Stuff: 15 December 2021

Can regenerative farming live up to the hype?

Touted as friendlier to people and the planet, regenerative farming is finally getting the rigorous research it deserves. Eloise Gibson reports.

Farmer Rhys Roberts has a sleep problem.

It’s not unusual for a dairy farmer to be knackered, but Roberts’ issue isn’t his own sleep. A monthly survey tells him only 14 per cent of his more than two dozen employees are getting enough nightly rest.

Milking cows twice a day means starting early and finishing late.

At Align Farms, where Roberts is chief executive, staff at the company’s seven Canterbury dairy farms can take up to 12-13 hours to log a paid eight-hour day, with a long break in the middle.