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 Naturals 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.
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.
Principles of Regenerative Agriculture
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
Ecological Processes
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
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:
