Alex and Jane Brewster have been nurturing the landscape at Rotmell Farm, just outside Dunkeld, in the heart of Highland Perthshire for many years. Rotmell dates back to the 1790’s and was built as a show farm by the Duchess of Atholl. Since its inception it has been a place of innovation and modernisation, whilst the building may be historic, the farming methods that are actively being implemented are at the forefront of modern Regenerative Agriculture.
Regenerative farming is at the core of the farm’s ethos, producing sustainable and nutritious produce whilst improving soil health and sequestering carbon. The farming team recently won Soil Farmer of the Year 2020 in recognition of their dedication to improving soil health and the production of nutritious foods.
Alex was honoured to be awarded a Nuffield farming scholarship to study soil health and the future of red meat in the 21st century in 2016, his global journey offered Alex the opportunity to see first hand how leading farmers are managing their soils and dealing with the many challenges facing the agricultural and food production sectors globally. Enthused he returned with a clearer understanding of how to face and deal with the environmental, economic and social challenges facing the sector here in the UK. As a result of this Alex and the team have taken on new projects and launched 2 new enterprises that support the Farming and land management sectors, both having sustainability and durability at heart.
Powered Pasture was launched in 2016 to support the farming community on their regenerative agriculture journeys, Alex says ‘We found it hard to source the correct equipment which wasn’t readily available for our Farming needs and realised an opportunity was there.’ We work on a consultative approach where Alex and the team can offer their expertise based on experience and can also discuss the potential pitfalls we have been through and what we have learned. ‘It is a constant learning journey, I enjoy discussing with other farmers in similar situations to us at Rotmell and working with them on their projects and seeing them come to life, I particularly enjoy catching up with them in 6/9/12 months down the line and hearing how things are progressing.’ Alex has been invited to speak at many events such as the Oxford Farming Conference, Groundswell and Carbon calling, his grounded approach and passion for developing sustainable farming models is infectious.
The other exciting venture Alex and Jane started in 2021 was the launch of TorraMor, their UK-manufactured waterproof outdoor clothing range. ‘TorraMor was developed because we just couldn’t find robust, sustainable and durable kit for our guys on the farm that was manufactured in the UK’ Jane continues ‘we all know the Kiwi and Aussie kit is world-leading but it just didn’t sit right with us knowing the environmental impact of importing these goods to the UK to wear, we also were starting to find the manufacturing of these garments was no longer based in their native countries. We felt it extremely important to support the British Manufacturing industry where possible. Our guys can be out all day in the harshest of environments here in Highland Perthshire and it’s our duty of care to make sure they have the best kit available, so TorraMor was born.’
It’s a very exciting time at TorraMor, the brand has had huge recognition and incredible feedback from all walks of life, from farmers out moving livestock to gamekeepers out on the hills and to dog walkers just needing something reliable, durable, and comfortable. Currently, we have a range of UK-Manufactured waterproof jackets, smocks and trousers with new colours launching in the Autumn and we have some really exciting projects at the manufacturing stage involving Scottish Wool which will be manufactured in Scotland. Alex says ‘We are so proud of where TorraMor has come in such a short space of time, myself Jane and the team couldn’t be more excited about the future.’ TorraMor is launching two new products this winter using Scottish Wool, Alex continues ‘We are all about sustainability, and supporting UK manufacturing and to bring out 2 new products which are being manufactured on our doorstep with more in the pipeline using Scottish wool is extremely exciting and very satisfying.’
TorraMor will be launching the new products and showcasing the existing products in Dunkeld in December with a pop-up shop at the Boathouse, Tay House on the 2nd and 3rd of December. All products are available to order online at www.torramor.com