Food for thought

Keynote Speaker Joel Williams, Integrated Soils

Joel Williams is an independent plant and soil health educator and consultant who has worked extensively in Australia, Europe and Canada where he is currently based. He has a keen interest in agroecology, plant nutrition and plant and soil microbiomes and how these may support the development of low input production systems.

Joel has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science specialising in plant and soil dynamics and an MSc in Food Policy where he explored motivations and barriers to the adoption of intercropping. Joel has a passion for teaching and sharing a combination of scientific and practical information. He speaks to farming audiences around the world and has a long and valued association with VicNoTill.

Matthew Evans, Gourmet Farmer

Matthew Evans, Tasmanian chef, farmer, food writer and broadcaster is the author of SOIL, a hymn to the remarkable and under-appreciated bit of Earth that gifts us life and the completely revised cookbook The Real Food Companion. His most recent book, MILK, unpacks the truth and lies behind the original superfood.

Stacey Curcio, Cultivating Wellness

Stacey is a naturopath with a master of human nutrition who links human health to soil health, regenerative practices and systems thinking.

She looks closely at the way people respond to the environment, the food they eat and the emotions they experience. When farmers speak about diversity being one of the hallmarks of a resilient farming system, she asks them to consider the diversity within their diets and the way they move to keep their body’s cells and microbes thriving.

Keiran Knight, farmer & agronomist

Fourth generation farmer Keiran Knight is an experienced agronomist with a focus on soil, plant, animal & human health. She grew up on a farm that included sheep, wheat, irrigation and cotton and now farms with her husband John at Wee Waa, NSW.

After having their three daughters they decided they didn’t want to be in such an intense chemical environment and started scaling back on the amount of chemistry they used in their farming system. Keiran also advocates for the need for consumers to demand higher quality food, as it can shape farming practices and reward farmers who prioritise soil health.

Rob Hetherington, Wheatbelt NRM Soil Health Champion

Guided by the principle, ‘You can’t manage what you don’t measure’, Rob Hetherington took his first soil sample in the 1980s after taking on his family farm in the south-eastern wheatbelt of WA. When his wife Judi and their four children started experiencing respiratory and other health problems during the 1980s, they started questioning the increasing chemical use on the farm and surrounding districts.

At a time when dust storms from cleared land were becoming commonplace, they started exploring the links between human health, nutrition, soil health and land management. Named 2022 Wheatbelt NRM Soil Health Champion, Rob continues to collect samples and looks ‘deeper’ to improve the health of soil and plants rather than expanding.

Dave Bushell, organic farmer & agronomist

Riverina agronomist David Bushell is a strong advocate for a more regenerative approach to farming systems. David provides independent agronomic advice with a focus on whole farm profitability, reminding farmers that their systems need to be profitable, resilient and flexible.

David says there’s no simple recipe for farming, and with Australia’s weather extremes, it’s important not to be too dogmatic if you’re transitioning to a reduced chemical, more regenerative system. “Don’t say you’ll never ever do a certain thing (such as burn or apply fungicides) because you may just have to.” David has been working as an agronomist in the Riverina since the mid 1990s, first in retail agronomy, then moving into consulting since the early 2000s. He is also involved in a farm partnership with wife Charina. They run a mixed farm consisting of breeding cattle, merino sheep and no-till cropping which has recently converted to organic with Southern Cross Certified. The farm is also three years into a 25-year carbon project.

Michael Gooden, farmer & VicNoTill board member

Riverina Angus Cattle Stud owner Michael Gooden is a fourth-generation farmer who combines the practical day-to-day experience of running a grazing business with the skills of previously working with natural resource management agencies. Michael runs the family’s grazing business with his wife Heloise and three children, where their focus is on addressing the root cause of problems rather than seeking bandaid solutions.

With an enquiring mind and a strong belief in ‘farmers helping farmers’ Michael attended his first VicNoTill conference in 2018 and joined the board three years later. He will introduce his farming journey in the conference room before welcoming conference attendees to the family farm ‘Willowlee’, where they run Old Man Creek cattle stud.

The farm visit will include a series of in-paddock demonstrations focussing on grazing for profit, soil health in a grazing system, pasture assessment and setting up a pasture-grazing fencing system.

Vickie Burkinshaw, Purple Pyjamas

Vickie is Chief Changemaker of Purple Pyjamas, a consulting firm supporting people and organisations to achieve positive change.  She is a professional facilitator, trainer, coach, writer and mentor providing inspiration and support to a range of businesses, NFP’s and social enterprises across Australia.