Australian ‘farmers helping farmers’ group on world stage

The world’s premier regenerative agricultural event has invited VicNoTill – one of Australia’s longest-running farmer-based groups – to speak about how it’s changed the broadacre cropping and livestock landscape over the past two decades.

VicNoTill, started by a small group of innovative grain growers in Western Victoria in 2002, will join other global pioneers in soil health such as Joel Williams and Gabe Brown, along with Australian television personality and celebrity chef Matthew Evans at Groundswell at Hertfordshire.

In its 9^th year, Groundswell has grown from 500 attendees in its first year to more than 8000 last year.

VicNoTill president Michael Gooden said it would be a privilege to share the success of the group which has pioneered significant changes in large-scale broadacre farming through its ‘farmers helping farmers’ approach.

The title of the presentation is Farmers Helping Farmers in the land ‘down under’.

“This is a significant milestone for VicNoTill to be invited to speak at such a big event. The legacy started by a small group of Wimmera farmers 23 years ago has gone from strength to strength.

“I am proud to share how successful the organisation has been in achieving landscape-scale change and shifting the focus from what goes on above ground to what goes on underground. Understanding, improving and building soil health has always been the driving force behind VicNoTill.”

Groundswell will be VicNoTill’s final stop on a two-week study tour in the UK with 16 farmers from NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. Tour guest is Joel Williams, an independent plant and soil health educator and consultant who has worked extensively in Australia, Europe and Canada. The tour, which departed last weekend, will focus on how advanced agronomic practices lead to profitable farming systems.

It includes visits to award-winning farm businesses in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire,  Hampshire, Wales, Heredfordshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. The tour will look at no-till, cover cropping, inter-cropping, variety blends, direct marketing regeneratively-produced grains and livestock, enterprise stacking and biodiversity.

Groundswell, on July 2 and 3, will be the final stop of the tour.

“VicNoTill has undertaken many overseas study tours during its 23-year history and each tour bridged the knowledge gap we experience in Australia due to our geographical isolation,” Michael said.

“With our ethos of ‘farmers helping farmers’ these tours form meaningful relationships among the group and with overseas farmers. The fact we openly share what we have learnt and implement new trials on our own farms from what we’ve discovered, has seen some incredible changes across the Australian farming landscape.

“Observing and learning from UK growers will allow VicNoTill to transfer valuable knowledge and expertise to the Australian grains and livestock industry. It will also allow us to continue to promote long-term profitability and sustainability in Australian farming systems through the adoption of proven innovative practices.”