Soils For Life

Soils For Life
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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. 3d ago

    The network underpinning it all: Fungi with Dr Sapphire McMullan-Fisher and Julie Fielder

    World Fungus Day is in October and to mark the occasion we spoke with two mycologists - fungi experts - Dr Sapphire McMullan-Fisher and Julie Fielder about this amazing and mostly hidden lifeform. Sapphire is a lecturer in plant and fungal Ecology at the University of New England and Julie runs consultancy Phytos Environmental in WA, and both are involved with Fungimap, one of Australia’s longest running citizen science organisations. They’ve both also been involved in the recently published book Fungi for Land: A practical guide for land managers, which draws on the work of more than 25 Australian scientists to explain what fungi do in the landscape and how to manage land in ways that support them. In this conversation we delve into the weird and wonderful world of fungi, from their ancient beginnings almost 400 million years ago as partners to plants, to their incredible and bizarre present day forms. And we discuss how healthy and diverse fungal ecosystems are so deeply interconnected with, and essential for, healthy and resilient soils, plants and people. Correction: In the intro we say World Fungus Day is on October 2nd. The date actually varies by country, it's marked across the first week or so of October rather than on one fixed day.Mentioned in this episode: ​Fungi for Land: A practical guide for land managers - https://fungi4land.com/  ​Fun Fungi Ecology - https://www.funfungiecology.com/ ​Fungimap - https://fungimap.org.au/ ​iNaturalist - https://www.inaturalist.org/ PhD on metarhizium - https://eprints.qut.edu.au/117674/

    The network underpinning it all: Fungi with Dr Sapphire McMullan-Fisher and Julie Fielder

  2. Aug 25

    From feeding animals to feeding biology: Learning to graze differently with David and Ruth Read

    About the podcast David and Ruth Read own and manage Woodcote, a 470 hectare beef cattle trading farm located in East Gippsland, Victoria.  In this episode, we talk about: How the Millennium Drought sounded a wake-up call for their farmThe changes they have made since that time including moving towards higher density grazing, establishment of fencing and water infrastructure to support thatShifting to a primarily trading enterprise and refocusing from feeding animals to feeding biology.  Ruth and David also share their enthusiasm for learning and adapting, and share a wealth of resources for people to tap into as they make their own farm learning journey. David and Ruth featured as case study farmers in Soils for Life’s recently released Practice Guide: Grazing for Soil and Landscape Regeneration. They are also hosting the third of our national series of field days launching the guide. If you’re interested to see their work in action, and hear more about their farming practices - alongside grazing educator Brian Wehlburg - join us on September 15 for a day of on-farm learning. If you’re unable to attend that event in-person, we’ll also be running an online webinar on September the 2nd with Rod and Katrina Butler, another of the farming families featured in the grazing guide. Resources, links and events from the episode Soils for Life Practice Guide: Grazing for Soil and Landscape Regeneration: https://soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-grazing-soil-landscape-regeneration/ Grazing field day: Strategies to build soil and landscape health, 15 September: https://events.humanitix.com/grazing-for-soil-and-landscape-health-field-day Grazing Webinar: Getting started with grazing for soil and landscape health: https://events.humanitix.com/grazing-for-soil-and-landscape-health-with-rod-and-katrina-butlerWoodcote Pty Ltd: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057240318507Soils for Life’s interview with Grant Williams:⁠https://open.spotify.com/episode/4yQTkVCoaAXNnwPuROxSib?si=rPR1lf6-QkqI_xu3pdL3RQ⁠ Education providers RCS Grazing For Profit course: https://www.rcsaustralia.com.au/farming-grazing-for-profit-programs/ Graeme Hand: https://www.handfortheland.com/ Dick Richardson: https://www.naturesequity.com.au/ Jim Elizondo: https://www.rwranching.com/ KLR Marketing: https://klrmarketing.com.au/Joel Williams: https://integratedsoils.com/ If you have any feedback If you have any feedback or questions about this podcast, or suggestions of topics or people you’d like us to include in future episodes, please reach out on social media or via info@soilsforlife.org.au.

