
Landmark Worldwide– transformation course / personal development
Listen now:
Ep 2 | Joel Salatin
/in Podcast_Ep /by Michele JustinIn this episode Charlie interviews American farmer and leading regenerative agriculture advocate Joel Salatin.
Joel recounts his Regenerative Journey from his formative years as the son of a chicken farming accountant in Venezuela through the rehabilitation of his family farm in Swoope, Virginia, to the prolific supplier of fresh food to his customers and legendary public speaker. He talks about the importance of communication, authenticity and also about how highly he regards Australia within the regenerative agriculture space.
Listen now:
Episode Takeaways
We moved forward in faith not in fear | If you stop fighting nature, and you see nature as a partner. Hand in hand going in the same direction, it costs a lot less financially and ecologically | Communication is typically not taught in ‘Farming 101’ | Farmers have to be experts in lots of things. There is a lot of talent within the farming community but a lot of time this isn’t leveraged. There are many number of things that farmers can do. It is a tragedy, a societal indictment, that we have created this mystic of the peasant farmer | My sense is that Australia is a very fragile landscape but it’s also a very wealthy country. As such the world’s eyes are on Australia to wear the responsibility seriously and continue to lead the world in regenerative practices.
Links
Polyface Farm – Joel’s farm
Joel Salatin Nutrisoil ‘Sustainable abundance’ conference – 21/22nd May 2019, Victoria, AUS
‘Polyfaces’ documentary (2015) – filmed over 4 years by Darren Docherty and Lisa Heenan.
The Top Five Regrets of the Dying – A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing – Bronrie Ware
Sex begins in the kitchen – Kevin Leman
Albert Einstein – Einstein said definition of insanity ‘doing the same thing and hoping for a different result’.
Steven Covey – Circles of influence
BEEP (Boorowa Education Excursion Program) – Boorowa Community Landcare Group
See you at the top – Zig Ziglar
Alan Savoury – Zim ecologist (Alan Savory Institute)
The lean farm – Ben Hartman
Listen now:
Ep 1 | Charlie Arnott
/in Podcast_Ep /by Michele JustinIn the first episode Charlie delves into his very own ‘regenerative journey’.
He provides listeners with an insight into his early farming years, the defining moments that finally propelled him to a new way of thinking and some of the key milestones that Charlie has reached on the way.
Listen now:
Episode Takeaways
We were not running the farm with an entire view of the business or the impact we were having on the environment. The farm was a basket of resources that we could use…there was water, there was grass, there was soil, air, there was sunshine…and we essentially mined it…We were farming as we always had, we were doing as our neighbours did and we were farming in a way that we thought was appropriate | I had a cheque book in one hand and my ‘how to’ agronomic hand book in the other. We went pretty hard, burnt a lot diesel…Really every morning I was waking up and I was killing stuff. That was what one did. If one was farming one was unwittingly battling nature | I needed to bust paradigms.. I needed to change the paddock between my ears so that I could actually do things differently on the ground…I needed to change my attitude and to do that I was needing to ask myself better questions | Starting to use Biodynamics…That alone gave me some structure. It really resonated with me. It helped me understand my new relationship with nature and the context of that in farming, in business and in our lives | In farming, the practices and principals of farming are so entwined with oneself, ones personality ones purpose. If we are doing things in a way that is effective and productive and purposeful then we are also building ourselves and defining and refining who we are in this world, not just in the agricultural space, and in the world of being a person, our role in mankind in humanity.
Links
Profiting from drought – 1 day Course run by RCS ( Resource Consulting Services)
RCS – Grazing for Profit
Holistic Management – Land to Market Australia is a program run by the Australian Holistic Management Cooperative Limited. Uniquely, this project is being driven by producers and farmers themselves.
Biodynamics – what is Biodynamics
Biodynamics workshops – new website w/ info on workshops launching soon!
Listen now:
Bio
/in About_Page /by Michele JustinBio
Charlie is an award-winning grazier from Boorowa, New South Wales, Australia, an educator and passionate advocate for Regenerative Farming practices. His family business has developed under Charlie’s guidance from a ‘conventional’, industrial high input mixed enterprise farm working against Nature to a Biodynamically principled holistically managed farm partnering with Nature.
