GROUNDED Live

In this final episode recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, we share an unedited session captured at the close of two full days of talks, workshops and on-farm learning in Bridgetown, Western Australia.As the festival drew to a close, we wanted to do what GROUNDED does best: throw a few big ideas into the air and see where they landed. The brief was simple — how do we fix farmland? — but the answers, as always, were complex, layered and deeply human.To explore that question, we brought together two people working at the sharp end of land repair from different angles.Michelle McManus, co-founder of Southampton Homestead, also works with Voyager Estate, helping guide landscape repair and regenerative practices across vineyard systems. Her work bridges practical farming, processing and land stewardship.She’s joined by Terry McCosker, one of Australia’s pioneers of regenerative agriculture, widely respected for his work on grazing systems, carbon, soil health and landscape function.Together, they reflect on what repairing farmland really means — beyond techniques and terminology — touching on responsibility, resilience, systems thinking and the long view required to care for land in a changing climate.It’s an open, thoughtful and fitting way to close two remarkable days on the farm.Settle in and enjoy this closing session with Michelle McManus and Terry McCosker on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited session recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.When we talk about waste, it’s often framed as inefficiency — a waste of time or resources. But food waste carries a deeper cost. It represents lost farmer effort, squandered natural resources, and a profound disrespect for the land and labour that produced it. Globally, it’s estimated that more than 40% of food grown for human consumption is never eaten — a staggering figure that demands better solutions.In this session, we explore why food waste happens — and, more importantly, how people are actively doing something about it.Will Grothum, a chef by trade, works closely with local farmers and businesses to intercept surplus and by-products, transforming them into new, high-quality foods. Through ventures like his bakery, he turns what might otherwise be discarded into products people genuinely want to eat.He’s joined by Mitchell East, a passionfruit farmer who faced a familiar challenge: produce rejected by markets for cosmetic reasons despite being perfectly edible. Rather than accept waste as inevitable, Mitchell found ways to turn this surplus into value-added products that honour both the fruit and the work behind it.Together, they share practical, hopeful examples of how rethinking waste can strengthen food systems, support farmers and respect the full journey of food from paddock to plate.Settle in and enjoy this session with Will Grothum and Mitchell East on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited session recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.One of the things we love most at GROUNDED is storytelling — especially when farmers are given space to share the real, lived journeys behind their farms. This session features Jeff Pow and Michelle McManus, who joined us fresh from a rare holiday and straight into the speaker tent.Jeff and Michelle run Southampton Homestead, a vertically integrated, pasture-raised chicken farm. On their farm, they raise the birds, process them on site using a micro-abattoir, and sell directly to families, restaurants and retailers. Over the years, they’ve processed around 80,000 chickens — building a business rooted in transparency, animal welfare and local food systems.Their story is honest and unpolished. It’s not all smooth sailing or easy wins — there have been significant challenges along the way. But it’s also a story of persistence, ingenuity and hope: what’s possible when farmers commit to doing things differently, even when the path isn’t straightforward.It’s a generous, grounded conversation about resilience, small-scale processing, and the courage it takes to build something meaningful from the ground up.Settle in and enjoy this session with Jeff Pow and Michelle McManus on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited session recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.This session is presented by Matthew Evans — GROUNDED founder and director, farmer, chef, author and host of the GROUNDED Live podcast.For a long time, soil was treated as little more than a growing medium — a place to hold plants upright while inputs did the work. But we now understand something far deeper: how we treat soil is ultimately how we treat ourselves.In this talk, You Are What Your Food Ate (subtitled Farming Systems Matter), Matthew explores the vital connections between soil biology, farming practices, animal health and human nutrition. He unpacks how living soils influence animal behaviour and growth, how nutrient density is shaped by farming systems, and why these relationships matter for the food we eat every day.Bringing a chef’s perspective to soil health, Matthew also reflects on how farming systems influence not just nutrition, but flavour — reminding us that taste is one of the clearest signals of ecological health.It’s a thoughtful, accessible and deeply grounded session that weaves together food, farming and human wellbeing — and invites us to reconsider what’s really on our plates.Settle in and enjoy this session with Matthew Evans on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited presentation recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.Across Australia, one issue comes up again and again for small and medium-sized producers: access to livestock processing. Without local abattoirs and flexible processing options, family farms face real limits on how they manage animals and land — affecting biodiversity outcomes, soil carbon, animal welfare and even bushfire risk.To explore this challenge from a local perspective, we hear from Patrick O’Neill, a Western Australian farmer and founder of Small Farmers of WA. Patrick runs Dingo Ridge Farm and has been working to address processing bottlenecks by advocating for and developing