Young farmer Jake Chandler has always had a deep connection with all things agricultural, and has experienced the landscape from many perspectives. The son of an Ag teacher, he worked as a jackaroo in the Northern Territory before studying environmental science at university then moved into a corporate career in the mining industry. After falling in love with and marrying Gemma Wilkinson from Young, he left the mining industry to return to the Wilkinson's family farm. Adjusting to the...

The road to regeneration with NSW farm manager and Sober in the Country Bush Tribe Member Matt Tonkin looks at how important it is for farmers to be profitable, not only in the financial sense but also from personal and landscape perspectives. When Matt's life on the land hit rock bottom he realised he needed to make big changes. Instead of a farming system that relied on chemicals and synthetic inputs he chose to start thinking about one that promoted life, took a more natural approach and...

Join our host Dan Fox in Part 2 of an indepth conversation with Phil Peterson about rebuilding soil carbon on farms. Dan has talked numerous times with Phil in the paddock, and wanted to capture some of these conversations in a podcast. He spoke to him earlier in the year but still had so many questions that he has recorded a follow up. If you haven’t listened to Part 1, we suggest you go back to Episode 6 of Farmers Helping Farmers first.  In Part 2 Phil discusses the importance of sap...

The worms at NutriSoil are treated like royalty, because they are the key to sustainability, healthy soils, plant, human and planet health. Nakala Maddock is the chief executive officer of the Baranduda-based business and is helping Nutrisoil take worm farming to all new heights. Nakala, also the host of the Biological Farming Roundtable Podcast, stepped out from behind the hosting microphone for this interview with Dan Fox during VicNoTill's annual conference in July 2023. A farm chemical...

Our host Dan Fox catches up with Col Bowey from CB Farming Systems, who was one of the guest speakers at VicNoTill's 2023 conference. Col also led a soil pit discussion and spent the week visiting NSW farms. Col says success in farming always comes down to having a good ‘farming system’ in place. In 2008 he founded CB Farming Systems and dedicated himself to learning as much as he could from soil scientists and other farmers. He helps farmers build systems that understand healthy soils are...

UK arable farmer of the year and Green Farm Collective founding member Tim Parton spent a week in Australia as part of VicNoTill's annual conference TRAN$ITION23. As well as inspiring over 100 farmers in the conference room, Tim hung out in soil pits and dug into soils with a shovel to gain a deeper understanding of regenerative farming systems in the Australian context. Dan Fox sat down in the podcast studio with Tim to discover what new ideas his visit had sparked. VicNoTill was also keen...

In this episode of Farmers Helping Farmers our host Dan Fox catches up with vice president Tom Briggs. As a third generation farmer in Victoria, Australia, Tom was never a big fan of school; especially the reading and research assignments that were required. But since discovering the practice of regenerative agriculture there isn’t enough reading, research reports and information available to consume. Tom has been known to say on many occasions, “I eat, sleep, breathe this stuff and consume...

In this episode of Farmers Helping Farmers our host Dan Fox catches up with Phil Peterson who is passionate about rebuilding soil carbon on farms. In the many conversations Dan has had with Phil in the paddock, this passion has come through clearly, and Dan thought it was about time he captured some of these conversations in a podcast episode. Phil has been at the grassroots of agriculture for many years, asking questions about the environment and how farmers can improve both the yield and...

In 2016 a VicNoTill story with Ardmona irrigation farmer Fraser Pogue’s began with: ‘The pages in books might be black and white but farming certainly isn’t.’ The analogy drew on Fraser’s ever-increasing book collection on soil biology and his pursuit of a new way of farming that was outside the norm, and definitely not black and white. Fraser and his wife Leanne are always looking outside the square and among the innovations they are pursuing are organic farming and value-adding under the...

One of the world’s most respected leaders in soil health, carbon sequestration and regenerative agriculture Dr Terry McCosker struggled terribly in primary and high school, before discovering he 'learnt by doing'. Since then he has never stopped learning or doing, and is one of the masterminds behind farmers getting paid for improved land management practices and building their soil carbon. After 20 years of lobbying for monetising soil carbon increases, Terry’s focus has now turned to...

Over the past decade, Field Systems Australia founder Michael Eyres and Soil Science Australia vice president Edward Scott have stood in around 7000 soil pits around the world. They focus on soil performance in managed agricultural landscapes, and help farmers identify the most limiting factors affecting production. From that starting point they generate soil management strategies that result in profitable outcomes. In this episode they cover precision agriculture, building carbon in...

Internationally renowned nutritionist and farmer Graeme Sait is a wealth of information.  After a tragic family accident, he has dedicated the past 28 years of his life to sharing all that he knows and all that he has learnt about improving plant and human health. VicNoTill is honoured to sit down with Graeme in this episode where he encourages farmers to take small steps towards change and they will reap the rewards, both financially and personally. You can find out more about Graeme on...

When sixth generation farmer Grant Sims reintroduced stock into his no-till cropping system, he discovered a whole new world living underneath his soils. Grant’s excitement and passion for a new approach to how farmers feed the world is contagious, as podcast host Dan Fox discovers in the very first episode of Farmers Helping Farmers - soil health, soil function and grassroots agriculture. Sixth generation mixed farmer Grant Sims is also the founder of DownUnder Covers. You can find out more...