Charles Massy, a Monaro sheep grazier, believes he was reading his landscape wrong. He was benchmarking his property against traditional agricultural systems that involved high inputs to deliver high returns.
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Massy now measures his success by animal health, species diversity, profitability and human health; and focuses on improving the nutrient and water cycling on his property, which helps restore the health and production of his landscape.
On Thursday September 6, he will drive home his message at Grabben Gullen Hall as a guest speaker, hosted by the Upper Lachlan Landcare Grazing Group.
Regenerative agriculture is a term we are hearing more and more frequently. In the past we have talked about sustaining our landscape.
But if the landscape is already degraded, we want to strive for something more.
In a nutshell, regenerative agriculture is about that common goal almost all landholders aspire to: to return their landscape in as good as, or even better, condition than when they started.
Massy is not alone. In his recently published book, Call of the Reed Warbler, he travelled throughout Australia to interview and case study landholders sharing the same values.
“The key message I’m presenting is that from healthy landscapes comes healthy profits, people and planet,” Massy told a recent Climate Conversation Landcare event at Yass, with over 200 people attending.
With all of NSW now drought declared, and dry conditions set to continue with ongoing climate variability, healthy and resilient landscapes are critical.
“There is room for a lot of hope and excitement,” and regenerative agriculture is the key to successful agricultural businesses, Massy says.
Focusing on the health of our landscape, health of our people and ongoing profitability, we can farm our country and restore its resilience and balance.
Massy still manages the family’s grazing property in NSW while teaching at universities and consulting in the fields of Merino breeding and landscape design.
He has chaired and served as a director on a number of national and international review panels and boards of business, research organisations and statutory wool bodies, involving garment manufacture, wool marketing, R&D, molecular genetics and genomics.
He completed a PhD in human ecology at the Australian National University in 2012 and is also the author of Breaking the Sheep’s Back, providing insights to Merino sheep history and the political destruction of the Australian wool industry.
The Upper Lachlan Landcare Grazing Group encourages and supports more regenerative practices by local graziers.
We are pleased to have secured Charles Massy to speak at Grabben Gullen Hall on Thursday September 6.
Tickets are $10 for Landcare members and $15 for non-members. All are welcome.
- RSVP: call 0447 242 474 or email coordinator@upperlachlanlandcare.org.au
