Milk, the original superfood, with Matthew Evans

Dr Mary Retallack is an agricultural scientist, third-generation viticulturist and agroecologist who has spent more than three decades advancing environmental stewardship within agricultural landscapes. She grew up on a fruit block in SA's Riverland growing grapes, apricots and pears, and now lives on a small vineyard and apple orchard surrounded by native insectary plants in the Adelaide Hills.Mary is the founder and custodian of the award-winning National EcoVineyards Program, working in collaboration with more than 175 program partners and wine growers across fifteen regions in four states to build functional biodiversity, restore soil health, and reduce reliance on synthetic inputs.Mary’s PhD research in viticulture and plant protection focused on native insectary ground cover plants and the role they play in supporting natural predators of vineyard pests. Her findings show how functional diversity not only builds ecological health, but delivers economic benefits to growers, and there are heaps of detailed case studies from growers around the country on the EcoVineyards website.If you’re involved in perennial horticulture, check out our new Orchard Resilience Project. With funding from the Australian Government’s Climate-smart Agriculture Program, we’re working over the next three years with perennial horticulture growers across Australia to strengthen soil health and landscape function in tree and vine crops.Links and resources:EcoVineyards ProgramRetallack EcologySoils for Life Orchard Resilience ProjectJohn Kempf’s Plant Health PyramidIf you have feedback, questions, or suggestions for future episodes or guests, we'd love to hear from you - reach out on social media or at [email protected].

Matthew Evans is a chef, farmer, author, food advocate and founder of Australia's Grounded Festival (coming up in April - tickets available at groundedaustralia.com.au).Soils for Life is kicking off a new national program working with dairy farmers around the country (join our launch event in March, details via https://events.humanitix.com/dairy-profitability-and-resilience-through-diversity-and-soil-health), and we thought it was the perfect time to talk to Matthew about his most recent book, ‘Milk: The truth, the lies and the unbelievable story of the original superfood’.We discuss some of the debates around dairy, including lactose intolerance, nutrition, and sustainability and how regenerative practices on farms can improve both soil and milk quality.You’ll hear about:The biology of milk, and how evolution has designed milk to be the perfect food source for nourishing and protecting the youngThe history of humans drinking milk from other animals, and why it became so central to many culturesHealth benefits of milk, from complex proteins to compounds that support immunity and brain healthHow plant diversity and soil health influence milk quality, including omega-3 / omega-6 ratiosComparing dairy versus milk alternativesLinks and resources:Grounded Festival 2026 described by MatthewMatthew’s book 'Milk The truth, the lies and the unbelievable story of the original superfood'The study on Regenerative farming enhances human health benefits of milk and yoghurt in New Zealand dairy systems, mentioned by MatthewFind our more about the Soils for Life Dairy Resilience Project

Today, we’re bringing you something a little different. I’ve recently been involved in a new podcast series called 'Soil: Rewilding the Underground'. It does a fantastic job of telling the big picture story of soil, why it’s so important not just for farmers and food production, but also for water, for biodiversity, for climate stability, and for human health.Today we’re giving you a sneak peek of the first episode, and we encourage you to check out the full six part series wherever you get your podcasts. It features an amazing array of speakers, including farmers, soil scientists, biologists, geologists, First Nations land managers, journalists, chefs and more.If you want to listen to the rest of this episode, and the full six part series, search for Soil: Rewilding the Underground wherever you get your podcasts or head to www.thesoilpodcast.com/podcast.We will be back soon with our next regular episode of the Soils for Life podcast. Thanks for listening!Outro

Dr Susan Orgill is Chief Scientist at Impact Ag Australia and a leading soil scientist with more than 20 years’ experience. She specialises in soil health, carbon farming, and regenerative agriculture, delivering science-based strategies that improve farm resilience, natural capital, and climate outcomes across research, policy, and sustainability initiatives.Suz has long been a friend of Soils for Life. She’s one of the most interesting and impressive soil scientists working in agriculture, and we’ve been meaning to get her on the podcast for some time. So please enjoy this conversation with the one and only Suz Orgill.Mentioned in this episode:Paper mentioned by Dr Susan Orgill: "Placing cropping systems under suboptimal phosphorus conditions promotes plant nutrient acquisition and microbial carbon supply without compromising biomass"Frank Ashwood photography from Soils for Life case study farmsAviva Reed visual ecologist - avivareed.com

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 https://soilsforlife.org.au/practice-guide-building-plant-resilience-to-pest-and-disease/ 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