Dr Mary Cole has spent more than 40 years working with the microbial life that underpins healthy soil. In this episode, she shares what she's learned from a career in plant pathology and soil microbiology, and from farming using compost products, aeration and no synthetic inputs on her own property in Gippsland Victoria.

Mary explains how simple practices like aeration, compost, and soil and plant observation can make a big difference to soil function. She talks through what happens when we disturb soil biology, how to get started on improving microbial life, and why she believes we should all be working with, not against, the life beneath our feet.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

• What mycorrhizal fungi actually do, and why they matter

• How biology-first farming reduces the need for inputs

• Monitoring tips for farmers who want to learn more about what’s going on underground

• Why Mary suggests starting with your worst paddock, not their best
• Reflections on 50 years of biological farming, and what she wishes more people knew

Links and resources:

• AgPath (Mary’s consulting and training organisation)

• Our video on brewing biofertiliser: Watch now

• Our podcast episode on compost: Listen

• Other episodes on soil biology: Planting with purpose, Diversity is king

Australia has often been described as a land of droughts and flooding rains. But what we don’t often hear is that, for millennia, the land had a remarkable ability to regulate itself — through healthy ecology and the natural water cycle.

Since European settlement, however, we've seen a steady decline in soil health and water-holding capacity across much of the country. The rivers don’t flow like they used to, and the land struggles to bounce back from the extremes of flood and drought. The solution is to help restore nature's ecological systems of water and nutrient cycling.

In this episode, we hear from two farmers who are restoring these natural water regulating systems, rehydrating their landscapes — transforming degraded paddocks into thriving ecosystems. They’ve embraced techniques that slow, spread, and sink water back into the ground — reviving their soils, crops, and communities.

And they’re not alone.

Across Australia, groups of farmers are coming together to restore entire catchments. Programs like the Mulloon Rehydration Initiative are proving that when we work with nature — not against it — we can regenerate not just one farm, but the broader ecosystems they’re part of.

This podcast was produced by the Grow Love Project in collaboration with Soils for Life. The Communities of Practice Project is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, Mulloon Institute and Soils for Life.

Sign up to the Soils for Life newsletter - soilsforlife.org.au/the-newsletter/ 

Get in touch - [email protected] 

Mentioned in this episode:

• Mulloon Rehydration Initiative - mullooninstitute.org/projects/mulloon-rehydration-initiative/ 

• Danthonia Bruderhof Community -  bruderhof.com/danthonia 

• Mulloon Institute - mullooninstitute.org/

• Laura Norman, US Geological Survey - www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/laura-m-norman 

• Mulloon Institute Community of Practice Project - mullooninstitute.org/learning-events/communities-of-practice/ 

• Soils for Life case study on Danthonia Bruderhof and Community of Practice project - soilsforlife.org.au/landscape-rehydration/ 

Thanks for listening!

Mick Gooden runs Old Man Creek Bull Farm near Wagga Wagga in NSW and is President of farmer group Vic No Till.

In this episode, Eli and Mick chat about the value of having a supportive group of peers around you, the links between soil health and human health, the importance of pulling up and taking the time for observation and reflection, transitioning cropping systems profitably, leveraging the power of working with nature, and how to communicate the opportunity in agriculture as a solution to many of our biggest challenges. And we discover how a NSW cattleman ended up President of a Victorian cropping group.

Sign up to the Soils for Life newsletter - soilsforlife.org.au/the-newsletter/

Get in touch - [email protected]

Find out more about Mick and Vic No Till:

• Soils for Life Willowlee case study - soilsforlife.org.au/willowlee
• Soils for Life 8 Families Case study - soilsforlife.org.au/the-8-families-group
• Vic No Till - vicnotill.com.au

Other Soils for Life resources mentioned in this episode:

• Integrating livestock guide - coming soon...
• All practice guides - soilsforlife.org.au/cropping-resilience/#resources

Also mentioned

• Brian Wehlburg, Holistic Management educator - insideoutsidemgt.com.au
• Stacey Curcio, Nutritionist - cultivatingwellness.com.au
• Alejandro Carillo, Mexican rancher - instagram.com/p/DLGMlCnRFcg
• John Kempf podcast - advancingecoag.com/podcasts
• Groundswell UK - groundswellag.com
• Drawdown, by Paul Hawken - drawdown.org/the-book

Thanks for listening!

Phil Lavers is passionate about good food. He runs Moonacres, a 140 acre fruit and vegetable farm in the NSW Southern Highlands, and sells his award-winning certified organic produce direct to some of Sydney’s best restaurants.

Phil is not a guy to beat around the bush. He sees big problems with typical practices in fruit and vegetable farming and the impacts those practices have on the soil, the environment and our health. A relentless experimenter, Phil is determined to find ways to do things better.

In this episode we talk about weaning off the rotary hoe, managing weeds, keeping bare soil to an absolute minimum with annual vegetable crops, how to grow the best tasting silverbeet, valuing good food, being a ‘sugar daddy’ for soil microbes, cover cropping and stealing the microbiome from cover crops to grow cash crops.

Head to soilsforlife.org.au to find out more about our work. 

If you’re finding value in the Soils for Life podcast, please consider donating to help us continue sharing stories and knowledge from farmers. As a non-profit organisation, we rely on support from generous donors, so please consider making a donation via soilsforlife.org.au/donate. Of course, we understand that not everyone has the means to support us financially - you can also help by rating and reviewing us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

If you have feedback, or suggestions of people or topics we should cover, you can reach us at [email protected], we love hearing from you. Thanks for listening.

Links and resources

About Phil and Moonacres

• Moonacres website - Moonacres Kitchen - for more information about whole of operation, farm tours, training opportunities and markets where you can find their produce.

• Moonacres - Heart and Soil Episode #1  youtube channel link

• Organically certified - can’t see by whom he is certified 

Other references from the episode:

• https://www.facebook.com/RailwayStMarketMossVale/ 

• Roller Crimper Roller Crimper Blueprints - Rodale Institute

• Austrian weeding plough

• Southern Highlands on the Grow Inc GROW – Southern Highlands 

Further learning:
To gain some deeper understanding about multispecies crops Phil is using in his soil health building rotations refer to our Soils for Life Multispecies practice guide Practice Guide: Multispecies Cropping - Soils For Life

With record dry conditions across eastern Australia and many of you facing difficult decisions, we wanted to have a chat with Braidwood farmer Martin Royds to share his thoughts and experiences with making decisions in the dry, and coping with the emotional toll of seeing the landscape go backwards.

Read more about Martin Royds’ approach to building landscape resilience - https://soilsforlife.org.au/observing-resilience-at-jillamatong/ 

Martin speaks in the episode about his approach to managing grazing livestock during drought, which is informed by Holistic Management techniques. You can learn more about Holistic Management via:

• Workshops and other events run by the Australian Holistic Management Cooperative - https://holisticmanagement.au/events.php 

• The Savory Institute - https://savory.global/holistic-management/

• Online courses run by The Savory Institute - ​​https://savory.shop/en-au/collections/online-courses 

Other links and resources that may be useful include:

• Resource Consulting Services (RC) events and courses - https://www.rcsaustralia.com.au/ 

• Inside Outside Management, Brian Wehlburg, Holistic Management educator - https://www.facebook.com/insideoutsidemanagement/ 

• Decision Design Hub, Helen Lewis, Holistic Management educator - https://decisiondesignhub.com.au/

• AIMS (Agricultural Information & Monitoring Services), Dr Judy Earl - https://aimsag.com.au/

• Southern Blue Regenerative, Glen Chapman, Holistic Management educator - https://www.southernblue.com.au/ 

If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out. Rural Aid support line (1300 175 594), Lifeline (13 11 14), and Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) offer free, confidential support. The National Centre for Farmer Health also provides a wide range of resources - https://farmerhealth.org.au/support-hub#mental-health-support-farmers.

Get in touch with us a [email protected].

* Note, in this episode when Martin refers to the “1983 drought” he was referring to the drought that ended in 1983.

Can dairy systems support soil health, productivity and profitability at the same time?

