Editorial

Recently the IEA ran a 10 session webinar program on the theme of Regenerative Agriculture Uncovered: How we THINK and FEEL determines what we do and HOW we DO it.

The emphasis wasn’t so much on the doing of ecological (regenerative) agriculture but on the thoughts and feelings that have a huge bearing on what we do and how we do it. Often the thinking and the feeling get lost in the process of doing.

Feedback from participants indicated that the program satisfied a critical need as the statements below indicate:

• For those who are motivated to change but lack the encouragement, capacity, understanding, knowledge and experience, this course will initiate the first step.

• I enjoyed how this course addresses the internal changes humans in agriculture urgently need to make to transform agriculture to restore ecological health. It connected a lot of dots for me from various personal experiences and training I have done in holistic, biodynamic, organic and regenerative agricultural systems.

• Agriculture needs a change in mindset. This course provided a broad but clear framework of ideas and techniques that enable participants to engage with, communicate and share a regenerative ecological mindset applicable to agriculture. It went to the core of the problem and provided a broad spectrum of solutions.

The program ran for 10 weeks and included (a) notes circulated one week in advance of (b) a one-hour webinar through Zoom. All sessions were recorded so that participants could listen even if they couldn’t make the weekly session, which many couldn’t.

Using the webinar process is a win-win approach. It meant that participants could still get the knowledge without leaving their homes, which saved on transport, living costs, and time required to attend a workshop or face-to-face seminar.

With this in mind the IEA will be running several webinars in 2024. Possible themes include:  a repeat of the theme stated in Series 1 (noted above);  Accreditation and how to approach each of the Learning Circles (refer to www.ecoag.org.au/accreditation);  Trans-formation of self, leading to transformation of what I do and how I do it.

Best keep an eye on the newsletter for themes and dates.

Note: Series 1 was financed in part by a Smart Farms Small Grant from the National Landcare Network.

What is Regenerative Agriculture?

This question is heard frequently, given the inroads regenerative agriculture is making into on-farm thinking and doing. The Institute maintains that it can be defined and is being defined in three ways:

1. Asking what happens in the soils and on the land – multi-species sowing, increasing soil carbon, etc. This is the practical person’s approach.

2. Asking how the system operates which relates to the relationship between the parts. Often referred to as systems thinking. Farmers at (2) then apply (1) above.

3. Asking how the parts come together to create the whole, which represents holistic thinking. From this vantage point the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This approach takes a person into the inner realm of ecological systemic thinking. Farmers at the third level of consciousness are already also operating at levels (2) and (1).

In this schema, systems thinking is not equated with a holistic approach; rather, as Bortoft argues, systems thinking represents the upper level of reductionism or mechanistic thinking. All this might appear academic but it is actually the breadth and depth of the definitions that demonstrate an approach that will enable farmers to increasingly connect with the ecosystem that they are a part of.

One organisation that has a number of useful definitions and other resources is a U.S. organisation called Farmer’s Footprint. Click the following link to take a journey into regenerative agriculture.

Note: You can join Farmers Footprint, or, indeed, you can join the IEA to support an Australian-based organisation with the same or similar purpose. For details go to www.ecoag.org.au.

An item now from Bob Phelps who runs a great organisation based in Melbourne called Gene Ethics

Hello All.

LATEST HOT NEWS!!

On September 4 the Federal Court in Melbourne began hearing an Australian class action against Monsanto, with 800 agricultural and domestic plaintiffs: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-04/roundup-class-action-monsanto-melbourne-federal-court/102810274,

The case alleges that exposure to Roundup weedkiller's main ingredient, glyphosate, triggered the complainants' non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) cancers. The nine-week trial against Monsanto will first decide on the health impacts of glyphosate and if exposure induces NHL, then whether the company was negligent in not disclosing the risks. What the lawyers have to say: https://www.mauriceblackburn.com.au/class-actions/join-a-class-action/roundup-class-action/.