    From feeding animals to feeding biology: Learning to graze differently with David and Ruth Read

  3. Aug 11

    Feeding the soil first: Hugh and Katie Finlay on diversity at every level

    Hugh and Katie Finlay manage a 30 hectare farm in Central Victoria, including a commercial stone fruit orchard and fruit tree nursery. The farm also includes a range of small enterprises run by others under the banner of the Harcourt Farming Co-op, including a dairy, market garden, and bush foods plot. Since 2013, Hugh and Katie also have been educating others in how to grow organic and regenerative fruit through their business, Grow Great Fruit. Perennial horticulture is a fairly new area for me, but this conversation reveals some very familiar themes. Hugh and Katie focus on the soil above all else, and have seen how taking care of soil biology by adding organic matter, fostering plant diversity, and elimination of all synthetic inputs supports healthy trees that are resilient to pests and disease and require little in the way of pest and disease management. While many of their strategies are applicable at much larger scale than their now downsized operation, Hugh and Katie are also passionate about the value of smaller scale ... about the value of smaller scale enterprises to not only support resilient agricultural businesses, but also connected and thriving regional communities. Please enjoy this delightful conversation with Hugh and Katie Finlay. And if you're an orchardist yourself or interested in perennial horticulture, don't forget to check out our website for all the resources and events that we're rolling out through our Orchard Resilience project. Links and resources Grow Great Fruit - https://growgreatfruit.com/Harcourt Organic Farming Co-op - https://hofcoop.com.au/about/YIMBY Compost - https://www.yimbycompost.com/

    Feeding the soil first: Hugh and Katie Finlay on diversity at every level

  4. Jul 28

    Creating diversity above and below the ground: Murray Gomm on cover crops in orchards and vineyards

    Murray Gomm is a regenerative farmer and winemaker based near Albany in Western Australia. With his partner Pamela Lincoln, he runs Oranje Tractor Farm, a small organic vineyard and orchard that’s become known for its focus on soil health, biodiversity and carbon-positive farming. Since the late 1990s, Murray has transformed a degraded property into a thriving, diverse landscape producing wine, fruit, and olive oil. The farm integrates cover crops, composting, mulching, and biological soil management instead of relying on synthetic fertilisers and chemicals. Murray is a long-time advocate for working with natural systems and is passionate about sharing the message that healthy soils lead to better produce and stronger communities. He regularly speaks on sustainable tourism, carbon farming, and the intersection of agriculture and ecology. In our conversation, we talk about the value of having a peer group to learn with rather than operating in a vacuum, the role of cover cropping in building diversity and unlocking crop health, soil and plant health monitoring that have helped Murray grow his best tasting peaches ever, and why he now sees himself as a ‘manager of ecological relationships’. Links and resources Oranje Tractor Wine and farmSoils for Life’s Orchard Resilience projectThe Orchard Underground WA program for commercial fruit and nut growers, delivered by Soils for Life and RegenWAMurray has also worked with RegenWA as a cover crop demonstration siteIf you have feedback, questions, or suggestions for future episodes or guests, we'd love to hear from you - reach out on social media or at info@soilsforlife.org.au.

    Creating diversity above and below the ground: Murray Gomm on cover crops in orchards and vineyards

  5. Jul 7

    The power of pasture analysis, with Emily House

    Emily House began her career as a geologist before an unlikely path led her into ruminant nutrition. After moving to New Zealand, she started working with two vets who wanted to shift from treating livestock disease reactively to preventing it, which meant looking closely at pasture as the major component of the diet.  Emily brings a background in earth science to her work interpreting pasture and soil analysis for animal health and performance. She was part of the team that developed the DietDecoder™, an online tool that assesses the mineral profile of pasture and flags risks to animal health before they show up as clinical problems. In this episode, she explains why testing the mineral content of pasture goes further than the more familiar measures of dry matter, crude protein and energy that many farmers already use. She talks through real examples, from calcium and milk fever at calving, to copper deficiencies caused by excess sulphur and molybdenum in the soil, and how these mineral gaps can affect everything from hoof health to wool quality. We also discuss the range of responses available once a problem is identified, from targeted supplementation through to adjusting fertiliser regimes and building more mineral-dense pasture through species diversity, along with some striking parallels between what we're learning about animal nutrition and human health. In this episode Emily's path from government geologist to ruminant nutrition consultantWhy pasture mineral testing reveals more than standard dry matter and protein analysisHow mineral deficiencies and excesses show up in animal health, from milk fever to coat and wool qualityThe DietDecoder™ tool, and how it's used seasonally around key events like calving and matingAddressing mineral imbalances through supplementation, fertiliser decisions and pasture diversityParallels between livestock nutrition and the gaps in our understanding of human nutritionLinks and resources DietDecoder™ – dietdecoder.nz, including the quote from Dr Pat Poletti referenced in this episode in the FAQ Register to join our upcoing Dairy Convo where Emily will talk about Pasture Nutrition. Mon 13th July, 12pm AEST, details at the link: https://events.humanitix.com/dairy-convos-ask-me-anything-series If you have feedback, questions, or suggestions for future episodes or guests, get in touch on social media or at info@soilsforlife.org.au

