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!

Graeme Hand is a holistic land management and grazing educator based near Bairnsdale, Victoria, where he has farmed for more than 35 years. He came to the land via an unlikely route, a decade as an industrial chemist, before applying that scientific background to regenerative agriculture. A Certified Holistic Management educator and Board member of Regenerative Agriculture Network Tasmania, Graeme has been supporting farmers in adopting regenerative grazing techniques since 1996, and has spent the better part of three decades helping farming businesses rebuild topsoil, restore pasture, improve the water cycle and strengthen their resilience to a changing climate.

At the heart of Graeme’s work is a conviction that lasting change on the land starts with the decisions made each day in the paddock, with ‘safe to fail’ trials at the heart of his approach. As Graeme explains in this episode, trials are the key strategy that enables farmers to manage the complexity of biological approaches to grazing. It was a pleasure to record this episode with Graeme, live from the Grounded festival in Victoria, and I hope you enjoy our conversation.

This episode was recorded live at the third Grounded Festival at Yan Yan Gurt West farm in Victoria’s Otways. One of my highlights of the festival was hearing from third-generation New Zealand dairy farmer Gavin Fisher. Although, dairy is only the tip of the iceberg of Gavin’s farm. He also raises deer, chickens and ducks, and bees. The pastures are multi-species, but every paddock is also surrounded by diverse plantings of trees and shrubs, including fruit and nut trees, and medicinal plants for the cows.

This is the product of a decades-long process through which Gavin has steadily transformed his family’s farm from a flat, treeless series of paddocks, into a diverse and multi-layered production system. With the principle of biological diversity and synergy at the centre of his vision, and farming deeper and higher rather than expanding his land area, Gavin has created a low cost, minimal input, highly resilient and profitable enterprise that is filled with life:

What happens when a commercial dairy farm runs regenerative and conventional systems side-by-side, and measures the results?

In this episode, Clare Buchanan from Align Farms shares insights from an ongoing trial in Mid Canterbury, New Zealand. Half the farm is managed conventionally, while the other half uses diverse pastures, lower synthetic inputs and a different approach to grazing and stocking. The aim has been to test how these systems perform in the same conditions, across production, environment and profitability.

Clare talks through what they’ve been observing in the five years the trial has been running, including pasture production without synthetic nitrogen, how soil biology is tracking, and what they’ve learned about pasture diversity over time. Early research is also pointing to differences in milk quality, with links between pasture composition and fatty acids and plant compounds in the milk.

Financial performance is a key part of the trial. The regenerative system is currently profitable, but not yet matching the conventional side, largely due to lower stocking rates and production. As input costs shift and the system continues to evolve, that gap is something they’re watching closely.

Clare reflects on what they would do differently, what still isn’t clear, and where there may be opportunities for farmers looking to test similar approaches on their own farms.

Australia’s fertiliser crisis has been building for weeks as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. Around 60 per cent of Australia’s urea imports travel through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been severely disrupted, leaving shipments stranded and future orders cancelled.

Some reports suggest urea prices have already more than doubled since December 2025, from around US$350 per tonne to US$750, and there are serious doubts about whether any supplies will be available beyond the next few months if the conflict continues.

Even if stock becomes available, the prices are eating into margins, with reports that many growers are choosing to cut production because the economics simply don’t stack up.

The federal government has formed a Fertiliser Supply Working group and responded with a package of measures including new legislation to underwrite the import of emergency fertiliser supplies.

But what can producers themselves do? Today we’re talking to soil and plant health educator Joel Williams about what farmers can do right now to manage this situation on the ground.

Dr Jonathan Lundgren runs 1,000 Farms, the largest and most comprehensive study of regenerative agriculture anywhere in the world. Despite the name, the program now includes more than 2,000 farms across all eco-regions in North America, with a minimum of 500 data types for each farm, including data on production, economics, soil, water, biodiversity, carbon, nutrition and more. The results – according to Jon – are illustrating what farmers themselves have been reporting, that working with natural systems on farms can be as profitable, with greater stability and resilience, improved environmental outcomes and much improved mental and physical health and wellbeing for the farmers.

But that incredible research is just the tip of the iceberg of this conversation. After a highly distinguished scientific career, including a PhD in entomology, more than a decade with the USDA, receiving the Presidential Early Career Award for Science and Engineering, and writing more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, Jon pivoted.

He established Ecdysis Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Estelline, South Dakota, dedicated to advancing regenerative agriculture through relationship-based, independent research, and bought and now runs a farm – Blue Dasher Farm. He has become a passionate advocate for reorienting food and agriculture systems away from centralised corporate commodity chains and back to the farmers on the land, their health and wellbeing, and that of the communities in which they operate. This, he argues, is the pathway to more secure and resilient agriculture, and to realising the true potential of regenerative agriculture to deliver on our most pressing social, economic and environmental issues.

Dr Mary Retallack is an agricultural scientist, third-generation viticulturist and agroecologist who has spent more than three decades advancing environmental stewardship within agricultural landscapes. She grew up on a fruit block in SA’s Riverland growing grapes, apricots and pears, and now lives on a small vineyard and apple orchard surrounded by native insectary plants in the Adelaide Hills.

Mary is the founder and custodian of the award-winning National EcoVineyards Program, working in collaboration with more than 175 program partners and wine growers across fifteen regions in four states to build functional biodiversity, restore soil health, and reduce reliance on synthetic inputs.

