NATIONAL LANDCARE WEBINAR Regenerating Australia’s Soil Health Series Hosted by the National Landcare Facilitator in partnership with Soils for Life The NLF is an initiative of

Profitable Regenerative Agriculture COLIN SEIS NATIONAL LANDCARE WEBINAR PART 2

Winona Myself and son Nick 2000 acres (840 Ha) Gulgong Central Tablelands NSW Granite soil, Ph mm annual Rainfall

Winona Enterprises Merino sheep wool & meat production Working Kelpie dogs Native Grass Seed 500 acres of crops: wheat, oats, rye. Cattle trading

In 1930 my father (Harry Seis) did not require any pesticides and only a small amount of Superphosphate to grow good wheat crops. Why can’t we do that now ?

If our farms have healthy functioning carbon rich soil instead of dysfunctional soil  Less fertiliser  Better water holding capacity By improving the soil we will also increase crop and pasture yield and reduce costs

If our farms had pastures that functioned like grasslands? Healthy, functioning, carbon rich soil.  Less fertiliser  No insecticides  No fungicides

How and why did I change?? During the 1970s the cost of production was becoming too high and it was more difficult to be profitable BUT !

Major bushfire destroyed Winona sheep killed All buildings destroyed Most of fencing burned No money

How did I change? Looked for low input agriculture methods.(1980s) Stopped using pasture fertiliser and pesticides (1980) Focused on 100% ground cover (crops and pasture) Started ‘time control grazing’ in 1990 Developed ‘Pasture Cropping’ in 1995 Focused on restoring Winona to grassland.

“Pasture Cropping” was invented and developed in 1995 by Colin Seis & Daryl Cluff

“Pasture Cropping” is a land management technique where annual crops are zero- tilled into dormant perennial grass or grassland. But it is more than that

Pasture Cropping will: Produce crops for grain and/or grazing Will improve pastures by stimulating perennial grass species and species diversity. Will improve soil health and increase soil organic carbon. Will improve ecological function

Over a 12 month period the paddock has produced: Grazing of grassland pre sowing the crop Grazing of the crop (sheep & cattle) Grain from the crop Grazing of grassland after harvest (sheep & cattle) Native grass seed Reduced fertilizer (reduced by 70%) No insecticide No fungicide No plowing

Winona’s soil now has 204% more organic carbon Has sequestered 46.7 t /Ha of carbon (172 ton/Ha of CO2) Holds almost 200% more water (360,000 lt /Ha) All of the soil nutrients including trace elements have increased by an average of 172% Winona Soil Neighbour soil

Is it profitable? Annual cost saving $80,000 compared to previous high input methods

Is it productive? Annual income is higher ‘Winona’ is running more sheep Crop yields are similar. Harvest and sell over 1000 Kg of native grass seed Soil organic carbon levels are increasing Soil Phosphorus, calcium, ph, magnesium and trace elements are increasing (available and total)

By managing agriculture and sound ecological principals together, we can improve: Soil Carbon & water holding capacity. Nutrient availability & cycling. Plant and animal diversity. Plant and animal disease. Soil health. Profit.

Agriculture can be more profitable, & environmentally regenerative. But: Agricultural practices need to function closer to how Nature had it originally designed