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2022 Fenner Conference

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2022 Fenner Conference

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'There are grounds for hope.' A regenerative futur 'There are grounds for hope.' A regenerative future. Quite simply we can. If you can spare 50 minutes and a long cuppa, listen in to Dr Charlie Massy from the Fenner conference several weeks back @aussustainableag at @ausacademyofscience Otherwise the rest of the Zoom talks are available free at http://www.sustainableag.org.au/ Colleague Walter Jehne (left) shared a similar vision to regenerate Earth's biosystems to naturally and safely cool the planet in time and rapidly and to create new bio-economies. Photo @stephencurtain
Ahem, this is Nature speaking. From Christo Milio Ahem, this is Nature speaking. From Christo Miliotis, author and his new Children’s book ‘Raindrop’ due 17 November 2022.
It's been nearly three weeks since 'Making Austral It's been nearly three weeks since 'Making Australia Agriculture Sustainable' at the Australian Academy of Science in Canberra http://www.sustainableag.org.au/ and the organising committee has managed to catch its breath. Here's a brief peek at what happened. Walter Jehne (soil microbiologist + climate scientist), Hon. Penny Wensley AC (National Soils Advocate) and Admiral Chris Barrie all spoke to 'Australia's soil, water and vegetation as key strategic assets', chaired by Prof Robyn Alders. Charlie Prell from Farmers for Climate Action and others summed up the regeneration of our natural systems including soil, water, food now to cool our climate: 'don't wait for politicians, don't wait for perfection or media'. More pics to come soon. Zoom recordings from the conference will be available soon. Co-organised by @regenerate_earth and @sustainablepopulationaus
Charlie Prell @farmersforclimateaction and other s Charlie Prell @farmersforclimateaction and other speakers saying ‘don’t wait for politicians, don’t wait for perfection or media’, we just need to regenerate, restore our natural systems including air, water and food now to cool our climate.
Dr Charles Massy speaking live at the conference. Dr Charles Massy speaking live at the conference.
Preparations underway at the Shine Dome. We hope t Preparations underway at the Shine Dome. We hope to see you in person or online tomorrow. Tickets still available. http://www.sustainableag.org.au
Former Liberal leader Professor John Hewson opens Former Liberal leader Professor John Hewson opens the 2022 Fenner Conference – Making Australian agriculture sustainable – at the Shine Dome in Canberra tomorrow. This year’s Fenner Conference, delayed for two years because of Covid, features farmers, authors and academics as well as top climate experts. It is being organised by Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) in association with @regenerate_earth SPA national president Ms Jenny Goldie says the conference comes at a time when farmers are reeling from a succession of extreme weather events and now high energy prices because of the war in Ukraine. “If we are to feed ourselves, we have to look after our farmers,” says Ms Goldie. “That means their farms must be economically viable. At the same time, we have to ensure that they farm in an environmentally sustainable manner and that means maintaining, not just their soils, but the natural assets above ground such as dams and remnant vegetation. “The conference will feature a number of speakers who will focus on restoring soil health and, in turn, keeping water in the landscape.” The conference has attracted top climate experts such as Prof Mark Howden, Prof Will Steffen, Ian Dunlop and Prof Howden. “While agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, there is also a huge potential to mitigate climate change,” says Ms Goldie. “Crops are at times destroyed by drought, bushfire and floods so it is in farmers’ interests to help drawdown carbon and minimise extreme weather events.” Ms Goldie says the term ‘eco-agriculture’ deserves wider usage. One of the speakers, Nicole Chalmer, has written a book called “Ecoagriculture for a sustainable food future”. She believes that, in resolving this disparity, there is much to be learned from traditional food production systems that persisted for thousands of years. “Another author, Patrice Newell, will also address the lessons we can learn from indigenous practices that clearly stood the test of time.” Further information: Jenny Goldie 0401 921 453 president@population.org.au
Just some of the books authored by speakers/attend Just some of the books authored by speakers/attendees at the Making Australian Agriculture Sustainable conference, next week 17-18 March 2022 in Canberra in person from $150 and on Zoom $40/day. https://www.sustainableag.org.au/ Ian Lowe: Lucky Country? Reinventing Australia. Charles Massy: Call of the Reed Warbler Patrice Newell: Who’s minding the farm? Matthew Evans: Soil Matthew Evans: On Eating Meat Gabrielle Chan: Why You Should Give a F**k About Farming Julian Cribb: Food or War Nicole Chalmer: Eco-agriculture for a Sustainable Food Future
Farm dams, creeks, remnant vegetation, native gras Farm dams, creeks, remnant vegetation, native grasses and rocky outcrops are all features of farming landscapes. These valuable natural assets need protection and restoration, not only to conserve biodiversity and landscape function, but also to underpin agricultural production. Michelle Young, Director of Sustainable Farms, a multi-disciplinary project at the Australian National University, will make the case for protecting and restoring natural assets on farms at the Fenner Conference on Environment – Making Australian agriculture sustainable – next week in Canberra. “We at Sustainable Farms work with farmers to build natural capital including biodiversity on their farms, says Ms Young. “We support them with range of experts, not least a regional team of ecologists, to help them manage their farms’ natural assets.” The Sustainable Farms project works with farmers on the NSW South West Slopes, in the Central West, Murray-Riverina and North East Victoria. “Our approach is called ‘Natural Asset farming’ and includes small, quick projects such as fencing a rocky outcrop, as well as longer-term investments such as planting a native shelter belt,” says Ms Young. “It’s not just about conserving biodiversity, however, we also address economics and mental health, as the welfare and financial security of farmers are an essential part of sustainable farming.” Ms Young says the management recommendations they propose have an extensive history of practical application by thousands of farmers with support from groups like Landcare and Greening Australia. “Core to our outreach program is that it is farmer directed,” she says.” By bringing a range of experts to the farmer, it allows dialogue between different groups. This supports innovative thinking and the uptake of new practices. “We all have a common goal: healthy farms, healthy farmers and healthy profits.”
“Human civilisation depends vitally on a stable “Human civilisation depends vitally on a stable food supply. The constant lesson of history is that food insecurity breeds conflict – as shown in my book Food or War,” says science author Julian Cribb AM. Mr Cribb is a speaker at next week’s Fenner Conference on Environment – Making Australian agriculture sustainable – at the Shine Dome in Canberra and online. It will be held from 9am to 5pm on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 March. “Behind the current crisis in the Ukraine, for example, lies Russia’s anxiety over the security of its food supply – and, among other war aims, its need to control the Ukrainian grain bowl,” says Mr Cribb. “This is exactly the same need that motivated Hitler’s Germany to launch World War II. Capturing the Russian and Ukrainian food lands was Nazi Germany’s primary war aim. “This arose out of the fear of starvation which Germans suffered in World War I – and which Hitler stated in Mein Kamf  in 1926 should be remedied by taking land from the Soviets and putting German farmers on it. “With increasing climate turbulence, massive soil loss and a growing global water crisis, the future of the world food supply is increasingly insecure – and the Ukraine conflict is rubbing in this message through its impact on world grain, fertiliser and oil prices.” Mr Cribb says what we most need is a new global diet and a renewable food system – one that can guarantee food for all through the peak in human numbers, a global peace dividend and an end to the 6th Mass Extinction. “My talk to the Fenner conference will focus on the future of food for a safe and peaceful planet.”   Further information: Julian Cribb Ph 044 868 3482 julian.cribb@outlook.com (about the conference itself) Jenny Goldie 0401 921 453
Australian agricultural land is being significantl Australian agricultural land is being significantly encroached upon by coal and gas mining, including the planned Narrabri underground mine expansion that will send nine more farms dry due to water impacts. The expansion is on top of the 61,000 ha the company has already purchased. Lock the Gate members Sally Hunter and Nicky Chirlian will elaborate on why agriculture is under threat from expanded mining leases at the Fenner Conference on Environment – Making Australia agriculture sustainable – in Canberra on March 17 and 18. “With more than 37 per cent of the nation covered by coal and gas tenements and applications, there are few places you can farm without the uncertainty of proposed projects,” says Ms Hunter. “There are few places left to farm without the negative impacts created by these industries.” Ms Hunter and Ms Chirlian have first-hand experience of the ramifications of mining on agriculture from their home regions of the Liverpool Plains and Namoi Valley in NSW. As representatives of Lock the Gate, they will also bring a national perspective to the Fenner conference, with case examples from the Hunter and Bylong Valleys in NSW and Baralaba in central Qld. “We know what life is like when mining comes to your district,” says Ms Hunter. “There are issues of land and water access, changes to community dynamics, invasion of pest and weeds and implications for the employment sector. These often affect the resilience of our communities.” Ms Chirlian says we need to consider post-mining uses of land as proposed fossil fuel projects are rejected, and how we can avoid renewable energy projects creating similar land use conflicts. “In all situations, we must seek to generate positive outcomes for our communities,” says Ms Chirlian. “This is a plea for us to transform attitudes to landscapes and the people that inhabit them,” she says. “Let’s reach beyond the financial value that we can extract from a resource. We must seek holistic solutions that facilitate local decision-making and create positive intergenerational outcomes for Australia.” www.sustainableag.org.au
Grassroots regenerative agriculture provides hope Grassroots regenerative agriculture provides hope and practical solutions The burgeoning, eclectic, grass-roots segment of regenerative agriculture provides practical solutions and hope as the planet plunges further into the Anthropocene epoch, according to academic, farmer and author, Charles Massy. Dr Massy is keynote speaker at the Fenner Conference on Environment – Making Australian agriculture sustainable – at the Shine Dome in Canberra on 17 and 18 March and on-line. “This movement is rapidly growing in all continents,” says Dr Massy. “Its practitioners focus on regenerating the key landscape functions (solar, water, soil health and biodiversity), while linking this to a paradigm change in the human mind. “The movement also focusses on eliminating harmful industrial inputs and practices in cropping, animal husbandry, agroforestry and other practices connected to food and fibre production. It is closely connected to the escalating urban and regional food movements, and thus to gardeners and consumers. “The new regenerative farming movement produces clean-green natural fibres and nutrient-dense foods, in addition to eliminating known harmful herbicides and other chemicals. It thus has huge potential to address the exponential rise of modern human and animal diseases.” Dr Massy says regenerative agriculture is not about 'sustaining' the status quo, but rather the enabling of landscapes and systems to self-organise to a state of functional, open-ended health and resilience: to ‘self-heal.' Registrations are now open for the Fenner conference and conference dinner through its website: www.sustainableag.org.au Further information: Charles Massy 02 6453 5584
Fenner conference to critically examine Australian Fenner conference to critically examine Australian agriculture After 230 years of European Agriculture in Australia, it is time to critically examine what this land has, and should have, taught us, according to one of the speakers at the 2022 Fenner Conference, Making Australian agriculture sustainable. The conference will be held in person and on-line at the Academy of Science’s Shine Dome on the ANU campus in Canberra on March 17 and 18, 2022. Soil microbiologist and co-founder of Regenerate Earth, Walter Jehne, says we need to define where our agricultural systems and impacts are currently going and where they need to go. “We must address the problems that confront us, including climate extremes, soil degradation, aridification, and loss of productivity and resilience,” says Jehne. “We then need to look at the options available to reverse this ecological and natural capital decline in time. “If agriculture is to be truly sustainable, we also need to address the challenges of debt, and the decline of rural viability and markets. “While nature provides practical solutions to these imperatives, will we recognise and use them wisely in time?” Jehne asks. “What changes must we make to our agriculture to regenerate key processes, restore formerly hydrated productive bio-systems, and cool the climate? “We need to discuss how we make these changes in time, namely, over this next decade.” The Fenner Conference features many other high-profile speakers including authors, academics and farmers. It is being organised by Sustainable Population Australia, Regenerate Earth and the Fenner Foundation. Further information including registration can be found at www.sustainableag.org.au Further information: Jenny Goldie 0401 921 453 president@population.org.au
Hi everyone. Fenner conference on sustainable agri Hi everyone. Fenner conference on sustainable agriculture deferred until March. We hope everyone is remaining safe and in a happy place. Thanks for following us. Fenner conference organising committee.
Carbon dioxide is a free resource to be harvested, Carbon dioxide is a free resource to be harvested, traded and monetised.
 
In a time when the Earth’s atmosphere is burdened with too much heat-trapping carbon dioxide, farmers should see it as a free resource that can be mined from the sky and secured back into the landscape. This can deliver carbon credits, biodiversity credits and, importantly, ecosystem services that bolster climate resilience and agricultural productivity.
 
This is the theme of the address that agronomist Guy Webb will deliver at the Fenner Conference on Environment – Making Australian agriculture sustainable – in Canberra on 30 September and 1 October. Mr Webb is co-founder and managing director of SoilCQuest, an organisation that is providing farmers with the tools to draw down CO2 on a gigatonne scale.
 
“Carbon is the one fundamental central metric by which we can measure sustainability and success of a farming system,” says Mr Webb.
 
“Yet, over the decades, carbon was lost from soils through vegetation clearing, overgrazing and tillage, driven by strong economic signals and cultural preconceptions,” he says. “Thus, farmers today are trying to function in a ‘legacy landscape’.
 
“At SoilCQuest, we have a project called ‘3D Carbon Paddocks’ that combines all our hard-won scientific landscape regeneration knowledge to redesign this legacy landscape.
 
“It demonstrates how to secure carbon back into the farm, rehabilitate biodiversity, while purposefully capturing climate resilience and production co-benefits.”
 
Mr Webb says the next critical evolution of climate-ready agriculture is to retrofit the landscape, reboot the system, and “pimp the paddock” ... at scale and at speed.  
 
“Through excellent science, strong economic signals and cultural curation, this can and must be achieved,” he says.

Further information: Guy Webb   0422 806 325
Managing Director, SoilCQuest 2031 
guy@soilcquest.org.au
New systems to ensure food is nutritious and produ New systems to ensure food is nutritious and production sustainable. Discussions over 'circular bioeconomies' are challenging our commodity-based food production and trading systems that ignore the critical role of food in our health, Dr Robyn Alders, Crookwell grazier and Honorary Professor, Development Policy Centre, Australian National University. Dr Alders is a speaker at the forthcoming Fenner Conference on Environment "Making Australian agriculture sustainable" in Canberra. "The existence of our human society rests on access to safe and nutritious food yet it is treated as a mere commodity for trading purposes," she said. "We need to move away from this 'food as commodity' focus and develop a new system in which resources are recycled, natural systems are regenerated and wastes are minimised. This is known as a circular food system. It applies equally to aquatic farming and fishers as it does to terrestrial farming. "We need new frameworks such that food producers and consumers know whether the landscapes that produce food are healthy and whether the food itself is becoming more, or less, nutritious. "Ideally, these frameworks for determining whether the landscape and food are healthy should be collaboratively developed, internationally based and locally adapted." Dr Alders says food must be valued not only by its weight or volume, but also by its natural nutrient density, freedom from biological and chemical contamination, degree of environmental impact and fairness to all involved in its production and distribution. "The current agricultural economic system is inequitable as well as environmentally damaging. It allows dogs and cats in high-income households to consume higher quality diets than vulnerable people, especially women of reproductive age and infants in low-income settings," she added. "New agricultural systems must ensure that farmers everywhere receive adequate remuneration for the food they produce so that they can care both for their households and their land." In-person and online registrations are now open for the conference which will be held at the Shine Dome, ANU campus, Canberra, on Sept 30 and Oct 1. https://sustainableag.org.au/
New tool to monitor farming practices A new tool New tool to monitor farming practices A new tool called Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) has been developed that can monitor whether farming practices are improving or degrading the health of the landscape. Land to Market Australia seeks to transform our food system by using such tools so businesses and consumers can support regeneration efforts where needed. Tony Hill, Executive Chair of Land to Market Australia, says that in the past, work to save or protect important environmental assets has been done by volunteers. Mr Hill is a speaker at the forthcoming Fenner Conference: Making Australian agriculture sustainable that will be held at the Shine Dome in Canberra on 30 September and 1 October, both in-person and on-line. “While various organisations are now stepping forward to support sustainable agriculture, the pace of improvement in ecosystems is not fast enough up to this point", says Mr Hill. “In the face of global challenges such as mega fires, droughts, biodiversity loss and climate change, we must engage more of the population to be active and move beyond sustainable, to a regenerative, world. “Our farmers are experimenting with their farming practices, and consumers and businesses are realising that their purchases can contribute to planetary health,” says Mr Hill. “Land to Market Australia seeks to obtain information by such methods as EOV about the ecological health of our farmland and in turn inform individuals and businesses.” Last year, Land to Market Australia was proud to announce the award of the first-ever Ecological Outcome Verification certificate in Australia to Mulloon Creek Natural Farms near Braidwood NSW. They found the ecological health of their farms was trending positive. The previous year in 2019, Land to Market was Grand Champion of the Australian Government Innovation in Agriculture Land Management Award. Further information: Tony Hill Mobile: 0412 128 755 Email: tony@landtomarket.com.au
For agriculture to be sustainable, systems must be For agriculture to be sustainable, systems must be redesigned. According to a speaker at the forthcoming ‘Making Australian agriculture sustainable’ conference, we must redesign all agricultural systems in the service of ecologically sustainable and humane principles. Emeritus Professor Stuart Hill of Western Sydney University says we need to take a psychosocial approach if we are to make agriculture more ecologically sustainable. “This means we have to look at the psychological and social factors which affect farmers’ physical and mental well-being and their ability to function,” Prof Hill says. “For agriculture to be genuinely sustainable, we must develop pathways to whole system change which are both doable and relevant. “For this to happen, those involved must communicate effectively with others in a manner that embodies core values such as respect, inclusiveness, honesty, compassion, cooperation and humility.” Prof Hill says we have to apply ecological concepts and principals in farming, that is, sustainable farming that works with, not against, nature. “This means we have to design and manage agroecosystems. These units of agricultural activity include not just the living and nonliving components but also their interactions. “This transformation of our farming systems will involve cultural change, based on social psychology, that is mindful of social interactions and their effects on the individual.” The 2021 Fenner Conference on environment – ‘Making Australian agriculture sustainable’ – will be held at the Shine Dome in Canberra on 30 September and 1 October in-person and on-line. Registrations are open on www.sustainableag.org.au
Understanding natural processes can restore the Ea Understanding natural processes can restore the Earth Understanding natural processes is the only realistic means by which we can regenerate soils and stabilise climate, according to Walter Jehne, a co-organiser of and speaker at the 2021 Fenner Conference: “Making Australian agriculture sustainable.” * “Australian indigenous people occupied the continent for 65,000 years and invariably changed it. They had to adapt to the consequences of those changes in order to survive,” says Mr Jehne. “In their 200 years of occupation, Europeans have also greatly altered the landscape through agriculture and changes to grazing and fire ecologies. With these changes have come degradation of soils, their hydrology and bio-systems. This has led to aridification of the landscape and contributed to climate change. “Now we too must not only adapt to the consequences of our actions but also change our agricultural practices. “Australia is in the front line of climate change and its dangerous hydrological extremes such as cyclones, storms, floods and drought over the next decades. We need urgent practical solutions for how can we best avoid, buffer and survive them.” Mr Jehne says we must therefore identify and restore the natural processes that hydrated and cooled the bio-systems which are now critical to our food, safe climate and future. “The conference will explore how we can best use agriculture, the only agency we have, to naturally cool the climate and regenerate Earth so it can provide our essential needs and ensure our future.” * The conference will be held at the Shine Dome in Canberra on 30 September and 1 October. Registrations are now open on the conference website www.sustainableag.org.au
The organisers of this year’s Fenner Conference The organisers of this year’s Fenner Conference on Environment have announced that registrations are now open. The conference with the theme ‘Making Australian agriculture sustainable’ will be held on Thursday 30 September and Friday 1 October at the Academy of Science’s Shine Dome in Canberra. The conference will be both in-person and live-streamed. Conference co-organiser and national president of Sustainable Population Australia, Ms Jenny Goldie, says the conference features a remarkable line-up of speakers from both farms and academia, not least keynote speaker Dr Charles Massy, author of ‘Call of the Reed Warbler’. Prof John Hewson will open the conference. “Australian agriculture today is largely unsustainable,” says Ms Goldie. “Soils are degrading and are in need of regeneration. Broad acre farming is delivering food in quantity but not always in quality. Rainfall and run-off are declining in the southern half of the continent because of climate change, which makes farming more difficult. “Our speakers will address various means by which soils can be restored and help mitigate climate change by drawing down carbon. Better soils retain water that can ameliorate the effects of a drier climate.” A number of speakers at the conference have recently published, or will by the time of the conference, books including Matthew Evans, Patrice Newell, Gabrielle Chan, Nicole Chalmer, and Julian Cribb. Climate change will be a strong feature of the conference with speakers Profs Will Steffen, Mark Howden and Justin Borewitz as well as Dr Adam Carroll and former coal and oil executive, Ian Dunlop. Registrations are now open on the conference website www.sustainableag.org.au Further information: Jenny Goldie 0401 921 453 president@population.org.au
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