Earning the right to reduce pesticides: Building plant resilience with Brad Campbell

Western Australian farmer Brad Campbell has spent years refining his mixed cropping system to build healthier, more resilient plants and reduce reliance on synthetic inputs. Over time, he’s cut out routine fungicides and insecticides, moved away from chemical seed treatments, and now only uses pesticides strategically when needed.In this conversation, Brad talks about how targeted plant nutrition, sap testing and careful observation are helping him make management decisions and improve crop health.Brad shares how his family’s early shift toward biological farming set the foundation for his approach, why monitoring matters more than ever, and what he means when he says you have to earn the right to reduce pesticides.Brad’s story features in our Practice Guide on Building Plant Resilience to Pests and Diseases, which brings together insights from farmers and experts across Australia. You’ll find it at soilsforlife.org.auIn this episodeWhy Brad says you need to “earn the right” to reduce pesticidesHow sap and tissue testing inform his nutrition decisionsUsing observation and small-scale trials to guide changeWhat’s changed in soil function and disease pressure over timeLessons from experimenting, learning and staying profitableResourcesPractice Guide: Building plant resilience to pests and diseases (coming soon to soilsforlife.org.au)Explore more cropping practice guides and farmer stories at soilsforlife.org.auBrad mentioned a course by Neil Kinsey: https://kinseyag.com/ Brad also mentioned a course by Arden Anderson: https://soillearningcenter.com/product/sustainable-agriculture-course/ This short episode of the Soils for Life Podcast was hosted by Eli Court and produced by Chris Wieffering.If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and share it, and subscribe to hear more stories from Australian farmers building soil and landscape resilience.

This episode of the Soils for Life podcast is part of our series of mini-episodes with farmers profiled in our series of cropping practice guides.In this short episode, Eli Court chats with Victorian farmer Grant Sims about how multispecies cover cropping has transformed his mixed farming system at Pine Grove near Lockington. After moving away from synthetic fertilisers, fungicides and insecticides, Grant began experimenting with diverse seed mixes to bring more life back into his soils.He explains how integrating livestock with multispecies crops built soil structure, reduced weed pressure and improved resilience during tough seasons. Grant also shares what he’s learned about designing mixes for different paddocks, fixing nitrogen through cover crops, and cutting input costs without sacrificing productivity.Along the way, he’s learnt through trial and error from experiences like underestimating the importance of weed control before sowing and trying to “add biology” to soils that weren’t yet ready for it. He talks openly about these lessons, as well as his current experiment sowing his whole farm with zero nitrogen for the first time.HighlightsHow Grant “stumbled into” multispecies crop mixes and scaled them over timeThe role of livestock grazing in improving performance and reducing riskHow cover crops can build fertility, especially nitrogen fixation and phosphorus unlockLessons he’s learned, e.g. weed control, applying biology to soils not ready for itTaking the leap: sowing with zero nitrogen and watching the system workWhat he wishes he’d known earlierResources & linksRead the full Practice Guide on Multispecies Cover Cropping: https://soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-multispecies-cropping/ Down Under Covers: https://www.downundercovers.com/ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate & review it on your podcast app and share it with others. Email us with feedback or suggestions for future episodes at [email protected] and subscribe to the Soils for Life newsletter to find out the latest.

We recently attended Grounded in WA, and heard ecologist Dr David Watson's fascinating talk on the important role that mistletoe can play in farm ecosystem. It made us think of one of our favourite podcast episodes - this one. It's a dive into the role that so-called weeds can play in ecosystems. Well worth another run! Enjoy.A little about this episode:The industrialisation of agriculture has created large paddocks of monoculture crops and increased the chemical burden on farmers and their environments. Global herbicide use has continued to increase as farmers have shifted to no till practices and adopted herbicide-tolerant crop cultivars over the last 30 years. One result of this is that the list of herbicide resistant weeds is growing. Some farmers spend huge amounts of money on herbicide and scarce time removing weeds; Meanwhile, exactly how much damage is being done to native plant species and soils is not yet fully known. Either way, the current model is not sustainableIn this episode we are exploring a paradigm shift to an ecological systems approach to weeds with Soils for Life agroecologist Sarah Fea. We visit four farmers to understand their changing relationship to plants. Including a grazier, seed producer, a farmer who has enlisted the help of goats and another who has developed no kill cropping. We take a fresh look at weeds and how we can benefit from seeing them through a different lens. We hear how specific weeds germinate to heal damaged soils, showing us what the soil needs and how we can help them heal it.