    The power of pasture analysis, with Emily House

  6. Jun 23

    Regenerative grazing and the key insights of Holistic Management, with Brian Wehlburg

    Brian Wehlburg is one of Australia’s most highly regarded Holistic Management educators and a board member of Holistic Management International and the Australian Holistic Management Cooperative. He has delivered training and consulting to businesses, land managers, families, environmental groups and pastoralists all over Australia, as well as in New Zealand, USA and Zimbabwe. He is also a farmer himself, having experience growing crops in Southern Africa, working  as a pasture and cattle manager in South West Queensland and managing a mixed-species property in New South Wales. This is one of the longer conversations we’ve featured on the podcast, but it easily could have been twice this length given the depth of Brian ’s well of knowledge and experience. We talk about his perspective on regenerative grazing, about the key insights of Holistic Management, the deeply held paradigms that often prevent people from seeing these insights, the practical steps that he has seen work to help people get started, and the positive life changes that can result when people succeed. This episode is one of a series of interviews we’re doing with graziers and educators involved in the development of our recently released guide to grazing for soil and landscape regeneration. Details and registrations for our upcoming grazing field day on 15 July 2026 with Dr Judi Earl at the Curtis family farm in Milmerran Queensland - soilsforlife.org.au/grazing-for-soil-health-field-day-curtis. Links and resources: Brian’s consultancy Inside Outside Management - insideoutsidemgt.com.au Soils for Life’s Guide to Grazing for Soil and Landscape Regeneration - soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-grazing-soil-landscape-regeneration More about Holistic Management from the Savory Institute - savory.globalAndre Voisin - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Voisin Jan Smuts, Holism and Evolution - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holism_and_Evolution If you have feedback, questions, or suggestions for future episodes or guests, we'd love to hear from you - reach out on social media or at info@soilsforlife.org.au.

    Regenerative grazing and the key insights of Holistic Management, with Brian Wehlburg

  7. Jun 9

    Building confidence in multispecies pastures, with Grant Williams

    Grant Williams is a dairy farmer at Hallora in West Gippsland, Victoria, where he and his wife Leesa run Willora Farms - an almost 600-cow operation across 430 hectares. He has been a generous and engaged contributor to the dairy community for many years, and previously served on the Board and as Chair of GippsDairy. Despite having been an early adopter of robotic milking, Grant describes himself as cautious about making changes on the farm. Over the past decade, however, he has made a change that many dairy farmers wouldn’t dream of, transitioning the whole farm to multispecies pastures, and in the last four years, cutting out all synthetic fertilisers. In this episode, Grant describes how he ‘fell into’ multispecies pastures, how his early trials didn’t work out the way he hoped, and how he eventually became confident that he could profitably roll out multispecies across the whole farm. Links and resources: Soikee machine - soilkee.com.au Soils for Life’s dairy resources and activities - soilsforlife.org.au/dairy-resilience-projectIf you have feedback, questions, or suggestions for future episodes or guests, we'd love to hear from you - reach out on social media or at info@soilsforlife.org.au.

    Building confidence in multispecies pastures, with Grant Williams

  8. May 26

    Working with biological control agents in perennial horticulture, with Dr Paul Horne

    Dr Paul Horne is an award winning entomologist and founder of integrated pest management consultancy IPM Technologies. He began his career at the Victorian Department of Agriculture in the mid-1980s, his work has been published across scientific journals and industry platforms, and he has written several books on insects and pest management. Paul’s work focuses on supporting adoption of IPM strategies to manage invertebrate pests in a wide range of crops including cut-flowers, berries, vegetables, tree and vine crops, nurseries, broad-acre crops and pastures. As our new initiative to support fruit and nut growers kicks off, I wanted to talk with Paul about the state of play with integrated pest management, and what he has found works well to support adoption of IPM in perennial horticulture. If you’re involved in perennial horticulture, check out our new Orchard Resilience Project. With funding from the Australian Government’s Climate-smart Agriculture Program, we’re working over the next three years with perennial horticulture growers across Australia to strengthen soil health and landscape function in tree and vine crops. This episode was recorded live from the Grounded festival in Victoria. Enjoy! Links and resources: IPM technologiesSoils for Life Orchard Resilience ProjectIf you have feedback, questions, or suggestions for future episodes or guests, we'd love to hear from you - reach out on social media or at info@soilsforlife.org.au.

    Working with biological control agents in perennial horticulture, with Dr Paul Horne
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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 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Soils For Life
  • Show Website
    Soils For Life

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