By Chris Hibburt
In June 2025, 22 people representing Victoria’s dairy industry attended a four-day Regen Farming Workshop on the Canterbury Plains near Christchurch New Zealand. This region is represented by some long-established dairy farms as well as conversions that have taken advantage of the availability of irrigation water.
The week began with a day-long conference attended by a cross section of dairy farmers and service providers with speakers representing regen farmers from Australia and New Zealand as well as scientists working in soil health.
There were visits to farms running programs comparing regen and traditional farming systems as well as local owner operators running regen farms at various levels of conversion.
DemoDairy Foundation (DDF) sponsored nine participants from Western Victoria with the anticipation that they would become better informed of regen farming and to be able to share this knowledge with our farming community.
The group took the opportunity to have a round table discussion of the key messages from the week with a focus on an audience with limited awareness of the concept.
What is Regen Farming?
Increasing the natural capital value of the land as a function of agricultural production.
The outcomes of regen farming include leaving a legacy through high level stewardship of our land, of farming with animal welfare and biodiversity as priorities and of producing healthy foods.
Regen farming has the capability of being equally financially rewarding as other farming systems whilst providing a satisfying, safe and attractive workplace.
More specific outcomes include:
◦ Minimal use of synthetic fertilizer products including N
◦ Minimal flow of unwanted nutrients into waterways and the atmosphere
◦ Production of forages that are ruminant friendly
◦ Benefiting from less exposure to fertilizer input prices
◦ Efficient water use
◦ Meeting the empathetic needs of those who wish to farm holistically
◦ A more appealing social license to produce milk
◦ Providing a product that has superior health benefits
Many of these outcomes relate to the underlying driver of regen farming which is a focus on soil health. The principles of achieving healthy soils involves the creation of a soil structure that allows air and water access beyond the conventional concept of 100 mm in most soil types to 300 mm and beyond. By creating aerated soils, it allows plants to extend their roots deeper where they can access a greater supply of nutrients for growth and in doing so, allow the flourishing of microbials and N that feed plant growth. Soils that suffer from water logging and pugging are best to have these issues addressed before considering for multi species planting.
The plants that benefit most from having deeper soil access are those that send roots deeper and typically include legumes brassicas and deep-rooted perennial grasses such as fescue and cocksfoot. Multi species plantings often include annuals that may be able to reproduce but once soils have established a deep healthy profile through the build- up of organic material and soil aggregation , a diverse perennial pasture base is able to thrive.
In New Zealand a multi species pasture is typically fed with multiple applications per year of fish oil which has chemical and biological qualities that are not at this stage well documented. In addition, there are a variety of microorganisms and trace minerals as well as lime and gypsum all of which are applied as foliar sprays using a “tow and fert” machine that can be several thousands of litres capacity.
Farmers have used a variety of techniques to open up soils including the rota till , power harrows and yeoman’s plough. Some soils require a more aggressive approach if heavily compacted and root bound. To stimulate the microbial activity the introduction of fungi and bacteria as well as some organic material is done sometimes by mulching the residual dry matter in the surface, and by seed coating, liquid injecting these stimulants at sowing, or by soil or foliar application post sowing of the multi species.
The theory behind the establishment of a deeper soil profile for plant roots is that there are untapped nutrients and moisture below the 100 mm depth used by conventional rye clover pastures. These nutrients including phosphates and calcium are able to be mobilized in the right conditions for plant growth. in compacted soils such nutrients are easily lost through runoff or are not at root depth to be available to the plant.
Perennial multi species need to be managed such that they are given adequate rest between grazings. They are able to be grazed to low levels and are selected preferentially to many traditionally grown grasses in a mixed sward. Their growth rates are highest in later spring and summer so are slower to respond than rye grasses in late autumn winter and early spring
When annual mixes are used strategically, they can however complement perennial ryegrass pasture and perennial multi species pastures by providing fast growing fodder when sown in autumn and spring. These annual mixes have a very fast response rate and can create feed wedges which reduce the pressure on the farm pasture base.
Perennial ryegrass pastures and perennial multi species can be reserved for later in the round or season.
On the journey to a whole farm mixed species grazing platform the feedback from those who have taken that pathway is to suggest it be phased in over several years as the establishment of the healthy soil environment to optimize multi species growth takes more than one year depending on individual situations
Regen Farms are typically environmentally focussed so in conjunction with multi species will likely manage effluent efficiently using the many technologies in place to capture the nutrient content as well as to minimize leakage off farm through water ways or atmosphere. The holistic approach typical of regen farmers will likely see such farms have established shelter belts for shade and wind protection and riparian zones and waterways off limits for stock whilst supporting nature zones and wildlife corridors. Grazing management will also be optimized to maximize environmental outcomes.
The evolving science behind Regen Farming
As is commonly seen with new technologies there are knowledge gaps that need to be addressed for those who are considering its introduction. Understanding the chemical and biological interfaces below the surface and how changes influence plant growth will give confidence to those considering its implementation. For some the anecdotal insights from early adopters will not be enough.
Whole system adoption will require another level of analysis to give farmers confidence that the system is sustainable. Those who have made the full conversion to multi species anecdotally quote impressive production and financial performance along with animal health measures that are readily attributed to aspects of the regen approach. Massey University is in its third year of a seven-year study that is comparing many of these measures which will be able to provide us with some empirical evidence of these claims.
The soil scientists have a task to do to be able to identify the specific chemical and biological interactions that contribute to regen soil performance so that we can understand and support optimal plant performance using natural land capital
If there is a standoff between soils scientists supporting the conventional or holistic approaches to soil health and subsequent pasture performance then we have a problem to resolve It may be that research projects such as the Massey one may begin to thaw the ice.
Bringing people on the journey
To see change in farming practices there needs to be education. For that to happen the industry needs to have robust data across all aspects of an intervention or practice change. First movers may not need such evidence however to shift thinking of more cautious farmers, there will need to be support from their stakeholders such as service providers, suppliers, lenders and milk processors. Until there is a direct and clear financial incentive such as unequivocal evidence of improved financial outcomes in a reasonable time frame, progress will be slow
The next requirement is to have the technology of instigation clearly defined and resources and support available. Risk needs to be understood and mitigated and implementation has to be simple if it is to be taken up on a wider scale
What can DDF do to advance the journey?
It is important to be realistic about the vision for the future of regen farming in our industry. It could be possible to fall into an us and them position whereby there is no middle ground in thinking or adoption. It is likely that once we understand more about the drivers of healthy soils, we will have more confidence to know what is working. For many who watch, this will give them more confidence to try certain aspects of the regen approach initially. It may be that the future sees conventional and regen practices working together on farms complementing each other to reduce risk and optimize the natural capital of the land
It would be ideal to see the key players in R&D such as universities, DEECA, DA and seed and nutrient companies prioritise work in this space. Support agencies such as CMAs, Landcare, Gardiner Foundation and DDF could lobby for such work.
The opportunity for 22 people to connect with the New Zealand regen community has given us all some knowledge to impart to our dairy farming communities.
For this opportunity the team is very grateful to Tony Evans, Jade Killoran and Chloe Dear to make it all happen. Thank you to DDF to sponsor many of us and cover much of the logistics for everyone.
- Chris has a background as an adviser in conventional dairy farming and represented Heytesbury District Landcare Network as it is currently undertaking a pilot program focusing on improved biodiversity outcomes for farmers.