Setting the future direction of VicNoTill

August 19, 2024

FOOD FOR THOUGHT conference speaker profile: Vickie Burkinshaw

Vickie is Chief Changemaker of Purple Pyjamas, a consulting firm supporting people and organisations to achieve positive change. Vickie is passionate about helping people build sustainable enterprises. She is a professional facilitator, trainer, coach, writer and mentor providing inspiration and support to a range of businesses, not-for-profits and social enterprises across Australia. Vickie owns The Curious Rabbit Cafe in Wagga and is a small scale farmer and apiarist based at The Rock.

Vickie will lead a session with VicNoTill members on the future direction of our Farmers Helping Farmers group on Day 2 of the Food for Thought conference. She has extensive experience in helping innovators, entrepreneurs, businesses and teams think more broadly and creatively so they can grow and change. VicNoTill invites all current members to be part of this important discussion so we can continue to provide the best possible support for farmers who are at the forefront of innovation in agriculture.

Who is VicNoTill?

22 years of farmers helping farmers

A small group of innovative broadacre cropping farmers who weren’t afraid to challenge conventional farming methods formed the Victorian No Till Farmers Association in the Wimmera in Victoria in 2002. Twenty-two years on, the foundations of VicNoTill remain in the soils that we and our future generations rely on for our livelihoods.

We have always believed that innovation and change comes from trying new things and openly sharing our successes and failures. Instead of waiting for ‘official’ scientific proof, peer reviews and bureaucratic system changes we are trialling and testing in our own paddocks and our own soils that we and our parents, grandparents and great grandparents know intimately. We are asking questions and trusting our own judgement, every single day. Farmers helping farmers is who we are and what we do.

VicNoTill is all about bringing farmers together to support other farmers to grow better food and fibre by building soil biology through zero-till, regenerative systems. The farming group is dedicated to helping farmers achieve better results at harvest time, while encouraging greater adoption of sustainable and profitable food production systems through reduced-tillage and regenerative farming systems that produce nutrient-rich food.

With years of experience of asking farmers what they want and delivering demonstrations, crop walks and conferences that encourage people to think outside the square, VicNoTill prides itself on farmers being able to leave any VicNoTill event with ideas that can be implemented on-farm immediately.

With a passionate farmer-led committee we bring the latest innovations from all around the world to a growing member network from most Australian states including Victoria, NSW, SA, WA and Tasmania. The organisation follows a ‘farmers helping farmers’ philosophy with a diverse membership sharing successes and failures to help others grow. They work with business, government, scientific and natural resource partners to host national and international specialists and encourage innovation and change to regenerate the most valuable resource on this planet – our soils.

Given the growth of the membership base and the increase in interest in the groups activities it is timely for a review of the organisation’s purpose utilising the brains trust of the members who are attending the Food for Thought Conference.