Soils For Life

Soils For Life
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  • EARTH SCIENCES
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The Soils for Life podcast brings you the voices of farmers around Australia who are regenerating our precious soils and landscapes. In each episode we share the stories of farmers who are discovering ways to farm with nature, and explore how we can all help more farmers to head in this direction, for healthier food, humans and planet. These stories show how resilient, regenerated soils and landscapes can support profitable food-producing businesses, thriving and resilient people and regional communities, and abundant and nutritious food. Produced by Grow Love Project and Soils for Life.

  1. Navigating soil science, with Dr Susan Orgill

    11 NOV

    Navigating soil science, with Dr Susan Orgill

    Dr Susan Orgill is Chief Scientist at Impact Ag Australia and a leading soil scientist with more than 20 years’ experience. She specialises in soil health, carbon farming, and regenerative agriculture, delivering science-based strategies that improve farm resilience, natural capital, and climate outcomes across research, policy, and sustainability initiatives. Suz has long been a friend of Soils for Life. She’s one of the most interesting and impressive soil scientists working in agriculture, and we’ve been meaning to get her on the podcast for some time. So please enjoy this conversation with the one and only Suz Orgill. Mentioned in this episode: Frank Ashwood photography from Soils for Life case study farms - soilsforlife.org.au/frank-ashwood-soil-life-up-close/ Aviva Reed visual ecologist - avivareed.com

    40 min
  2. Earning the right to reduce pesticides: Building plant resilience with Brad Campbell

    21 OCT

    Earning the right to reduce pesticides: Building plant resilience with Brad Campbell

    Western Australian farmer Brad Campbell has spent years refining his mixed cropping system to build healthier, more resilient plants and reduce reliance on synthetic inputs. Over time, he’s cut out routine fungicides and insecticides, moved away from chemical seed treatments, and now only uses pesticides strategically when needed. In this conversation, Brad talks about how targeted plant nutrition, sap testing and careful observation are helping him make management decisions and improve crop health. Brad shares how his family’s early shift toward biological farming set the foundation for his approach, why monitoring matters more than ever, and what he means when he says you have to earn the right to reduce pesticides. Brad’s story features in our Practice Guide on Building Plant Resilience to Pests and Diseases, which brings together insights from farmers and experts across Australia. You’ll find it at soilsforlife.org.au In this episode Why Brad says you need to “earn the right” to reduce pesticidesHow sap and tissue testing inform his nutrition decisionsUsing observation and small-scale trials to guide changeWhat’s changed in soil function and disease pressure over timeLessons from experimenting, learning and staying profitableResources Practice Guide: Building plant resilience to pests and diseases (coming soon to soilsforlife.org.au)Explore more cropping practice guides and farmer stories at soilsforlife.org.auBrad mentioned a course by Neil Kinsey: https://kinseyag.com/ Brad also mentioned a course by Arden Anderson: https://soillearningcenter.com/product/sustainable-agriculture-course/  This short episode of the Soils for Life Podcast was hosted by Eli Court and produced by Chris Wieffering. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and share it, and subscribe to hear more stories from Australian farmers building soil and landscape resilience.

    19 min
  3. SHORT: From problem paddocks to healthy soils, multispecies with Grant Sims

    7 OCT

    SHORT: From problem paddocks to healthy soils, multispecies with Grant Sims

    This episode of the Soils for Life podcast is part of our series of mini-episodes with farmers profiled in our series of cropping practice guides. In this short episode, Eli Court chats with Victorian farmer Grant Sims about how multispecies cover cropping has transformed his mixed farming system at Pine Grove near Lockington. After moving away from synthetic fertilisers, fungicides and insecticides, Grant began experimenting with diverse seed mixes to bring more life back into his soils. He explains how integrating livestock with multispecies crops built soil structure, reduced weed pressure and improved resilience during tough seasons. Grant also shares what he’s learned about designing mixes for different paddocks, fixing nitrogen through cover crops, and cutting input costs without sacrificing productivity. Along the way, he’s learnt through trial and error from experiences like underestimating the importance of weed control before sowing and trying to “add biology” to soils that weren’t yet ready for it. He talks openly about these lessons, as well as his current experiment sowing his whole farm with zero nitrogen for the first time. Highlights How Grant “stumbled into” multispecies crop mixes and scaled them over timeThe role of livestock grazing in improving performance and reducing riskHow cover crops can build fertility, especially nitrogen fixation and phosphorus unlockLessons he’s learned, e.g. weed control, applying biology to soils not ready for itTaking the leap: sowing with zero nitrogen and watching the system workWhat he wishes he’d known earlierResources & links Read the full Practice Guide on Multispecies Cover Cropping: https://soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-multispecies-cropping/ Down Under Covers: https://www.downundercovers.com/  If you enjoyed this episode, please rate & review it on your podcast app and share it with others. Email us with feedback or suggestions for future episodes at info@soilsforlife.org.au and subscribe to the Soils for Life newsletter to find out the latest.