Similar claims from over 100,000 Americans are being settled for $11 billion but up to 30,000 remain unresolved and claims keep rolling in. What the lawyers have to say: https://www.lawsuit-information-center.com/roundup-mdl-judge-question-10-billion-settlement-proposal.html.

New York state also received $6.7 million from Bayer/Monsanto over baseless advertising claims that Roundup products and glyphosate were safe and non-toxic. They broke laws against false and misleading ads and also breached a 1996 agreement to be truthful: https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2023/attorney-general-james-secures-69-million-bayer-and-monsanto-false-advertising.

Meet Rowan Reid

With evidence of climate change hitting our TV screens every night, more and more people are concluding that climate change isn’t coming but that it is already here. In this context, unsurprisingly, there’s growing interest in planting trees to capture atmospheric carbon. One person who has ideas on how to implement this climate change response is Rowan Reid. Here is some information from Rowan’s website.

Rowan Reid B.For.Sci., M.For.Sci. is a forester amongst farmers. His passion for trees began as a child in the coastal eucalypt forests of southern Victoria, which developed into a career teaching and working with farmers around the world:

1. Owner of the Bambra Agroforestry Farm. More than 10,000 visitors have toured his Bambra Agroforestry Farm, which is set up as a 42-hectare outdoor classroom for farmers, scientists, students and tree lovers, and a living laboratory for his own learning.

2. Co-founder of one of Australia's most successful Landcare groups, the Otway Agroforestry Network.

3. Originator of the Australian Master TreeGrower course, which is currently delivered by the Australian Agroforestry Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation.

4. A Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne for 20 years until 2011. Rowan continues his academic teaching and research as a Senior Fellow of the university.

5. Author of Heartwood: Art and Science of Growing Trees for Conservation and Profit and many other books on agroforestry and farm trees.

The following video by Rowan Reid comes from Smartsoil, an organisation involved in podcasting leaders in regenerative agriculture. In the podcast Rowan sheds light on the economic aspects of agroforestry, highlighting its potential for profitable farming practices. As a passionate advocate for regenerative agriculture, Rowan discusses the role of agroforestry in building resilient and sustainable food systems. He touches upon the potential of agroforestry to mitigate climate change, conserve soil health, and promote ecological balance.

Living the change

Living the Change is a free feature-length documentary that explores solutions to the global crises we face today – solutions any one of us can be part of – through the inspiring stories of people pioneering change in their own lives and in their communities in order to live in a sustainable and regenerative way. Click the link to watch Living the change: Inspiring stories for a sustainable future.

Adjusting to climate change

The latest report on climate change by the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), just released, shows that most of Australia’s major energy and resource companies have scored no more than a pass grade on climate change policy engagement. The report indicates that companies such as BHP, Origin, Rio Tinto, Santos and Woodside are good at committing to goals but are not so good at actioning programs to achieve those goals. This is despite the world wide images of floods, fires and warming oceans.

Such news is depressing given that the world must be close to that dangerous tipping point which could lead to extreme weather condition far outweighing what we have experienced to date.

In view of this there are two websites where you might find some solace or directions for further inquiry:

• Psychology for a Safe Climate is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2010 in Melbourne to foster emotional engagement with climate change. PSC was founded in response to the lack of individual and community commitment to address the climate emergency. As psychologists and other helping professionals, members use their professional knowledge and skills to increase understanding and engagement with the psychological impact of climate change. Read on…

• The Psychology of Climate Change from The Royal Institution of Great Britain, an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster in London. You might like to watch their video.

AGM time at the IEA

The Institute of Ecological Agriculture AGM will be held on the 6th November at 4pm Eastern Summer Time. You will need to register to receive login details. To register please contact egordon@ecoag.org.au.

Circulating the newsletter

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Editor: Kerry Cochrane
Design & Circulation Leader: Tony McKenzie (PhD)

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