Ten years ago, Perthshire farmer Alex Brewster decided to make a change.
The dad went from having herds of cows spread all over his farmland and using traditional set stocking farming, to bigger groups (mobs) of cows.
At his farm near Pitlochry, they now prioritise the health of the grass and soil.
This means no ploughing, and moving his cows around every 12 hours so they don’t damage the fields.
The result? Nutrient-dense soil, plant life and cows.
He said: “What I couldn’t get my head around ten years ago was that as a farmer, I always felt like I was fighting the environment.
“Why? We shouldn’t need to be fighting it, we need to be working with it.”
Over the last decade, Alex has strived to do just that.
A ten year journey to regenerative farming
“Ten years ago, we had a really bad year,” Alex explained.
So the 46-year-old changed tactics. Their new grazing process gives the farmland huge rest periods which allows it to heal, and helps ecosystems to flourish.
Alex saw the benefit 100 days later, when they weaned their animals and saw that the lambs and calves were three kilos heavier than their average.
“We’ve done the hard yards,” he said, “the problem with the hard yards is you’ve got to have the confidence and belief to stay the course.”
Now Alex of Rotmell farm says he is more of a soil farmer than a cow farmer. He prioritises keeping the soil healthy to limit the impact his farming has on the environment.
The farmer, whose team was awarded Soil Farmer of the Year in 2020, also refuses to use environmentally-damaging fertilisers on his land, or feed his cows any chemicals which he wouldn’t be willing to eat or drink himself.
Don’t believe him? Watch our video where Alex proves it by drinking from the cow’s water trough.
“I have never bought a tonne of fertiliser in my life,” Alex added, “I’m quite proud of that.
“There’s a joke tied up in here. The more chemicals and fertilisers you put on, the more you wreck the environment of the farm, therefore the more you’ve got to buy.
“Then, over time, the bigger the moron you become.”
Perthshire farmer ‘uplifted’ by new approach
Alex’s dedication has undoubtedly improved the health of the landscape around him. And seeing these changes has had a knock-on effect for his own mental health.
“The biggest positive change for me has been my mindset,” he said.
“We’re challenged doing what we’re doing, because we are learning so much, and we’re in this really cool space.
“My own personal outlook on life is uplifted by what I see us doing each day, when we’re increasing insect life on the farm and we’re creating populations of birds.
“I just love that orchestra you can hear around you,” he said, grinning up at the swallows flying overhead.
Alex added: “The environmental uplift of all these linkages between ruminants grazing, big pasture covers, insects, birds, that’s great.
“That’s exciting at the end of the day and that’s the bit that makes you feel great about yourself.”
Scroll up to our video to hear from Alex himself as he talks through the benefits of his approach to farming.
Conversation