In this episode we meet four dairy farmers who are exploring that question. Kate Mirams, Simon Schulz, Sandra Jefford and Chris Eggert share their experiences with introducing diversity into their pastures and farming systems—what motivated them, what they tried, and what they’ve learned so far.

We also hear from pasture scientist Anna Thompson with her insights from current research into multispecies pastures, including how they’re performing under real-world conditions and what that might mean for animal health, climate resilience and farm inputs.

You’ll hear about:

• The trial that gave Kate confidence to rethink her approach to nitrogen and massively reduce synthetic nitrogen applications while increasing production

• How Simon is combining pasture diversity with new tillage methods and enterprise stacking

• What Sandra is learning from sap tests, shelterbelt plantings and mixed perennial pastures

• Why Chris first turned to organics, and what he’s observed about soil and plant health since

• Anna’s research into growth, resilience and methane in multispecies swards

• What farmers are finding when they start measuring BRIX

Whether you’re already experimenting or just interested in what others are finding, this episode offers a window into paths being explored in the Australian dairy industry.

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Farmers

Simon Schulz - https://schulzorganicdairy.com.au/

Chris Eggert - https://oxhillorganics.com.au/

Sandra Jefford - https://www.wilandrafarms.com.au/ 

Soil and regenerative agriculture resources

• Kate’s presentation to the Dairy Australia Grounds for Growth Conference in March 2025 on the results of her trial

• Nicole Masters – Cited by Simon Schultz as an influential voice on soil biology. Check out her book For the Love of Soil or Integrity Soils for more resources.

• Jade Killoran from Healthy Farming Systems – Mentioned by Kate in relation to soil repair trials post-laser grading.

• Shelterbelt planning with productive and medicinal trees – Sandra’s system of mixed-species planting for shade, fodder and natural worming. Agroforestry or shelterbelt design resources:

• Agroforestry in Australia: https://www.agroforestry.org.au

• EverGraze shelterbelt info: https://www.evergraze.com.au/library-content/shelterbelt-design-and-benefits/ 

Trials and benchmarking tools

• Victorian Dairy Farm Monitor Project – Kate Mirams mentions using this to compare pasture consumption and input efficiency. 

• Soil moisture probes – Used to track root depth and water uptake under different pasture mixes.

• Sap analysis and BRIX meters – Sandra Jefford and Kate Mirams both use these to monitor plant sugars and infer animal nutrition and productivity.

This episode was hosted and produced by Susannah Kable from the Grow Love Project, in collaboration with Soils for Life. 

Head to the Soils for Life website (soilsforlife.org.au) to find out more about our work, and if you like what you hear don’t forget to rate and review our podcast. Every review helps to make our podcast easier for others to find.

If you have feedback, or suggestions of people or topics we should cover, you can reach us at [email protected], we love hearing from you. Thanks for listening.

In this episode we talk with Gabe Brown, a farmer and educator from North Dakota. Gabe and his family run Brown's Ranch, a 6, 000 acre operation that's become a model for regenerating land.

After years of tough seasons and crop failures, Gabe recognized a need to build a farming system that works with nature instead of against it.  Through no till, cover crops, diverse rotations and integrating multi species livestock, he restored soil health, boosted resilience and almost eliminated the need for synthetic inputs. Gabe advocates for ‘profit over yield’ and says that farming with nature is the way to get there.

Beyond his own farm, Gabe's helped thousands of farmers transition to regenerative practices through his work with Understanding Ag, the Soil Health Academy, and his book Dirt to Soil.  We hope you enjoy this conversation with Gabe Brown.

This episode was hosted by Eli Court and produced by the Grow Love Project. 

Head to soilsforlife.org.au to find out more about our work, and if you like what you hear don’t forget to rate and review our podcast. Every review helps to make our podcast easier for others to find.

If you have feedback, or suggestions of people or topics we should cover, you can reach us at [email protected], we love hearing from you. Thanks for listening.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Gabe’s book ‘Dirt to Soil’
• Understanding Ag
• Regenified
• The Soil Health Academy
• Research by Stefan van Vliet. Listen to our podcast episode with Dr van Vliet.

