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

Charlie chats with Sara Schmude, who's 15 year relationship with the Landcare movement played a pivital role in inspiring her interest in regenerative farming & the educating of children and adults alike. She launched the 'Regenerative Agriculture Group' facebook page in late 2018 and now boasts a global membership. Sara talks natural capital, and the definition of regenerative agriculture before delving deeper into the catalysts and kick starts that made up her regenerative journey.

Episode Takeaways

Growing up on the land in the 70’s & 80’s being a female. Not recognised as someone who would be a land manager. Took it for granted that she wasn't going to be on the land. Continued to ask questions - mustering became my second name | The calibre of people who are in this space is exceptional. Have got to a point in their life that they want to change. Their approach is really refreshing | A tribute to the boom in my garden is the Biodynamic compost. I feel connected with my garden. It feeds me every day, nurtures my soul. It’s integral | Good general advice-Manage for what you want. Not for what you don't want | I just think it's a boom time for agriculture | Working with nature. You start to find these rhythms , things start to function, mineral and water cycles. Really important. When we talk about adapting to our climate, we have to adapt these systems, we have to adapt our minds | If you raise your soil carbon content by 1% you are drawing down 122 tonne per Ha of CO2 into your soils. So that has the potential to generate 122 ACCU per hectare | The government would be very wise to get as many people on board the carbon sequestration train, through education and empowering them to leverage their natural capital by drawing down the carbon in the soil | Regen ag is just open. It’s inclusive and easy to access.

Links

Regenerative Agriculture - facebook page

Impact Ag - Sara’s natural capital interest

Introduction to Biodynamics Workshop - Biodynamics2024 & Charlie

Thalgarrah education centre, Armidale NSW

Frog Dreaming

Inside Out Management - Brian Whelberg

Hand For the Land - Graeme Hand

Soil C Quest - Guy Webb

KLR Marketing - Graham Rees

Regenerative Agriculture book - Richard Perkins

A Sand County Almanac - Aldo Leopold

The Rodale Book of Composting - Rodale Institute

Amazing Carbon - Dr. Christine Jones

Maia Grazing Day and Grazing Systems

Biocast - Vermicast bio stimulant product

Regen Ag definition

Call of the Reed Warbler - Charles Massy

Rachel Ward documentary ( being filmed)

Grazing for Profit - RCS

Regenerative Agriculture Podcast - John Kempf

99% invisible podcast - Roman Mars

In this episode Charlie chats to the American grazier & educator Jim Gerrish. Jim takes us on his regenerative journey and recalls the moment, when he realised that the aroma of freshly turned/ ploughed ground he had always liked growing up was in fact the smell of the earth dying...this proved to be the turning point in his life. Jim's journey is a captivating one which touches on human health & diet, food definitions, changing farm practices and a whole lot more.

To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey podcast facebook group.

Episode Takeaways

We don’t need feedlots. We just need people who have grazing management skills to take a pasture and turn it into delightful beef | In research we don’t call it a cow pie/cow pat, it’s a SEE...a Single Excretory Event! | We don’t need new knowledge, we need to be applying what we already know | The whole idea that beef cattle are destroying the environment is only tied to feedlot phase of it | The methane thing is a real red herring with grazing cattle, feedlots it’s a problem. It's the production model not the ruminant animals that are the problem | Grass feeds the grass, grass feeds the soil, then grass can feed the livestock| Human health is instrincically linked to soil health.

Links

Jim Gerrish - American Grazing Lands LLC

Maia Grazing - Grazing management tool

Dr. James Anderson - Scottish agriculturist in 1700’s

Diana Rodgers - Sustainable Dish

Sacred Cow - Film project led by Diana Rodgers

In this episode Charlie chats to Lorraine Gordon. Lorraine takes us back to her early twenty's when she first stepped onto the land, and her formidable journey from this point on. We cover off on some of her most important career milestones including her recent project the launch of the world's first Regenerative Agricultural degree course at SCU. We talk Australia's positioning on the world stage and also the regen. ag definition debate.

To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.

Episode Takeaways:

The power of collaborating and working together. Farmers are always going to be stronger when they pull resources and work together | RCS and Terry McCosker have done more for farming and grazing in this country than anyone else that I know | Regenerative Ag. is a whole way of thinking, it’s holistic thinking, it's questioning and it's a different journey for everybody who takes it. It’s not a prescriptive journey | Nobody owns the term regenerative, regenerate or regen. It’s not something you can own | There is no point giving money to farmers for a hay shed, if there’s no hay to put in the shed! | We’ve had drought, horrendously hot fires, now floods… and now we’re just waiting for the locust plague! |Our soils are the oldest soils in the world...we shouldn't farm the way Europe farms. We need to farm the Australian way | The world is watching us. The world watched Australia burn | As a consumer, don't sit there and say that I will become a vegan / vegetarian because livestock production is bad...that is coming from a point of ignorance because not all livestock production is bad | Farmers are the ultimate in action research!

Links :

Lorraine Gordon - 2020 NSW Australian of the Year nominee

Ebor Beef Inc - Lorraine is the co-founder

Regenerative Agriculture Alliance - Lorraine is the founder

Yaraando Eco Lodge - Lorraine is the director

Moffart Falls Pty Ltd - Lorraine is the director

Regenerative Agriculture Course - Southern Cross University / Lorraine is the Strategic director of projects at SCU

Wayne Upton - cattle stalwart

RCS - Resource Consultancy Services / Founder Terry McCosker

Farming Together - pilot program for farming resources run by Southern Cross University 2016 - 2018

National Marine Science Centre - SCU

Maia Grazing - Online grazing management software

This is the first of a two part interview with David Marsh, a stalwart of the Australian regenerative movement and good friend of Charlie's. In what is an enlightening and philosophical dialogue David takes us on his regenerative journey and steps us through the course of events that triggered David's change in approach. In Part 1 we learn about how Landcare Australia came to be and David provides a valuable insight into Australian agriculture over the last 50 years.

To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.

Episode Takeaways :

What was growing in the paddocks early 1970? I didn't know...compared to now, when I am absolutely obsessed with it | It was the time of showing that we had mastery over nature...a lot to do with subsidies given after the war...there was a Super Phosphate bounty...you were paid to put Super out | The mantra out West was sell and repent but sell | In Boorowa the mantra was hang on and hope you get lucky | We noticed trees dying. Mary and I went out and did some counts in a few paddocks where there were quite a few trees. We calculated that at the rate they were dying that in 70 years there wouldn't be many alive. That was the embryo and the awakening of an ecological conscience | We had no idea what we were doing to be honest and thought we were forming a group because there were a lot of trees dying in Boorowa…but the trees were actually an indication of a whole lot of other things that were going on...we were ecologically blind | Corona 19 has made people reconsider how they have been living and how dependent they are on so many things that are high energy products | I used to see myself as an agent responsible for healing the land...there is nothing wrong with this but now I see myself as someone who is observing the landscape that is healing itself.

Episode #8 Links

The Cattle Crash - 1974

Ian Armstrong - Rural Action Movement

1982 drought NSW

Joan Kirner - Conservation Minister ( 1985 - 88 ) instrumental in formation of first Landcare Groups.

Andrew Campbell - Formerly manager of the Potter Farm Plan initiative, first Landcare Coordinator and now CEO of the ACIAR ( Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research)

ACF - Australian Conservation Foundation

NFF - National Farmers Federation

Bob Hawke - Landcare involvement

Boorowa Community Landcare Group - History

Bertigan ( QLD) Catchment Landcare Group / Gympie Landcare - History

An Agricultural Testament - Author Arthur Howard

A Silent Spring - Author Rachel Carsons