Mary’s PhD research in viticulture and plant protection focused on native insectary ground cover plants and the role they play in supporting natural predators of vineyard pests. Her findings show how functional diversity not only builds ecological health, but delivers economic benefits to growers, and there are heaps of detailed case studies from growers around the country on the EcoVineyards website.

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.

Matthew Evans is a chef, farmer, author, food advocate and founder of Australia’s Grounded Festival ⁠groundedaustralia.com.au⁠.

Soils for Life is kicking off a new national program working with dairy farmers around the country, and we thought it was the perfect time to talk to Matthew about his most recent book, ‘Milk: The truth, the lies and the unbelievable story of the original superfood’.

We discuss some of the debates around dairy, including lactose intolerance, nutrition, and sustainability and how regenerative practices on farms can improve both soil and milk quality.

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.

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 pesticides
• How sap and tissue testing inform his nutrition decisions
• Using observation and small-scale trials to guide change
• What’s changed in soil function and disease pressure over time
• Lessons from experimenting, learning and staying profitable

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 time
• The role of livestock grazing in improving performance and reducing risk
• How cover crops can build fertility, especially nitrogen fixation and phosphorus unlock
• Lessons he’s learned, e.g. weed control, applying biology to soils not ready for it
• Taking the leap: sowing with zero nitrogen and watching the system work
• What he wishes he’d known earlier

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.

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.

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.

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.

If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, leave us a comment or a like! It helps us to reach others.

This is the first in a series of short episodes we’ll be releasing over the coming months featuring farmers profiled in our series of regenerative cropping Practice Guides. Check out the full suite of guides at www.soilsforlife.org.au.

Michael Waring is a North Queensland sugarcane grower with decades of experience improving nitrogen cycling and soil health. Michael walks us through his journey from adopting controlled traffic, multispecies cover cropping, reduced tillage, and biological inputs.

Michael shares the nitty-gritty of how he trialled, and eventually achieved, a multispecies cover crop mix that can survive the tropics’ brutal wet season. He explains how he’s cut nitrogen rates dramatically without sacrificing yield, and how new biological tools are helping him unlock phosphorus sitting in the soil. For sugarcane growers, and any farmer wanting to cut costs, reduce runoff and build a healthier farming system, this episode is for you.

We talk about what worked on-farm: the tweaks, the failures, and the long game of testing ideas until they stick. Michael’s message is simple – there’s no silver bullet, but there are simple steps you can take to get started.

Read the full Practice Guide on Improving Nitrogen Cycling and Efficiencies at soilsforlife.org.au

If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, leave us a comment or a like! It helps us to reach others.

Dr Mary Cole has spent more than 40 years working with the microbial life that underpins healthy soil. In this episode, she shares what she’s learned from a career in plant pathology and soil microbiology, and from farming using compost products, aeration and no synthetic inputs on her own property in Gippsland Victoria.

Mary explains how simple practices like aeration, compost, and soil and plant observation can make a big difference to soil function. She talks through what happens when we disturb soil biology, how to get started on improving microbial life, and why she believes we should all be working with, not against, the life beneath our feet.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• What mycorrhizal fungi actually do, and why they matter
• How biology-first farming reduces the need for inputs
• Monitoring tips for farmers who want to learn more about what’s going on underground
• Why Mary suggests starting with your worst paddock, not their best
• Reflections on 50 years of biological farming, and what she wishes more people knew

Australia has often been described as a land of droughts and flooding rains. But what we don’t often hear is that, for millennia, the land had a remarkable ability to regulate itself — through healthy ecology and the natural water cycle.

Since European settlement, however, we’ve seen a steady decline in soil health and water-holding capacity across much of the country. The rivers don’t flow like they used to, and the land struggles to bounce back from the extremes of flood and drought. The solution is to help restore nature’s ecological systems of water and nutrient cycling.

In this episode, we hear from two farmers who are restoring these natural water regulating systems, rehydrating their landscapes — transforming degraded paddocks into thriving ecosystems. They’ve embraced techniques that slow, spread, and sink water back into the ground — reviving their soils, crops, and communities.

And they’re not alone.

Across Australia, groups of farmers are coming together to restore entire catchments. Programs like the Mulloon Rehydration Initiative are proving that when we work with nature — not against it — we can regenerate not just one farm, but the broader ecosystems they’re part of.

Mick Gooden runs Old Man Creek Bull Farm near Wagga Wagga in NSW and is President of farmer group Vic No Till.

In this episode, Eli and Mick chat about the value of having a supportive group of peers around you, the links between soil health and human health, the importance of pulling up and taking the time for observation and reflection, transitioning cropping systems profitably, leveraging the power of working with nature, and how to communicate the opportunity in agriculture as a solution to many of our biggest challenges. And we discover how a NSW cattleman ended up President of a Victorian cropping group.

Phil Lavers is passionate about good food. He runs Moonacres, a 140 acre fruit and vegetable farm in the NSW Southern Highlands, and sells his award-winning certified organic produce direct to some of Sydney’s best restaurants.

Phil is not a guy to beat around the bush. He sees big problems with typical practices in fruit and vegetable farming and the impacts those practices have on the soil, the environment and our health. A relentless experimenter, Phil is determined to find ways to do things better.

In this episode we talk about weaning off the rotary hoe, managing weeds, keeping bare soil to an absolute minimum with annual vegetable crops, how to grow the best tasting silverbeet, valuing good food, being a ‘sugar daddy’ for soil microbes, cover cropping and stealing the microbiome from cover crops to grow cash crops.