    32 min

  4. 23 SEPT

    Encore: Weeds are telling us something, are we listening?

    We recently attended Grounded in WA, and heard ecologist Dr David Watson's fascinating talk on the important role that mistletoe can play in farm ecosystem. It made us think of one of our favourite podcast episodes - this one. It's a dive into the role that so-called weeds can play in ecosystems. Well worth another run! Enjoy. A little about this episode: The industrialisation of agriculture has created large paddocks of monoculture crops and increased the chemical burden on farmers and their environments. Global herbicide use has continued to increase as farmers have shifted to no till practices and adopted herbicide-tolerant crop cultivars over the last 30 years. One result of this is that the list of herbicide resistant weeds is growing.  Some farmers spend huge amounts of money on herbicide and scarce time removing weeds; Meanwhile, exactly how much damage is being done to native plant species and soils is not yet fully known. Either way, the current model is not sustainable In this episode we are exploring a paradigm shift to an ecological systems approach to weeds with Soils for Life agroecologist Sarah Fea. We visit four farmers to understand their changing relationship to plants. Including a grazier, seed producer, a farmer who has enlisted the help of goats and another who has developed no kill cropping.  We take a fresh look at weeds and how we can benefit from seeing them through a different lens. We hear how specific weeds germinate to heal damaged soils, showing us what the soil needs and how we can help them heal it.

    50 min
  5. SHORT: Moving to a low risk, low input system one step at a time, with Steven Ford

    9 SEPT

    SHORT: Moving to a low risk, low input system one step at a time, with Steven Ford

    This episode of the Soils for Life podcast is part of our series of mini-episodes with farmers profiled in our series of cropping practice guides. In this episode we talk with Steven Ford. Steven and his wife Kelly have been farming near Williams, Western Australia, for 16 years. After 10 years working as a livestock agent, Steven returned to the family farm in 2008. Being advised to use a new expensive chemical seed treatment prompted Steven to rethink and do some research. In 2016, he decided to transition their cropping system away from treated seed, synthetic fertilisers, insecticides and fungicides, and he also began to look at ways to reduce the need for herbicide. Steven’s story shows that reducing herbicides is just one outcome of his holistic approach to building soil health and reducing reliance on inputs. We discuss encouraging roots to go exploring deeper in the soil profile, using livestock as the ultimate insurance for transitioning to a lower input, lower risk system, making strategic decisions about when to intervene to address pests or disease, getting off the ‘spending more to make more’ treadmill, and keeping true to the course when the confidence takes a knock. - Read the full Practice Guide on Reducing Herbicides : https://soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-reducing-herbicides/ Get in touch - ⁠info@soilsforlife.org.au⁠ Subscribe to our newsletter - ⁠soilsforlife.org.au/the-newsletter⁠

    21 min

  6. 2 SEPT

    “We are walking ecosystems”: Our symbiotic relationships with microbes, with Jake Robinson

    Jake Robinson is a microbial ecologist and researcher whose career spans parasitology, symbiosis, and the study of invisible communities of life that shape the health of humans, animals, plants and ecosystems. He is the author of Invisible Friends: How Microbes Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us, and his work explores the connections between soil health, gut health and mental health. We spoke with Jake about the brutal world of microbe warfare that’s going on every day inside our bodies, what it means to see humans and plants as “walking ecosystems”, how microbes underpin communication between the gut and the brain, the importance of exposure to microbes for training our immune system, how farming practices can influence the nutritional value of our food, and just how much of this invisible world remains unknown to science. Jake is the brains behind Soil Yourself September, a series of talks from speakers around the world on the connections between soil health, gut health and mental health. Find out more at https://www.jakemrobinson.com/sys Get in touch - info@soilsforlife.org.au  Subscribe to our newsletter - soilsforlife.org.au/the-newsletter More about Jake Robinson - https://www.jakemrobinson.com/

