SHORT: Moving to a low risk, low input system one step at a time, with Steven Ford

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Soils For Life

34 episodes

1 week ago

The Soils for Life podcast brings you the voices of farmers around Australia who are regenerating our precious soils and landscapes. In each episode we share the stories of farmers who are discovering ways to farm with nature, and explore how we can all help more farmers to head in this direction, for healthier food, humans and planet. These stories show how resilient, regenerated soils and landscapes can support profitable food-producing businesses, thriving and resilient people and regional communities, and abundant and nutritious food. Produced by Grow Love Project and Soils for Life.

Earth Sciences

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Earth Sciences

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SHORT: Moving to a low risk, low input system one step at a time, with Steven Ford

Soils For Life

21 minutes 9 seconds

4 months ago

SHORT: Moving to a low risk, low input system one step at a time, with Steven Ford

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 - ⁠info@soilsforlife.org.au⁠

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