Over the years we’ve heard from many farmers about creeks and rivers that are severely eroded, and landscapes that have lost their ability to absorb and store water. In big rain events water runs off and is gone in a matter of days or even hours. We’ve become accustomed to this, but what did those landscapes look and function like 100 years ago, or 200 years ago? Can farmers restore creeks and landscapes to their full potential, holding on to water for longer and utilising better?

This episode is a collaborative effort with our friends at Mulloon Institute as part of their Communities of Practice Project. In it, we chat with Charlie Maslin, an amazing land steward raising cattle and sheep on the Monaro in New South Wales.

Charlie took us on his journey of landscape repair, which began with a change in grazing practices to improve ground cover, and then moved on to focus on repairing his degraded waterways to rehydrate the landscape and support a thriving and productive agro-ecosystem.

We first visited Charlie’s farm in 2021 and the land was alive with water, grass, frogs, birds, insects and platypuses playing in the waterways. The effects of his steady, thoughtful changes to his management approach were crystal clear, and we’re delighted to share his story in this episode. Enjoy.

–

This episode was hosted by Eli Court and produced by the Grow Love Project. The Communities of Practice Project is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, Mulloon Institute and Soils for Life.

Head to the Soils for Life website to find out more about our work, and if you like what you hear don’t forget to rate and review our podcast. Every review helps to make our podcast easier for others to find.

If you have feedback, or suggestions of people or topics we should cover, you can reach us at [email protected], we love hearing from you. Thanks for listening.

You can read our case study about Charlie Maslin’s farm soilsforlife.org.au/gunningrah-shifting-mindset-from-animals-to-the-land/

Find out more about the ‘Communities of Practice Project soilsforlife.org.au/landscape-rehydration/

Jill Clapperton is a farmer and applied rhizosphere ecologist. She grows crops with integrated livestock in Kansas in the U.S. and advises farmers the world over.  Talking with Jill was eye opening and fun. We go big talking about gaia theory and the interconnectedness of all life on Earth. But we mostly dive deep into the fascinating ecological communities that plants create above and below the ground.

As Jill explains, plants are not passive. They are purposeful masters of their own fates, wielding chemical arsenals and mustering armies of microbes to secure their survival. And if we plant with purpose, we can harness the incredible power of plants to create farming systems that are productive, resilient and great for the soil and our health.

This episode was hosted by Eli Court, and produced by Soils for Life and the GrowLove project. Head to the Soils for Life website (www.soilsforlife.org.au) to find out more about our work.

If you like what you hear, don't forget to rate and review our podcast. Every review helps to make our podcast easier for others to find. If you have feedback or suggestions of people or topics we should cover, you can reach us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you. Thanks for listening!

***

Find out more about Jill Clapperton at www.rhizoterra.com/

Check out the Grounded Festival in Cygnet Tasmania on 4-5 December 2024 - details and tickets via groundedaustralia.com.au/.

Other people mentioned in this podcast:

- Felice Jacka OAM (foodandmoodcentre.com.au/team/felice-jacka/).

- Dan Kittredge (www.bionutrientinstitute.org/meetdan).

- An article on ​​Lynn Margulis and James Lovelock, and their development of gaia theory (www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-08-06/james-lovelock-legacy-gaia-climate-science-lynn-margulis/101297574).

- Anna Krzywoszynska, the Finnish researcher at the University of Oulu whose name Jill didn’t dare try to pronounce (www.oulu.fi/en/researchers/anna-krzywoszynska).

- Grant Sims, Soils for Life case study farmer (www.downundercovers.com/about), who was recently featured in our Multispecies Cover Cropping Practice Guide (soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-multispecies-cropping/).

Taking the first steps into regenerative agriculture can be intimidating. In this episode of the Soils for Life podcast, Eli Court has a chat with Penny Goodwin from Goodies Farm in Kendenup, WA

Goodies Farm grows an incredible variety of crops, with minimal inputs, and is an integral part of the south west WA food system.

While things can look nice and shiny on the outside, Penny very generously shares the ups and downs of their journey to become better stewards of the land and the soil.

We hope you enjoy this episode!