Food for thought: Reflections on the 2024 Vic No Till conference

The 2024 VicNoTill (VNT) Conference, themed Food for Thought, took place over three jam-packed days in Wagga Wagga, NSW, 3-5 September. It offered those attending an opportunity to step back and consider the bigger picture of what it means to be a food producer. The lineup of presentations explored the connections between farming practices, plant nutrient density and human health. We were left with plenty to chew over.

The no-till movement, which has its roots in southern Australia, is a testament to what can be achieved by ‘farmers supporting farmers’. With a decades-long legacy, no-till farmer groups like VNT have promoted reducing cultivation and stubble retention cropping systems, allowing growers to direct drill seeds into the stubble of previous crops. 

In many ways, VNT has achieved what it set out to do, with no-till being one of the most significant examples of practice change adoption in Australia. Now, they support their community to explore a range of farming practices that prioritise soil health and biological approaches to inputs. The 2024 conference attracted a diverse audience, including broadacre grain growers, graziers and operators of mixed enterprises, keen to discuss soil health and business resilience. 

Soils for Life’s CEO Eli Court and Research and Engagement Officer Tahlia Kinrade were there to soak up the insights and conversations. A few of their key takeaways are below.  

Nutrient density 

It turns out that both people and crops can be ‘overfed yet undernourished’, and the conversation around food nutrient density is becoming core to regenerative farming.

Emerging research from the US-based Bionutrient Institute suggests that the strongest correlating factor with nutrient density is soil biological activity. Plant breeding and genetics also play a significant role, with heritage varieties named as packing in the most nutrition. Nutrient density in food was referred to during the conference as ‘the ultimate marker of ecological health’. Healthy landscapes and soil are often found to create nutrient-rich food, which ultimately contributes to better human health. 

Diversity 

Diversity in both crops and soil life is essential to achieving nutrient density. Both the human gut microbiome and soil microbes need diversity to work optimally. The same goes for minerals, with none functioning effectively in isolation.

This ‘entourage effect’ underscores the importance of nurturing diversity in farming systems at multiple levels: in our inputs, our crop species and variety selection, crop rotation choices and even enterprises. Have you thought about incorporating biofertilisers into your crop nutrition program? What about livestock? Nutrient dense food can be produced profitably with reduced inputs. It requires a careful and thought out shift away from shortcuts (or ‘sledgehammers’ as they were referred to during the presentations). 

Staying profitable while tweaking inputs

How then, do farmers lean on diversity and increase nutrient density of the food they produce? These are some of the strategies we walked away with: 

• Prime plants with diverse fertiliser inputs, consider foliar applications  
• Keeping living roots in the soil. Living plants are vital for maintaining soil biology and the two-way relationship between soil health and crops. 
• Use biostimulants 
• Consider seed saving and biological seed treatments
• Try some other nitrogen inputs, including proteins and amino acid containing products

“The Footstep of the Farmer is the Best Fertiliser”

Observation is key when it comes to crop and human health. Using monitoring tools, like soil and plant testing, uncovers our understanding of crop needs and the ‘norms’ of our farm and region. Monitoring is also the foundation of proactive action and our ability to detect change over time. 

It turns out that walking the paddock with a shovel, regularly and with a keen eye and open mind, might just be the best medicine. 

Food and farming underpins community resilience

‘Resilience’ is a common buzzword – resilient soil, landscapes and farming businesses. But what does it really mean? The VNT conference shared the idea that resilience is built on connectedness – linking soil health, diverse landscapes, the food we produce and the well-being of those who farm and those who consume it. This holistic approach fosters not only resilience in farming operations, but also in the wider community that depends on farmers.

A recurring theme at the conference was the challenge of producing nutritious food within a commodity-driven system that often fails to reward differentiation. Yet, despite these obstacles, there is a growing sentiment that ‘VNT farmers are at the front of the queue for feeding people healthy food’. 

Congratulations to Amy, Dan and the whole VNT team on another inspiring conference. 

VicNoTill is a partner in the Cropping Resilience Project, which supports Australian farmers to adopt soil health and resilience. Find out more and get involved here. 

Soil health educator Joel Williams from Integrated Soils  presents at a soil pit at the Vic Not Till conference.