multi-species livestock processing solutions in the Great Southern region.In this session, Patrick outlines the practical realities farmers face, why processing access is a landscape issue — not just a business one — and how local, farmer-led solutions can unlock more regenerative, resilient farming systems.It’s a grounded, solutions-focused talk that highlights how infrastructure shapes what’s possible on farms — and why regional processing matters far beyond the kill floor.Settle in and enjoy this session with Patrick O’Neill on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited session recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.There’s a lot of conversation in agriculture about carbon — carbon neutral, carbon negative, carbon stored in soils and plants. Farmers are doing extraordinary work managing landscapes to sequester carbon and restore ecological function. But as this session reminds us, that’s not the whole story.What we produce on farms doesn’t stop at the paddock gate. It moves through processing, packaging, transport and consumption — and every step has an impact. So how do we tell the full carbon story, from soil right through to stomach?This conversation brings together voices working across the supply chain. Eloise Jarvis, from Wines of Western Australia, works deeply in the sustainability space, supporting producers to understand and reduce their environmental footprint. She’s joined by Matt Fox from Cherubino Wines, a winery that has achieved carbon neutral certification and is actively working to reduce emissions across its operations.Together, they explore what carbon neutrality looks like beyond the farm — from soil health and vineyard management to packaging, transport and product design — and what’s possible when businesses take responsibility for the entire lifecycle of what they produce.It’s a practical, systems-focused discussion that broadens the carbon conversation and highlights the role collaboration plays in creating genuinely lower-emissions food and drink systems.Settle in and enjoy this session with Eloise Jarvis and Matt Fox on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited presentation recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.When you’re managing land or running a farm, it can be easy to think your responsibility ends at the fence line. In many ways, that’s true — but when it comes to water, the story is much bigger.This session features Carolyn Hall, CEO of the Mulloon Institute, an organisation at the forefront of landscape-scale water restoration in Australia. Based near Bungendore, just outside Canberra, the Mulloon Institute has led nationally recognised work demonstrating how repairing natural water cycles can restore creeks, recharge groundwater, reduce erosion and improve both farm productivity and ecosystem health.In this talk, Carolyn explores the idea that water doesn’t stop at the fence line. She shares how catchments function as connected systems, why collaboration across properties matters, and what’s possible when landholders work together to slow, spread and sink water back into the landscape.It’s a compelling reminder that healthy farms depend on healthy catchments — and that caring for water is one of the most powerful things we can do for the future of land, agriculture and communities.Settle in and enjoy this session with Carolyn Hall on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited session recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.When we think about farms, we often picture family operations passed carefully from one generation to the next — knowledge, land and stories carried forward over decades. It’s a powerful idea. But it also raises one of the most complex and emotionally charged questions in agriculture: succession.In this session, we bring together two farmers from very different landscapes and life circumstances to explore what succession actually looks like in practice.David Pollock farms some of the toughest country in Australia, in the rangelands north-east of Geraldton in Western Australia. Will Bignell runs a mixed cropping and grazing operation in Tasmania’s Central Highlands — a very different environment, with a very different set of pressures and possibilities.Together, they talk honestly about succession from multiple angles: What does it look like when you have children?What happens when you don’t?How do values, viability, land health and family dynamics intersect?And how do you plan for the future when there’s no single “right” pathway?It’s a grounded, practical and deeply human conversation about continuity, change and responsibility — one that will resonate with anyone thinking about the long-term future of their farm.Settle in and enjoy this session with Will Bignell and David Pollock on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited session recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.This conversation brings together two thoughtful, sharp and deeply engaged young voices in regenerative agriculture: Josh Gilbert and Blythe Calnan.Josh Gilbert is a Worimi man from New South Wales — a farmer, author and advocate working at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge, culture and contemporary agriculture. His work asks big questions about identity, stewardship and what it means to care for land in Australia today.Blythe Calnan may be familiar to some through Muster Dogs and her dog Banksi, but beneath that is a deeply curious thinker engaged with soil health, ecological integrity and regenerative farming systems. Blythe brings insight, honesty and a willingness to sit with complexity.This session took place at the end of Day One at GROUNDED 2025, when minds were full and energy was high. Rather than close with a tidy answer, we invited Josh and Blythe to throw a few big ideas into the air and see where they landed — asking one central question: Who’s minding the farm?The result is an open, reflective and sometimes challenging conversation about responsibility, succession, culture, care and the future of farming — told through the lens of the next generation.Settle in and enjoy this session with Josh Gilbert and Blythe Calnan on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited session recorded on site at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.This session features Joel Williams, a globally respected agronomist and educator known for his ability to take complex plant science and translate it into practical, farmer-focused insight. Joel has spoken at leading regenerative and agricultural events around the world — including Groundswell in the UK, VicNoTill in Victoria, and the RegenWA Conference earlier in the same week as GROUNDED.What sets Joel apart is his clarity and openness. He’s deeply grounded in plant physiology and soil science, but also deliberately agnostic and non-judgemental — focused less on inputs and labels, and more on understanding how plants actually function. His goal is simple: help farmers make better decisions by understanding the biology at work in their paddocks.In this session, Joel explores the idea of plants as superheroes — unpacking the remarkable ways plants interact with soil, microbes, nutrients and stress, and how farmers can work with these systems rather than against them.Joel is based in Canada and has travelled to Australia multiple times to share his knowledge — a testament to the value farmers place on his grounded, science-led and practical approach.Settle in and enjoy this session with Joel Williams on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited presentation recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.This session features Dr Jill Clapperton, Principal Scientist and CEO of Rhizoterra Inc., and one of our international speakers joining us from North America. Jill has a rare gift: the ability to take deeply complex biological systems and explain them in ways that are clear, practical and immediately useful.In this talk, Jill demystifies the rhizosphere — the critically important zone around plant roots where soil biology, plant exudates and microbial life interact. It’s a place where chemistry, biology and ecology collide, and where many of the decisions that shape plant health, nutrient cycling and resilience are made.Grounded in science but delivered with warmth and clarity, Jill’s session helps bridge the gap between what’s happening underground and what farmers see above it. While some of Jill’s field-based discussions couldn’t be captured in audio, this presentation offers a powerful foundation for understanding the plant–soil relationship at the heart of regenerative farming.Settle in and enjoy this session with Jill Clapperton on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

 In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited presentation recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia. One of the great joys of GROUNDED is discovering speakers who make you fall in love with subjects you never expected to find interesting — or even knew existed. Professor David Watson is one of those people. David is an ecologist, biodiversity champion and long-time ornithologist based at Charles Sturt University, where he leads the environmental program at the Global Institute. His research spans landscape ecology, wildlife monitoring and the critical role of ecological keystone species — including, famously, mistletoe. He is also a founder of the Australian Acoustic Observatory and works closely with landholders, Indigenous communities and conservation partners through initiatives such as Great Eastern Ranges and Slopes to Summit, helping reconnect ecosystems — and people — across Australia. In this session, David brings science, storytelling and humour together to reveal how overlooked species and working landscapes play an essential role in biodiversity and ecological resilience. It’s eye-opening, surprisingly funny, and deeply affirming for anyone who manages land or cares about the living systems that support us all. Unsurprisingly, David was the best-selling author on site at GROUNDED 2025 — and once you listen, you’ll understand why. Settle in and enjoy Professor David Watson on GROUNDED Live. GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we close out the GROUNDED Festival 2025 program with a very special, very free-wheeling session.If you’ve been to the last couple of GROUNDED festivals — in Tasmania or WA — you’ll already know Dan Kittredge. Dan pioneered the modern concept of nutrient density, asking the deceptively simple question: What’s actually in our food, and does it matter? His work has shaped conversations around soil health, plant health and human health across the globe.This session took place at the end of two big days of talks. Everyone’s brains were full, spirits were high, and rather than ask Dan for another structured presentation, we decided to poke his mind and see where it wandered. The invitation was simple: think big, think wide, throw all the ideas in the air and see where they land.They landed in some unexpected, challenging, delightful and occasionally strange places. There were moments that made us laugh, moments that made us squirm, and even moments that brought us close to tears.It’s raw, expansive, honest and deeply human — the perfect way to wrap up an incredible two days at GROUNDED.Settle in and enjoy this closing session with Dan Kittredge on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we continue sharing unedited sessions recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025 on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.Across Australia, some of the deepest knowledge about landscapes is held by elders — farmers and First Nations people whose lived experience stretches across decades and across Country. Too often, that wisdom isn’t given a platform. So when we learned that Ian and Di Haggerty had just been named 2025 West Australians of the Year, we knew we wanted to hear from them directly.The Haggertys farm around 65,000 acres in WA’s Wheatbelt, running mixed cropping and sheep enterprises for both meat and wool. They’re well known for their Natural Intelligence Farming approach — a system grounded in biology, ecological function and working with, not against, landscapes.In this conversation, we wanted to explore not just their farming philosophy, but also what it means to suddenly find themselves with a public platform: What does recognition like this allow them to say?What conversations does it open?And how does it feel to carry local, ecological and intergenerational knowledge into national discussions about farming and the future?It’s an insightful, humble and generous session from two people who’ve spent their lives learning from the land — and now have a bigger microphone to share it.Settle in and enjoy Ian & Di Haggerty on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we bring you another unedited session recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025 on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.Every now and then you meet someone and think, How have I not come across this person sooner? For many of us at GROUNDED, Mark Tupman was one of those people. A researcher, consultant and educator in biological production, Mark works across an extraordinary range of landscapes — from market gardens to broadacre systems to holistic land management projects.After sharing lunch with him a few years back and hearing the depth of his knowledge first-hand, we knew that when GROUNDED came to Western Australia, we had to bring him along.In this session, Mark explores how to develop high-performance living soils — what drives soil function, how biology underpins productivity, and the practical principles he uses to help farmers build vibrant, resilient, nutrient-rich soils across different environments.It’s clear, practical and deeply grounded in real-world experience from someone who spends his life working with soil and the people who steward it.Settle in and enjoy Mark Tupman on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

There’s a persistent belief in Australia — and around the world — that farming and nature sit on opposite sides of a divide. That ecological harmony belongs “out there” in national parks, while food production happens elsewhere. But the truth is far more interesting, and far more hopeful.In this session, we hear from Professor David Watson, an ecologist whose work spans birds, mistletoe, woodland ecosystems and the complex relationships between species. (If you haven’t yet, make sure to listen to his incredible mistletoe session too.) David brings evidence-based insight into a powerful idea: that farms aren’t just compatible with nature — they’re often critical to safeguarding wildlife, supporting threatened species and restoring ecological function at scale.For many farmers, this perspective resonates deeply. But hearing it stated so clearly by a leading scientist — that farms matter profoundly for biodiversity — is both validating and energising.This is a gentle, eye-opening and hopeful conversation about the role of working landscapes in a changing world.Settle in and enjoy Professor David Watson on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited session from GROUNDED Festival 2025, recorded on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.A question that arises often in Australian agriculture is: How can farmers meaningfully engage with First Nations people — and what does genuine collaboration actually look like? For this session, we wanted to move beyond theory and bring together people already walking that path.This conversation, First Nations Integration into the Food System, features Heidi Mippy, a Noongar and Thiin-Mah-Warriyangka woman from WA’s South West, who has been working closely with Ian and Di Haggerty — broadacre croppers and sheep producers farming 3–4 hours east of Perth in the Wheatbelt. The Haggertys are known for their Natural Intelligence Farming approach, which centres ecology, soil biology and working with natural systems.Together on stage, Heidi and the Haggerty family talk candidly about their partnership: what sparked it, what they’ve learned, the cultural and ecological perspectives they’re weaving together, and the challenges and conversations that arise when two worlds meet in the paddock.It’s honest, insightful and at times confronting — exactly the kind of discussion that’s often needed, but rarely happens so openly.Settle in and enjoy this powerful session on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we return to the unedited sessions recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025 on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.While putting together the program, one new release immediately stood out: Australia’s Agricultural Identity, a powerful and thought-provoking book by Josh Gilbert — a Worimi man, farmer, author and advocate from the Hunter Valley, NSW. His perspective on agriculture, identity, culture and the future of farming felt too important to miss. So we brought him across to Western Australia and invited him to open Day Two of the festival with a special in-conversation session.To deepen the discussion, we paired Josh with Laura Bailey, farmer and founder of Margaret River Organic Farmer. Together, they explore the intersections of Indigenous knowledge, regenerative agriculture, finance, climate, culture and the shifting story of who we are as land stewards in Australia.It’s insightful, generous and wide-ranging — a conversation that bridges ideas, lived experience and the future we’re all growing toward.Settle in and enjoy this special session with Josh Gilbert and Laura Bailey on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

