Stay tuned... this series of Ground Cover is not quite over yet. We'll be taking a short break for a couple of weeks, then we'll be back with a big announcement that you won't want to miss.

In the meantime, join the conversation on social media via our facebook page, and you can join our email list by emailing raa@scu.edu.au

Stay tuned... this series of Ground Cover is not quite over yet.

Welcome to Ground Cover. A podcast created for farmers, by farmers. Ground Cover is a uniquely Australian podcast series exploring real life stories of land managers who have undertaken the transition from conventional farming to regenerative agriculture.

In this series, we share unique and honest conversations about the challenges and opportunities of regenerative agriculture, so you can make informed decisions about how to best manage your land.

Proudly brought to you by The Regenerative Agriculture Alliance and Southern Cross University.

Natural Sciences

Science & Medicine

Science

Earth Sciences

Nature

Professor Kirsten Benkendorff is the Director of Southern Cross University’s National Marine Science Centre and the Deputy Director of the Marine Ecology Research Centre. Her research looks at the impacts of ocean climate change and environmental contaminants on the immune health and nutritional quality of seafood species. She is also investigating the use of marine molluscs for human medicine. Professor Benkendorff has published more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and also teaches into the Bachelor of Environmental Science, and Marine Science and Management programs at Southern Cross University.  As a lead researcher for one of the projects in the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance’s Soil Extension Program, funded by the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, Kirsten spent three years looking at the effectiveness of bioreactors in managing pesticide run-off in intensive horticulture. She was also able to set up a second project which compared the soil health in conventional and regenerative blueberry farms. In this episode you'll hear:How can farmers better manage pesticides on their property.Practical steps and advice.Understand the impact pesticides can have outside their property boundaries i.e. on waterways and on seafood. Know where to seek more information about your obligations. 
Find more resources on the Farming Together website: https://farmingtogether.com.au/

Protecting our waterways and health from pesticides with Prof. Kirsten BenkendorffProfessor Kirsten Benkendorff is the Director of Southern Cross University’s National Marine Science Centre and the De

Today, on Ground Cover, Kerry is joined by Lorraine Gordon, a beef cattle trader from Ebor who is also Director of Strategic Projects at Southern Cross University, founder of the National Regenerative Agriculture Alliance based out of Southern Cross University and currently working on her PHD in Regen Ag.

In this conversation we explore what drives in this incredible woman to take on so many challenging projects and we announce a world first University degree in the Regenerative Agriculture space. Enquiries about the Bachelor of Science in Regenerative Agriculture should be sent to https://www.scu.edu.au/study-at-scu/help-and-contact/domestic-enquiry/

More about Lorraine Gordon:

Lorraine is the founder of the National Regenerative Agriculture Alliance based out of Southern Cross University. As Director of Strategic Projects at Southern Cross University and Associate Director of the University's Centre for Organic Research, Lorraine acts as a conduit between industry and research, delivering sustainable and regenerative agriculture solutions nationally.

She has assisted over 28,500 farmers, fishers and foresters around the country to progress collaborative projects and establish Cooperatives which will benefit their various industries as Director of the Commonwealth Government's Farming Together Program. Last year Lorraine was awarded the 2018 Rural Community Leader of the Year for Australia and was a 2019 nominee and finalist for Australian of the Year for her work with farmers. The Farming Together Program was an award winner at the 2019 Australian Financial Review Awards and 2019 BHERT Higher Education Engagement Awards.

Lorraine is a beef cattle trader at Ebor in the New England Tablelands of NSW turning off up to 1000 steers per annum and Director of Moffat Falls Pty Ltd and Yaraandoo which operates a number of successful tourism, agricultural, and health businesses in both the New England and North Coast Regions of NSW.

Previous positions have included CEO of Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast, Regional Agribusiness Manager with Westpac Bank, Director of the Graduate Network of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation, and Executive Director of Economic Security for Women. Lorraine has also presided on the Small Business Review Panel of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

A Graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program and previous NSW ABC Rural Woman of the Year Lorraine is currently completing her PhD in Ecological Economics through UNE.

Leading a movement with Lorraine Gordon

Kerry talks with Helen and Mike McCosker about the important of regenerating not only soil, but also communities.

The McCosker family run Angus on a 3000 acre mixed farming enterprise at Wallangra, north of Inverell. Helen is a CPA with senior management experience working in the large corporate space. A passion for the arts and music. Mike is a fourth generation farmer with extensive experience in carbon farming and teaching farmers about soil health and regenerative agriculture. He was one of the founding member of the first Landcare group in Australia established in 1982. 

Together Helen and Mike, along with Kelly Jones, founded Carbon8: a farmer-led initiative that is responding to the current impact of droughts, floods and desertification by supporting our farmers to increase the carbon in their soil and help them transition to regenerative agriculture.  

In this episode of Ground Cover we explore:

 •How a chemical poisoning event was a catalyst for transformation
 •The importance of bringing communities together in times of hardship
 •Building a whole systems approach in both our landscapes, and in our towns
 •The power of art and music to regenerate community

Regenerating soils and communities with Helen and Mike McCosker

Today on Ground Cover, our host Kerry Cochrane, explores the five landscape functions and how they play out on Tim Wright's property.

Tim is a livestock producer, and holistic management farmer, from Armidale on the Northern Tablelands of NSW. The Wrights are a pioneering family of the New England, Tim bucked the traditional farming approach of his ancestors to go where many were not brave enough to go. A holistic farmer in the true sense, who questioned traditional practices, and ventured into regenerating landscapes with gusto. 

Declining terms of trade were a catalyst for change. And Tim turned to Stan Parsons and Allan Savory's methods for inspiration.

In this episode we explore:

 •breaking down the five landscape functions into practice
 •ethics and ecology as a marketing tool
 •the importance of the social aspects of farming
 •the leader-follower system of grazing
 •and the role livestock play in healthy landscape function

More about Tim Wright:

In the 1990s Australian agriculture was marked by excessively high production costs and falling profits. Tim realised they needed to find a better way to manage their farm. Guided by their own principles for 'Working with Nature', they were motivated to fully adopt and Holistic Management approach for the operations of their property 'Lana', via Uralla in NSW. Lana is a 3,400 hectare property, across eight farmlets of mostly native pastures - under apple box, stringy bark and red gum. Lana's system of numerous internal fences and watering points is designed to allow stock to graze intently for two to four days, before being moved on.

Tim introduced the principles and practices of holistic management, including establishing small paddocks, rotational grazing of their sheep and cattle, and a leader-follow system of grazing, with sheep following cattle. Soil organic matter content and fertility have improved, leading to increases in pasture availability and quality, and improving production even in time of reduced rainfall.

Stay tuned... this series of Ground Cover is not quite over yet.

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