Regenerative farmers got into the driving seat for climate solutions at a farm walk outside Nagambie on Monday.
More than 60 farmers flocked to the sheep and beef farm of Jim and Donna Winter-Irving, 'Coolwoola Plains', 15 minutes west of the central Victorian town.
The farm walk and information day focused on turning the knowledge of regenerative farming into practice and was organised by the Australian Holistic Management Cooperative (AHMC).
Attendees learned how to design and shape a farm landscape so as to rejuvenate plant species diversity, manage water flows and restore biodiversity.
AHMC chief executive Helen Lewis said regenerative farming was about "working with nature".
"It's enabling our soils, grasses and animals to thrive," she said.
"It's building soil biology at the very essence of it.
"It's making sure we're looking after the water cycle, the mineral cycle, the diversity and capturing sunlight.
"When those four functions of life are thriving, we've got a thriving business, ultimately."
She explained that a holistic approach to farming involved management through a values-based "decision making framework", as an umbrella to everything.
"In that, sits the toolbox that we use where we're making sure we're applying tools that are going to enhance those ecosystem processes," she said.
"Those four ecosystem processes are at the heart and we're just making sure that when we use a tool, we're enabling those to thrive."
Ms Lewis was happy with the topics discussed at the day and said it was "very clear that collaboration and community are very important if people want to regenerate land".
Farm co-owner Donna Winter-Irving said the information day was a "dream".
"[It was] great to get so many young people together because they are our future with what they are thinking," she said.
"I think with a lot of farmers, they can just get stuck in their same old ways doing the same thing and we need that innovation to spark us to start thinking a bit differently."
There were several such young farmers who featured throughout the event.
Beef farmer Callum Lawson, Avenel, said regenerative farming was all about "farmers helping farmers" and "surrounding yourself with like-minded people".
He farmed 600 Angus cattle which were marketed under the brand name 'Habbies Howe Beef'.
Participating on a panel with fellow young regenerative farmers, Mr Lawson said profitable beef production and farming with nature could go hand in hand.
He said when it came to planning for his farm's future, "insecticides never really sat well with me" and explained how he adopted a more holistic approach to his operation.
This approach, he said, had allowed him to improve his pasture quality and allowed him to have more "green grass during summer".
He was joined by sheep farmer Charlie Heal, Wirrate, who ran 3000, mainly Merino, ewes, on 1600 hectares.
Mr Heal said when it came to farm management, regenerative farming "forces you to sit back and think about things".
"I matched-up elements of conventional agriculture with regenerative," he said.
"You have to be profitable to do this."
Mr Heal's farm was Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certified, as part of his regenerative farming approach.
The label could be applied to wool farmers and sellers who aimed to improve the welfare of their sheep and the land they graze on.
He said this new approach to farming left him with better choices for marketing his wool and it was now becoming necessary to have such a label to get in the market at all.
He encouraged other young farmers to look at regenerative farming and ask how it could improve their livelihoods.
"Jump in and give it a whack," he said.
Regenerative horticulture farmer Chloe Fox, Seymour, echoed these views.
She grew more than 100 different crops and varieties on her leased 4 acres on the banks of the Golden River and supplied to a mix of wholesalers and restaurant owners in the area.
She said her way of vegetable and fruit farming was about putting more back into the land, rejuvenating soil health and biodiversity.
Ms Fox said this was something more and more consumers wanted when they thought about the food they were eating.
She said selling direct to such customers was "so rewarding and inspiring".
"You really want to do the best you can for the people consuming the product," she said.
She said it was "such a shame" there was a disconnect between food production and a large portion of consumers and suggested regenerative farming was a way to bridge that gap.
Organic flour producer Ian Condon, Rutherglen, also spoke at Monday's event.
He grew organic wheat and milled stone-ground flour under the name Woodstock Flour.
He also grew mixed species cover crops to regenerate soil and support his small sheep operation.
"Farming is a very direct way to have a positive impact on the land, yourself and your community," he said.
Speaking after the event, Ms Winter-Irving said it was all about looking at what a farm would be like in 50 years.
The couple first embarked on their regenerative farming approach in 2016 and she said it "changed our lives".
"We make sure we have balance," she said.
"It's changed our outlook where we don't come to the farm every day and we're organised.
"We do all the planning and we know ahead of time for things like flooding and drought."
Ms Winter-Irving said she worried about farmers who during recent drought conditions were "absolutely desperate" having to feed livestock with "million dollar bills".
"I just wish they did some training to plan for this before it actually hits," she said.
She said regenerative farming allowed the farm to do more with less and improve its landscape for generations to come.
The farmers at the farm walk discussed ways to showcase their work and bring more like-minded individuals into the fold.