Charlie started his Regenerative Farming journey 15 years ago. Previously he and his family had been farming conventionally on their 5,000 hectare property “Hanaminno” for over 35 years, in an industrial high input/ high output farming business model, heavily reliant on pesticides, herbicides and man-made fertilisers.
After a series of epiphanies and through education Charlie found the Regenerative Agriculture movement, a movement which reflected his instinctive connection to the land and his ethos of producing quality food for his family and the world.
Today, Hanaminno is managed using organic, biodynamic and holistic grazing principles, and produces beef, lamb and pigs, pasture raised on 100% native and exotic species, raised sympathetically within the landscape and the resources it provides, proactively marketing products direct to their clients, focusing on providing clean healthy nutritiously dense food direct to butcher and families.
The animals are handled in a ‘low stress stock’ fashion, considerate of their individual and mob behaviour; they are 100% chemical free and are not treated with any hormones, vaccines or drenches.
Charlie believes the decision to move away from trying to get nature to do what man wants, and instead learning how best to collaborate with nature, is key to not only a prosperous farming business, but also to a farmer’s health, consumer health and the land’s health.
The business is not certified organic, nor Biodynamic, however prefer being known as ‘Certified by Community’, given the transparency and openness to the public and clients under which the farm operates. Clients are considered ‘co-producers’ as they play a vital role in guiding the production of food through their feedback and connection with the farm.
Charlie and his team host and facilitate 2 day workshops at Hanaminno and across Eastern Australia, teaching farmers, gardeners and families the principle and practices of Biodynamics, and hold open community preparation making events on farm to foster the skills and experience for farmers to create a relationship with their landscape, and be self-reliant.
Charlie considers himself and his team sunshine and water harvesters, soil builders, pasture and animal nurturers, change facilitators, educators, community supporters and Nature partners. With a focus on putting the ‘culture’ back into Agri-culture.
Charlie has received several agricultural industry awards for leadership, resource management and conservation, more recently the prestigious Bob Hawke National Landcare Award 2018. The award acknowledges a person who has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to caring for the land, champions better practices, and gives their time to share knowledge with others.
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Start_About
/in Start Page /by Michele JustinWhere do you fit into the world of Regenerative Agriculture and why should you care?
Lets start with defining the term Regenerative Agriculture and see if it resonates with you..
Definition
Our definition is broad (you’ll understand why soon) and encompasses the 5 landscape functions, whereby an activity, principle or philosophy can be deemed of a regenerative nature if it enhances any of the 5 landscape functions.
Focusing on the improvement of soil quality and quantity, and health of the people involved, is central to the health of a functional environment.
Landscape functions
Solar…
Mineral
Water
Biological
People
Food is the point at which all landscape functions intersect, and if you eat food, you have a role to play in the Regenerative Agriculture movement.
Our Intention
We have created a website/platform to help guide you on your own Regenerative Journey, one that you may not have expected to take and one that we suspect you’ll be glad you took.
Who are you… or who do you want to become ?
Where does your Journey begin ?
Start_ATF
/in Carousel, Start Page /by Michele JustinStart your Regenerative Journey
Read
/in Get Involved Action /by Michele JustinCharlie has hand picked a range of great reads to help you on your Regenerative Journey. You can see them [hubspot type=cta portal=19516957 id=61d24c03-d0bb-4f40-a098-e1abf3501726]
Call of the Reed Warbler by Charles Massy
Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown
The Soil will Save us by Kristin Ohlson
For the Love of Soil by Nicole Masters
Holistic Management by Allan Savory
Soil by Matt Evans
Futuresteading by Jade Miles
Join
/in Get Involved Action /by Michele JustinConnecting with like minded folk by perhaps joining a group or organisation will help you on your regenerative journey. See a list of organisations [hubspot type=cta portal=19516957 id=d7f40589-88ff-4e9a-a9ea-1a00ef5f0628]
Landcare Aus – Get involved
Another way to kick start your journey would be to join one of the many facebook groups which focus on regenerative agriculture:
Regenerative Agriculture Group
Deep Winter Agrarians
Australian Farmers Managing Holistically
Soils for Life (Organisation)