Field day at Blue Dog Farm

A lovely wrap to Young Farmers Connects first Small Farms Count Field Day in South-East Queensland for 2025!

Held at Jacki Hinchey’s Blue Dog Farm in the hills of Mt Mee in Moreton Bay, this full-day "How to Do It Day" regenerative agriculture workshop was facilitated by Graeme Sait who is the renowned author, educator and founded of Nutri-tech Solutions (NTS). This invaluable workshop equipped attending farmers with a host of skills to build both profitability and sustainability on farms. Beginning with an acknowledgment of Jinibara Country on this rather cold and windy day, this workshop was held inside the shed whilst morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea were enjoyed around the fire.

The workshop involved explanations and demonstrations of in-field crop and microbe monitoring that are enhanced by hand-held mineral meters, refractometers, sap pH meters, penetrometers, EC meters and Microbiometer. This continued with demonstrations in aerobic and anaerobic composting, Johnson/Su Bioreactor and Protozoa Tea that creates super productive fungal diversity.  The day finished with an explanation of the critical importance and multifunctional roles of human microbe management through making a rainbow sauerkraut and the benefits and dynamics of anaerobic and aerobic microbe brewing.

Wanting to learn about regenerative agriculture, earning an income from farming and meet other local and young farmers, attendees described learning the incredible importance and link between nurturing soil health, our own health, animal health and planetary health. This involves the benefits that nurturing the soil has for preventing diseases and the potential human health cures. Jacki also emphasised that small farmers matter because of the role they have in volunteering and community, which she saw today!

Thanks so much Graeme Sait of Nutri-tech Solutions for facilitating this full-day workshop and imparting such a depth of knowledge and experience on soil ecology and regenerative agriculture!! Thank you as well to our host and caterer Jacki and our partnership with the Food and Agribusiness Network (FAN) Moreton Bay! 

This field day was made possible thanks to Small Grant funding by the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Climate Smart Agriculture Program.