In the first episode Charlie delves into his very own regenerative journey and provides listeners with an insight into his early farming years, the defining moments that finally propelled him to a new way of thinking and some of the key milestones that Charlie has reached on the way.

Episode Takeaways

We were not running the farm with an entire view of the business or the impact we were having on the environment. The farm was a basket of resources that we could use…there was water, there was grass, there was soil, air, there was sunshine...and we essentially mined it…We were farming as we always had, we were doing as our neighbours did and we were farming in a way that we thought was appropriate | I had a cheque book in one hand and my 'how to' agronomic hand book in the other. We went pretty hard, burnt a lot diesel...Really every morning I was waking up and I was killing stuff. That was what one did. If one was farming one was unwittingly battling nature | I needed to bust paradigms.. I needed to change the paddock between my ears so that I could actually do things differently on the ground…I needed to change my attitude and to do that I was needing to ask myself better questions | Starting to use Biodynamics...That alone gave me some structure. It really resonated with me. It helped me understand my new relationship with nature and the context of that in farming, in business and in our lives | In farming, the practices and principals of farming are so entwined with oneself, ones personality ones purpose. If we are doing things in a way that is effective and productive and purposeful then we are also building ourselves and defining and refining who we are in this world, not just in the agricultural space, and in the world of being a person, our role in mankind in humanity.

Links

Profiting from drought - 1 day Course run by RCS ( Resource Consulting Services)

RCS – Grazing for Profit

Holistic Management - Land to Market Australia is a program run by the Australian Holistic Management Cooperative Limited. Uniquely, this project is being driven by producers and farmers themselves.

Biodynamics – what is Biodynamics

Biodynamics workshops - new website w/ info on workshops launching soon!

In this episode Charlie interviews American farmer and leading regenerative agriculture advocate Joel Salatin. Joel recounts his Regenerative Journey from his formative years as the son of a chicken farming accountant in Venezuela through the rehabilitation of his family farm in Swoope, Virginia, to the prolific supplier of fresh food to his customers and legendary public speaker. He talks about the importance of communication, authenticity and also about how highly he regards Australia within the regenerative agriculture space.

Episode Takeaways

We moved forward in faith not in fear | If you stop fighting nature, and you see nature as a partner. Hand in hand going in the same direction, it costs a lot less financially and ecologically | Communication is typically not taught in 'Farming 101' | Farmers have to be experts in lots of things. There is a lot of talent within the farming community but a lot of time this isn’t leveraged. There are many number of things that farmers can do. It is a tragedy, a societal indictment, that we have created this mystic of the peasant farmer | My sense is that Australia is a very fragile landscape but it's also a very wealthy country. As such the world's eyes are on Australia to wear the responsibility seriously and continue to lead the world in regenerative practices.

Links

Polyface Farm - Joel’s farm

Joel Salatin Nutrisoil ‘Sustainable abundance’ conference – 21/22nd May 2019, Victoria, AUS

‘Polyfaces’ documentary (2015) – filmed over 4 years by Darren Docherty and Lisa Heenan.

The Top Five Regrets of the Dying - A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing – Bronrie Ware

Sex begins in the kitchen – Kevin Leman

Albert Einstein - Einstein said definition of insanity ‘doing the same thing and hoping for a different result'.

Steven Covey – Circles of influence

BEEP (Boorowa Education Excursion Program) - Boorowa Community Landcare Group

See you at the top – Zig Ziglar

Alan Savoury – Zim ecologist (Alan Savory Institute)

The lean farm – Ben Hartman