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.

Links and resources:

• Find out more about the trial and Align Farms here: https://alignfarms.co.nz/
• Lincoln University study, Regenerative Farming Enhances Human Health Benefits of Milk and Yoghurt in New Zealand Dairy Systems, 2025, https://www.mdpi.com/2624-862X/6/4/39

If you have feedback, questions, or suggestions for future episodes or guests, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out on social media or at [email protected].

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.

Links and resources:

• ​Soils for Life Cropping Practice Guides
• ​Joel Williams’ Foliar Nitrogen Course
• ​GRDC Resources page

If you have feedback, questions, or suggestions for future episodes or guests, we'd love to hear from you - reach out on social media or at [email protected].

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.

Further reading:

• ​Ecydsis Foundation
• ​1,000 Farms Initiative
• ​Periodic Table of Food Initiative
• ​Project Avalanche
• ​Wilmot Field Day

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.

Links and resources:

• EcoVineyards Program
• Retallack Ecology
• Soils for Life Orchard Resilience Project
• John Kempf’s Plant Health Pyramid

If you have feedback, questions, or suggestions for future episodes or guests, we'd love to hear from you - reach out on social media or at [email protected].

Matthew Evans is a chef, farmer, author, food advocate and founder of Australia's Grounded Festival (coming up in April - tickets available at groundedaustralia.com.au).

Soils for Life is kicking off a new national program working with dairy farmers around the country (join our launch event in March, details via https://events.humanitix.com/dairy-profitability-and-resilience-through-diversity-and-soil-health), 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.

You’ll hear about:

• The biology of milk, and how evolution has designed milk to be the perfect food source for nourishing and protecting the young

• The history of humans drinking milk from other animals, and why it became so central to many cultures

• Health benefits of milk, from complex proteins to compounds that support immunity and brain health

• How plant diversity and soil health influence milk quality, including omega-3 / omega-6 ratios

• Comparing dairy versus milk alternatives

Links and resources:

• Grounded Festival 2026 described by Matthew

• Matthew’s book 'Milk The truth, the lies and the unbelievable story of the original superfood'

• The study on Regenerative farming enhances human health benefits of milk and yoghurt in New Zealand dairy systems, mentioned by Matthew

• Find our more about the Soils for Life Dairy Resilience Project

Today, we’re bringing you something a little different. I’ve recently been involved in a new podcast series called 'Soil: Rewilding the Underground'. It does a fantastic job of telling the big picture story of soil, why it’s so important not just for farmers and food production, but also for water, for biodiversity, for climate stability, and for human health.

Today we’re giving you a sneak peek of the first episode, and we encourage you to check out the full six part series wherever you get your podcasts. It features an amazing array of speakers, including farmers, soil scientists, biologists, geologists, First Nations land managers, journalists, chefs and more.

If you want to listen to the rest of this episode, and the full six part series, search for Soil: Rewilding the Underground wherever you get your podcasts or head to www.thesoilpodcast.com/podcast.

We will be back soon with our next regular episode of the Soils for Life podcast. Thanks for listening!

Outro

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.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Paper mentioned by Dr Susan Orgill: "Placing cropping systems under suboptimal phosphorus conditions promotes plant nutrient acquisition and microbial carbon supply without compromising biomass"
• Frank Ashwood photography from Soils for Life case study farms
• Aviva Reed visual ecologist - avivareed.com

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

Resources

• Practice Guide: Building plant resilience to pests and diseases https://soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-building-plant-resilience-to-pest-and-disease/
• Explore more cropping practice guides and farmer stories at soilsforlife.org.au
• Brad mentioned a course by Neil Kinsey: https://kinseyag.com/ 

• Brad also mentioned a course by Arden Anderson: https://soillearningcenter.com/product/sustainable-agriculture-course/ 

This short episode of the Soils for Life Podcast was hosted by Eli Court and produced by Chris Wieffering.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and share it, and subscribe to hear more stories from Australian farmers building soil and landscape resilience.

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

Resources & links

• Read the full Practice Guide on Multispecies Cover Cropping: https://soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-multispecies-cropping/ 

• Down Under Covers: https://www.downundercovers.com/ 

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate & review it on your podcast app and share it with others. Email us with feedback or suggestions for future episodes at [email protected] and subscribe to the Soils for Life newsletter to find out the latest.

We recently attended Grounded in WA, and heard ecologist Dr David Watson's fascinating talk on the important role that mistletoe can play in farm ecosystem. It made us think of one of our favourite podcast episodes - this one. It's a dive into the role that so-called weeds can play in ecosystems. Well worth another run! Enjoy.

A little about this episode:

The industrialisation of agriculture has created large paddocks of monoculture crops and increased the chemical burden on farmers and their environments. Global herbicide use has continued to increase as farmers have shifted to no till practices and adopted herbicide-tolerant crop cultivars over the last 30 years. One result of this is that the list of herbicide resistant weeds is growing. 

Some farmers spend huge amounts of money on herbicide and scarce time removing weeds; Meanwhile, exactly how much damage is being done to native plant species and soils is not yet fully known. Either way, the current model is not sustainable

In this episode we are exploring a paradigm shift to an ecological systems approach to weeds with Soils for Life agroecologist Sarah Fea. We visit four farmers to understand their changing relationship to plants. Including a grazier, seed producer, a farmer who has enlisted the help of goats and another who has developed no kill cropping. 

We take a fresh look at weeds and how we can benefit from seeing them through a different lens. We hear how specific weeds germinate to heal damaged soils, showing us what the soil needs and how we can help them heal it.