About Talkin' After Hours with the Lower Blackwood LCDC
Talkin After Hours with the Lower Blackwood LCDC is hosted by Jo Wren and Kate Tarrant from the Lower Blackwood LCDC who, each month, will be talking all things Sustainable Ag, bringing you an interesting and informative interview with an expert on a particular farming or landcare topic. The Lower Blackwood LCDC are a not-for-profit, community managed, independent Landcare and sustainable Ag organisation located in the South West of Western Australia.
How do you turn everything you're hearing about soil health into practical decisions on your own farm?
In this episode of Talkin' After Hours, Jo chats with soil and plant health educator and consultant Joel Williams about moving from soil knowledge to farm strategy.
They explore how to identify what might be limiting your farming system, what soil tests can — and can't — tell you, and why simple observations in the paddock can be just as valuable as numbers on a page. Joel also shares his approach to making small, incremental changes, using simple on-farm trials to test what works, and looking beyond product claims to ask a more useful question: what constraint are you actually trying to address?
It's a practical conversation about making sense of soil and plant health information, building confidence in your own observations, and working out what makes sense for your farm.
In this episode we talk about:
translating soil health principles into practical on-farm decisions
simple ways to assess soil health in the paddock
making sense of soil test results
identifying limiting factors and deciding what to tackle first
using small on-farm trials before making bigger changes
assessing soil and plant health products beyond the marketing
why observation remains one of a farmer's most useful tools.
Plus: Joel will be joining Lower Blackwood in October for the Talkin' After Hours Masterclass: Your Farm in Focus, where a small group of farmers will have the opportunity to work through their own farm questions, soil and plant test results and practical next steps with Joel.
29 Jul 2026
Understanding Regenerative Agriculture: Principles, Practices, and Online Course Overview
In this episode of Talkin After Hours Kate chats to agroecologists David Hardwick and Mark Tupman on sustainable land management and introduces a comprehensive online course designed to demystify regenerative practices. Discover what regenerative agriculture truly means, its ecological foundations, and how farmers of all scales can implement its principles.
In this episode we discuss:
The definition and core principles of regenerative agriculture
How regenerative farming works with ecological systems to enhance resilience
The importance of soil health, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning
Practical practices: soil management, grazing, and horticulture
The role of ecology in reducing input costs and environmental impact
Scaling regenerative practices from small farms to large operations
The evolution of regenerative agriculture from organic and agro-ecology roots
Th structure and modules of the new online course in regenerative farming
The importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing regenerative systems
Sign up for the course here: https://lowerblackwood.com.au/register/
24 Jun 2026
Talkin' Biodiversity & Farm Productivity
In this podcast episode we explore a topic that's becoming increasingly important for the future of Australian agriculture: how trees on farms can support grazing livestock, improve productivity, strengthen biodiversity, build climate resilience, and create new opportunities for farmers. To help us unpack this fascinating topic Kate chats to one of Australia's leading voices in agroforestry and farm forestry, Rowan Reid.
Rowan makes the case that, when thoughtfully integrated into grazing systems, trees & shrubs can improve livestock welfare, boost biodiversity, strengthen climate and fire resilience, and even support long-term profitability. With decades of practical experience and research-backed insight, Rowan explains why the best approach is not a one-size-fits-all formula, but a patient, place-based strategy that starts small, builds confidence, and helps farmers create a more productive and resilient landscape for the future.
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98,899
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5.0 / 5
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Podcast Authority Score: 46 / 100
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