One of the things we love at GROUNDED is shining a light on the writers, thinkers and storytellers who help shape the way we understand farming, food and community. Today’s presentation features Jade Miles — a barefooted force of nature and one of Australia’s most vital voices in the food movement.Jade is a food advocate, educator, podcaster, author and CEO of Sustainable Table, based at Blackburn Farm: a biodiverse orchard and nursery in north-east Victoria. She founded the Beechworth Food Co-op and the North East Local Food Strategy, and her Futuresteading podcast spans 140 episodes across seven seasons, alongside her beloved book of the same name.From grassroots organising to values-led strategic leadership, Jade’s work bridges communities, regions and generations. In this session, Jade launches her newest book, Huddle — sharing stories, ideas and practical wisdom about living, farming and organising for a better future.It’s warm, heartfelt, grounded and inspiring — a beautiful contribution from someone who works every day to build stronger food systems and more connected communities.Settle in and enjoy Jade Miles on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we feature David Pollock, a rangelands farmer from Western Australia - and one of the most refreshingly honest voices in Australian agriculture. The bio he sent us in the lead up to the event is worth repeating here: “Despite his laziness and general lack of knowledge, David took over the degraded family station because it seemed like his best bet for making a difference. After 18 years, he’s achieved more than he’d hoped. Pretty much all of his local community think very little of him and his dingoes.”It’s the kind of introduction that tells you exactly what you’re in for: humour, humility, straight talk and a willingness to question just about everything — including himself.After many years of frustration about the state of the planet, David has come to a new perspective: that it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it. In this solo session, Farming on the Edge, he talks openly about land degradation, dingo management, ecological recovery and what it means to work with country in one of the toughest agricultural landscapes in the world.David also joined Will Bignell for a later session on farm succession (featured in another upcoming episode), but here he stands alone — insightful, provocative and brilliantly funny.Settle in and enjoy David Pollock on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we bring you another presentation from GROUNDED Festival 2025, recorded at Galloway Springs in Bridgetown, Western Australia.This session features Will Bignell, a seventh-generation sheep farmer and cropper from Bothwell in Tasmania’s Central Highlands. Alongside running his family farm, Will is an agricultural scientist specialising in improving omega-3 fats in sheep — work that has significant implications for animal health, human nutrition and on-farm profitability.Will also runs a drone and precision-ag business, using cutting-edge technology to monitor landscapes, understand soils and unlock smarter, more efficient ways of working with the land. At the heart of his approach is a clear belief: farming must increase yields while maintaining — or improving — the health of soil and country, and farmers must be able to make a decent living doing it.Equal parts practical, scientific and forward-thinking, Will’s session offers a grounded look at how tradition and innovation can work hand-in-hand to shape the future of farming.Settle in and enjoy Will Bignell on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we bring you another unedited presentation recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025 in Bridgetown, Western Australia.This session features Dan Kittredge, an American organic farmer with more than 30 years’ experience and the founder and executive director of the Bionutrient Food Association (BFA) — a nonprofit dedicated to improving food quality from the soil up. Widely recognised as one of the world’s leading voices on nutrient density, Dan has spent his career demonstrating the deep, inseparable links between soil health, plant health and human health.With his trademark clarity, curiosity and a brain “the size of a planet,” Dan dives into the Principles of Biological Systems - exploring how life functions, interacts and adapts, and what these processes can teach us about growing better, more nutritious food.It’s an energising, mind-stretching session from one of the most compelling thinkers in the regenerative movement.Settle in and enjoy Dan Kittredge on GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we continue sharing the unedited presentations recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025 on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.This session features Kylie Woodham, founder of Magnus Farm in County Tipperary — a pioneering regenerative farm supplying produce across Ireland. Since establishing the farm in 2017, Kylie has grown Magnus Farm into a celebrated producer whose eggs and pork have appeared on the menus of Michelin-starred restaurants, five-star hotels and specialty grocers.Kylie is also the author of Soil Sister: Farming for Our Future, a 2022 Break EU Fellow, and the 2020 EU Horizon Teagasc Newbie Farmer of the Year. Her work blends deep respect for ecology with practical, scalable approaches to farming, and she brings a global perspective on what regenerative agriculture can look like in practice.Recorded live at Grounded, her talk offers hard-won insights, humour, honesty and inspiration for anyone who cares about learning from the land and building better food systems.Settle in and enjoy another powerful session from GROUNDED Live.GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.

Welcome to the very first episode of GROUNDED Live, hosted by farmer, author and festival co-founder Matthew Evans. This series shares the unedited presentations from GROUNDED Festival 2025, recorded live from Galloway Springs in Bridgetown, Western Australia.In this first episode, we hear from Professor Lyn Abbott, Emeritus Professor at the University of Western Australia and one of the country’s most respected soil biologists. With more than 50 years of research behind her, Lyn has dedicated her career to understanding the living world beneath our feet — the microbes, fungi, roots and relationships that drive soil health. Her talk unpacks the latest insights in soil science: how soils function as dynamic ecosystems, why biology matters for productivity and resilience, and what decades of research can teach us about managing land for long-term ecological health. If you’re passionate about farming, gardening, food systems or simply curious about the hidden life in soil, this is a grounding, fascinating and generous talk from one of the field’s great educators. Settle in — and welcome to GROUNDED. GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm. GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers. In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine. Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.