Supporting Farmers to Transition to Regenerative Organic Farm Management
Regenerative Organic Oats (ROO) is a farmer-forward program designed to support Prairie-based growers who are interested in transitioning to regenerative organic farm management. The program is funded by Nature’s Path, Riverside Natural Foods (producers of the snack brand MadeGood), and MGM Seed and Grain/Bay State Milling in a supply chain collaboration that supports and bolsters the growth of the Canadian regenerative organic oats supply by focusing on soil health in the agricultural landscape.
An Award Winning Program
In March 2026, COG’s Regenerative Organic Oats (ROO) program was honoured to receive the Climate Collaborative’s Collective Action Leadership Award at the Climate Leaders Luncheon at Expo West.
The award recognizes “significant leadership in working together to advance climate solutions that no single organization could achieve alone”. For us, this honour represents years of meaningful collaborative partnership with ROO’s founding program partners, Nature’s Path Organic Foods, Riverside Natural Foods (producers of the snack brand MadeGood), and Bay State Milling.
COG works alongside our partners from across the supply chain in pre-competitive collaboration to support ROO’s prairie-based organic oat farmers as they transition to regenerative organic farm management, driving their farms towards improved soil health and lasting climate resilience.
Program Goals
- Support farmers as they transition to regenerative organic management
- Promote a systems based approach to farm planning including the application of regenerative and organic principles and the context appropriate use of regenerative organic practices
- Increase farm resilience to weather extremes (climate change)
- Improve soil health and fertility
- Improve atmospheric carbon capture and retention in farm soils
- Address crop pests, disease and weeds through regenerative organic management
Program Activities
Communities of Practice
- Year-round social networking group
- Field days with brand and miller partner participation
Knowledge Transfer
- Winter virtual learning series (webinars)
- Tailored training and individual agronomic consultations
- Open-access Regenerative Organic Hub
- Training the trainer – to support the development of Prairie-wide extension services that will serve farmers transitioning to and using regenerative organic management
Benchmarking and On-Farm Monitoring
- Emphasis on observation and accessible monitoring
- Soil, crop and landscape data collected
- Annual farm visits complete with soil chemistry, soil biology and crop analyses
Our Program Farmers
Principles of Regenerative Agriculture
Through the ROO program, we focus on applying the six principles of regenerative agriculture in an organic context to support the natural functions of ecological processes.
- Know your context
- Keep a living root in the soil
- Armour the soil; protect your most valuable resource
- Do not disturb without intention
- Diversify above and below ground
- Integrate livestock to kickstart your system
ROO Participant Benefit Fund
NOTE: Only active ROO participants can apply to the Participant Benefit Fund. If you are interested in joining ROO, please contact Dorthea Gregoire directly at dorthea.gregoire@cog.ca.
The ROO Participant Benefit Fund was established by ROO program partners Riverside Natural Foods, Nature’s Path Organic Foods, MGM/Bay State Milling and Canadian Organic Growers. This fund is intended to provide direct support to program participants who wish to undertake activities that will enhance their regenerative organic journey.
ROO Team
This program is possible thanks to the generous support of our Partners:
