REGENERATIVE agriculture pioneer Charles Massy is set to return to Western Australia next weekend to expand on the national conversation he started with the launch of his book, Call of the Reed Warbler: A New Agriculture, a New Earth.
Mr Massy is a farmer of more than 35 years and developed the prominent Merino sheep stud, Severn Park, near Cooma in New South Wales.
Concern at ongoing land degradation and humanity's sustainability challenge led him to undertake a PhD in Human Ecology at Australian National University in 2009.
The book, initially published in 2020, reflected on personal farming experience to explore regenerative agriculture and the vital connection between soil and our health.
His appreciation of long co-evolved landscapes and the role of farmers in these complex systems made clear the importance of connection to land.
Mr Massy said regenerative agriculture helped his farming enterprise enormously.
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"We cut our costs significantly once we realised we didn't need to put on industrial fertilisers and instead started to use holistic grazing and some biological inputs," Mr Massy said.
"We find we're more resilient and with our methodologies we're more responsive to changes in the season and are able to make our decisions a lot earlier.
"On top of that, having planted 60,000-70,000 natural trees to return some function where the country had been over cleared, we've eliminated things such as grasshopper wipeouts which had been pretty regular, so there have been other benefits."
Last year, Mr Massy revised his seminal book in 2021 and conducted onfarm workshops with farmers, as well as engaging with Aboriginal elders regarding regenerating country.
From Saturday, August 20, to Wednesday, August 24, he will be on a whirlwind trip from Albany to Geraldton, including the Dowerin GWN7 Machinery Field Days.
Mr Massy will be involved with a range of onfarm activities, public presentations and opportunities for engagement.
"I'll be talking about some of the latest developments in regenerative agriculture and how that relates to some of our big challenges, particularly climate change and the destabilisation of our planetary systems," he said.
"What's emerging is the knowledge that widespread use of regenerative agriculture will pull down as much carbon dioxide as any other method and is probably the best method to do that.
"That's really exciting for farmers, especially as we start to get paid for carbon credits and in the process can positively impact the water cycle, as well as soil health, biology and diversity."
During his visit, Mr Massy also hopes to meet up with WA Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan to discuss her support and open-mindedness as to the importance of regenerative agriculture.