This episode of the Soils for Life podcast is part of our series of mini-episodes with farmers profiled in our series of cropping practice guides.In this episode we talk with Steven Ford. Steven and his wife Kelly have been farming near Williams, Western Australia, for 16 years. After 10 years working as a livestock agent, Steven returned to the family farm in 2008. Being advised to use a new expensive chemical seed treatment prompted Steven to rethink and do some research. In 2016, he decided to transition their cropping system away from treated seed, synthetic fertilisers, insecticides and fungicides, and he also began to look at ways to reduce the need for herbicide.Steven’s story shows that reducing herbicides is just one outcome of his holistic approach to building soil health and reducing reliance on inputs. We discuss encouraging roots to go exploring deeper in the soil profile, using livestock as the ultimate insurance for transitioning to a lower input, lower risk system, making strategic decisions about when to intervene to address pests or disease, getting off the ‘spending more to make more’ treadmill, and keeping true to the course when the confidence takes a knock.-Read the full Practice Guide on Reducing Herbicides : https://soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-reducing-herbicides/Get in touch - ⁠[email protected]⁠Subscribe to our newsletter - ⁠soilsforlife.org.au/the-newsletter⁠

Jake Robinson is a microbial ecologist and researcher whose career spans parasitology, symbiosis, and the study of invisible communities of life that shape the health of humans, animals, plants and ecosystems. He is the author of Invisible Friends: How Microbes Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us, and his work explores the connections between soil health, gut health and mental health.We spoke with Jake about the brutal world of microbe warfare that’s going on every day inside our bodies, what it means to see humans and plants as “walking ecosystems”, how microbes underpin communication between the gut and the brain, the importance of exposure to microbes for training our immune system, how farming practices can influence the nutritional value of our food, and just how much of this invisible world remains unknown to science.Jake is the brains behind Soil Yourself September, a series of talks from speakers around the world on the connections between soil health, gut health and mental health. Find out more at https://www.jakemrobinson.com/sysGet in touch - [email protected] Subscribe to our newsletter - soilsforlife.org.au/the-newsletterMore about Jake Robinson - https://www.jakemrobinson.com/ 

This episode is part of a series of short conversations with the farmers profiled in our cropping practice guides. For Tom Robinson, foliar sprays aren’t a magic fix, but they’ve become a game-changer. Guided by sap testing and years of trialling, they’re helping him hit crop nutrition targets and lift grain performance while fitting into a broader soil health strategy.In this episode, Tom shares how he’s shifted from the odd zinc spray to a targeted program guided by regular sap testing, hitting critical growth stages in wheat, lentils, and canola. We talk through the practicalities – from making his own trace element mixes on-farm to jar testing, timing sprays for maximum uptake, and deciding when to include extras like seaweed or compost extracts.Tom also explains how foliar nutrition fits with other practices like zero-till, controlled traffic, and tactical livestock grazing, and the results he’s seen in grain quality, germination, and reduced pesticide use.Whether you’re already using foliars or just curious about where they might fit in your system, you’ll get practical tips and lessons learned from years of trial, observation, and adjustment – all aimed at building plant health and farm resilience.Read the full practice guide on using foliars at soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-foliar-applications/Get in touch - ⁠[email protected]⁠ Subscribe to our newsletter - ⁠soilsforlife.org.au/the-newsletter

Nicole Masters is an agroecologist, educator and author with decades of experience working alongside farmers and land managers across Australia, New Zealand, North America and beyond. She is formally trained in soil science, organisational learning and adult education, and is known for taking a practical, systems-based approach to regenerating land and building resilient farm businesses. Nicole is the founder of Integrity Soils and author of For the Love of Soil.We caught up with Nicole ahead of her forthcoming visit to Australia in September to talk about navigating the overwhelm of managing complex and uncertain agroecological systems, implementing new practices safely, the toolkit for diagnosing and dealing with limitations in your system, the value of coaching and peer support, and ultimately, strategies for building healthy, resilient farming systems.Book for Nicole’s Soil Health Masterclass, on 1-3 September at Tresavale Farm, Gympie, Qld - ⁠https://integritysoils.com/products/masterclass-aus Get in touch - [email protected] Subscribe to our newsletter - soilsforlife.org.au/the-newsletterMentioned in this episode:Integrity Soils - integritysoils.co.nz CREATE (Coaching Regenerative Experts in Agriculture for Tomorrow) - https://www.integritysoils.co.nz/create A chat with Sam Vincent, author of ‘My Father and Other Animals’ - soilsforlife.org.au/my-father-and-other-animals-a-chat-with-sam-vincent/Jonathan Lundgren’s 1,000 Farms initiative - www.ecdysis.bio/featured-project Soils for Life work with Nicole Masters:Masterclass recap: Rethinking what healthy soil looks like: A blog reflection on Nicole Masters’ intensive masterclass in Orange, exploring how we’ve normalised degraded landscapes and how to start seeing soil health differently. soilsforlife.org.au/nicole-masters-masterclassWebinar: Tracking soil health with Nicole Masters: Nicole works with three Australian grain growers to explore soil health using the Soilmentor app — demonstrating practical, visual soil tests like rhizosheath assessment, infiltration and rooting depth. soilsforlife.org.au/tracking-soil-health-with-nicole-mastersWebinar replay: Soil health in practice: Watch the full July 2024 webinar with Nicole Masters and see how soil indicators are used to guide decision-making on-farm. soilsforlife.org.au/tracking-soil-health-with-nicole-masters-webinar

