Soil biological inputs work when they are integrated (not separated) into a soil ecosystem where there is a web of diverse, interconnected relationships. Regeneration is firstly and foremost about replacing mechanistic, reductionist methods which rely on prescriptions with a holistic, living systems approach based on principles applied in context.

My Uncle tells an interesting story about farming with my Grandfather in the 1980s when scientists researching insecticide resistance in the cotton industry around Narrabri visited our family’s farm near Delungra in northern NSW every summer to collect heliothis caterpillars from sunflower crops. The heliothis on Grandpa and Uncle Paul’s sunflowers weren’t resistant to insecticides like the ones found in the cotton because there was no need to use insecticides to control them, every year the starlings would come in and eat the caterpillars. Why spray them when nature provided pest control for free?

Let it grow areas are a place where we learn from nature and gain confidence working with nature, rather than against it. A place where we observe nature’s successional processes at work in our landscape and under our management. Letting it grow connects us with natural cycles and the role of “weeds” or as I like to call them, indicator plants.

there are plenty of reasons to take a long term view and put in place strategies that will successfully reduce your reliance on nitrogen fertilisers that will also create a more resilient, regenerative and profitable farming system

Concerns about farm profitability can be a barrier for those contemplating the transition to a more resilient, regenerative farming system. This is understandable as there are plenty of challenges to navigate in agriculture beyond our control as land managers without creating more ourselves. Grow your confidence for taking the next steps by addressing these key components of a profitable transition to a regenerative system.

But we do not want those nasty weeds, they have become the enemy. We want something that is more desirable to our neighbours and our peers, and maybe more palatable to our livestock. However, if the weeds we are experiencing are low in the order of successional plants then we need to listen to what they are telling us about the state of the health of our soil. We cannot merely insert seeds of plants that are designed to grow in a soil of Ferrari style performance when our soil is actually functioning at the speed of a Model T Ford, and expect amazing performance.

We clearly acknowledge the role that the amount and timing of rainfall plays in the profitability of our business as farmers. We always know how much rain has fallen into our rain gauge. Yet how many of us know how effectively we make use of the rain that falls on our landscape?

Lack of good airflow and gas diffusion is likely to be your number one limit to health, wealth and production.

Is your soil alive? Or barely breathing

Cover crops can be a powerful tool to regenerate soils, reboot water cycles and introduce diversity, however they are not always the answer for every situation. It is more than likely that your perfect cover crop does not exist with every season. It is wise to consider a crops benefits, the potential problems and whether cover cropping fits with your goals. Good intentions and taking action in planting multi-species cover crops does not necessarily guarantee a beneficial or regenerative outcome. In less than ideal circumstances, and with poor management, the practice can lead to degrading soil health rather than the sought after improvements.

I frequently hear stories of bio-stimulants being applied with a conventional fertiliser mentality, with trials done in strips to see if there is a visible difference after applying them. Before you write off the bio-stimulant application as not working when a visible fertiliser type response is not obvious, remind yourself to focus on the purpose of the product you are applying.

The rain has finally come! And the grass (and most likely weeds aplenty) start to grow. The air is suddenly full of hope that the struggles of the past months, or perhaps years of either no, or minimal rainfall are going to become nothing more than a bad memory.

But are the struggles really over? Or perhaps just beginning?

The value in planting trees is often not easy for producers to grasp. It is common to see massive amounts of money and effort expended in tree planting programmes that often fail to either establish or persist. So what could change this?

First we need to realise that the environment in which we are planting the trees is frequently an alien environment for the health and wellbeing of them!

What if there was a simple practice that when implemented regularly would provide opportunities for informed decisions, reduced risks, increased profit, improved confidence and act as an early warning system for unintended consequences arising in your land management system? Monitoring your soil health on a regular basis will provide all of these benefits and yet many land managers struggle to make it a priority to commit to regularly monitoring their soil health.

Here are just a few incentives to encourage you to schedule some time in your calendar every year to monitor your soil health

Well it’s true that sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. We have recently found ourselves with an 8 metre long pile of wood chip mulch on hand and ready to be put to good use in soil restoration. There is another perspective to our wood chip windfall though.

If your business is making a financial profit but your soil health and ecosystem functions are declining you are extracting (mining). If you are making a financial profit at the expense of human wellbeing you are exploiting. If you are tolerating an agricultural business that is not making a financial profit because it is a “lifestyle” you are eroding the financial capital in your business assets to survive and this cannot be claimed to be regenerative.