    34 min
  7. SHORT: Getting foliars right, with Tom Robinson

    19 AUG

    SHORT: Getting foliars right, with Tom Robinson

    This episode is part of a series of short conversations with the farmers profiled in our cropping practice guides.  For Tom Robinson, foliar sprays aren’t a magic fix, but they’ve become a game-changer. Guided by sap testing and years of trialling, they’re helping him hit crop nutrition targets and lift grain performance while fitting into a broader soil health strategy. In this episode, Tom shares how he’s shifted from the odd zinc spray to a targeted program guided by regular sap testing, hitting critical growth stages in wheat, lentils, and canola. We talk through the practicalities – from making his own trace element mixes on-farm to jar testing, timing sprays for maximum uptake, and deciding when to include extras like seaweed or compost extracts. Tom also explains how foliar nutrition fits with other practices like zero-till, controlled traffic, and tactical livestock grazing, and the results he’s seen in grain quality, germination, and reduced pesticide use. Whether you’re already using foliars or just curious about where they might fit in your system, you’ll get practical tips and lessons learned from years of trial, observation, and adjustment – all aimed at building plant health and farm resilience. Read the full practice guide on using foliars at soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-foliar-applications/ Get in touch - ⁠info@soilsforlife.org.au⁠  Subscribe to our newsletter - ⁠soilsforlife.org.au/the-newsletter

    26 min

  8. 12 AUG

    Navigating uncertainty: Practical paths to resilient farming systems, with Nicole Masters

    Nicole Masters is an agroecologist, educator and author with decades of experience working alongside farmers and land managers across Australia, New Zealand, North America and beyond. She is formally trained in soil science, organisational learning and adult education, and is known for taking a practical, systems-based approach to regenerating land and building resilient farm businesses. Nicole is the founder of Integrity Soils and author of For the Love of Soil. We caught up with Nicole ahead of her forthcoming visit to Australia in September to talk about navigating the overwhelm of managing complex and uncertain agroecological systems, implementing new practices safely, the toolkit for diagnosing and dealing with limitations in your system, the value of coaching and peer support, and ultimately, strategies for building healthy, resilient farming systems. Book for Nicole’s Soil Health Masterclass, on 1-3 September at Tresavale Farm, Gympie, Qld - ⁠https://integritysoils.com/products/masterclass-aus  Get in touch - info@soilsforlife.org.au  Subscribe to our newsletter - soilsforlife.org.au/the-newsletter Mentioned in this episode: Integrity Soils - integritysoils.co.nz  CREATE (Coaching Regenerative Experts in Agriculture for Tomorrow) - https://www.integritysoils.co.nz/create  A chat with Sam Vincent, author of ‘My Father and Other Animals’ - soilsforlife.org.au/my-father-and-other-animals-a-chat-with-sam-vincent/ Jonathan Lundgren’s 1,000 Farms initiative - www.ecdysis.bio/featured-project  Soils for Life work with Nicole Masters: Masterclass recap: Rethinking what healthy soil looks like: A blog reflection on Nicole Masters’ intensive masterclass in Orange, exploring how we’ve normalised degraded landscapes and how to start seeing soil health differently. soilsforlife.org.au/nicole-masters-masterclass Webinar: Tracking soil health with Nicole Masters: Nicole works with three Australian grain growers to explore soil health using the Soilmentor app — demonstrating practical, visual soil tests like rhizosheath assessment, infiltration and rooting depth. soilsforlife.org.au/tracking-soil-health-with-nicole-masters Webinar replay: Soil health in practice: Watch the full July 2024 webinar with Nicole Masters and see how soil indicators are used to guide decision-making on-farm. soilsforlife.org.au/tracking-soil-health-with-nicole-masters-webinar

    46 min
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About

The Soils for Life podcast brings you the voices of farmers around Australia who are regenerating our precious soils and landscapes. In each episode we share the stories of farmers who are discovering ways to farm with nature, and explore how we can all help more farmers to head in this direction, for healthier food, humans and planet. These stories show how resilient, regenerated soils and landscapes can support profitable food-producing businesses, thriving and resilient people and regional communities, and abundant and nutritious food. Produced by Grow Love Project and Soils for Life.

Information

  • Creator
    Soils For Life
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    33
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Soils For Life
  • Show Website
    Soils For Life

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