This is the first in a series of short episodes we’ll be releasing over the coming months featuring farmers profiled in our series of regenerative cropping Practice Guides. Check out the full suite of guides at www.soilsforlife.org.au.Michael Waring is a North Queensland sugarcane grower with decades of experience improving nitrogen cycling and soil health. Michael walks us through his journey from adopting controlled traffic, multispecies cover cropping, reduced tillage, and biological inputs. Michael shares the nitty-gritty of how he trialled, and eventually achieved, a multispecies cover crop mix that can survive the tropics’ brutal wet season. He explains how he’s cut nitrogen rates dramatically without sacrificing yield, and how new biological tools are helping him unlock phosphorus sitting in the soil. For sugarcane growers, and any farmer wanting to cut costs, reduce runoff and build a healthier farming system, this episode is for you.We talk about what worked on-farm: the tweaks, the failures, and the long game of testing ideas until they stick. Michael’s message is simple - there’s no silver bullet, but there are simple steps you can take to get started.Read the full Practice Guide on Improving Nitrogen Cycling and Efficiencies at soilsforlife.org.auIf you’ve enjoyed this podcast, leave us a comment or a like! It helps us to reach others.

Dr Mary Cole has spent more than 40 years working with the microbial life that underpins healthy soil. In this episode, she shares what she's learned from a career in plant pathology and soil microbiology, and from farming using compost products, aeration and no synthetic inputs on her own property in Gippsland Victoria.Mary explains how simple practices like aeration, compost, and soil and plant observation can make a big difference to soil function. She talks through what happens when we disturb soil biology, how to get started on improving microbial life, and why she believes we should all be working with, not against, the life beneath our feet.In this episode, you'll hear about:What mycorrhizal fungi actually do, and why they matterHow biology-first farming reduces the need for inputsMonitoring tips for farmers who want to learn more about what’s going on undergroundWhy Mary suggests starting with your worst paddock, not their bestReflections on 50 years of biological farming, and what she wishes more people knewLinks and resources:AgPath (Mary’s consulting and training organisation)Our video on brewing biofertiliser: Watch nowOur podcast episode on compost: ListenOther episodes on soil biology: Planting with purpose, Diversity is king

Australia has often been described as a land of droughts and flooding rains. But what we don’t often hear is that, for millennia, the land had a remarkable ability to regulate itself — through healthy ecology and the natural water cycle.Since European settlement, however, we've seen a steady decline in soil health and water-holding capacity across much of the country. The rivers don’t flow like they used to, and the land struggles to bounce back from the extremes of flood and drought. The solution is to help restore nature's ecological systems of water and nutrient cycling.In this episode, we hear from two farmers who are restoring these natural water regulating systems, rehydrating their landscapes — transforming degraded paddocks into thriving ecosystems. They’ve embraced techniques that slow, spread, and sink water back into the ground — reviving their soils, crops, and communities.And they’re not alone.Across Australia, groups of farmers are coming together to restore entire catchments. Programs like the Mulloon Rehydration Initiative are proving that when we work with nature — not against it — we can regenerate not just one farm, but the broader ecosystems they’re part of.This podcast was produced by the Grow Love Project in collaboration with Soils for Life. The Communities of Practice Project is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, Mulloon Institute and Soils for Life.Sign up to the Soils for Life newsletter - soilsforlife.org.au/the-newsletter/ Get in touch - [email protected] Mentioned in this episode:Mulloon Rehydration Initiative - mullooninstitute.org/projects/mulloon-rehydration-initiative/ Danthonia Bruderhof Community -  bruderhof.com/danthonia Mulloon Institute - mullooninstitute.org/Laura Norman, US Geological Survey - www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/laura-m-norman Mulloon Institute Community of Practice Project - mullooninstitute.org/learning-events/communities-of-practice/ Soils for Life case study on Danthonia Bruderhof and Community of Practice project - soilsforlife.org.au/landscape-rehydration/ Thanks for listening!