Why and How I Changed Colin Seis.

Winona Myself and son Nick 2000 acres (840 Ha) Gulgong Central Tablelands NSW Granite soil, Ph mm annual Rainfall

Winona Enterprises 4000 Merino Sheep wool & meat production. Working Kelpie Dogs Native Grass Seed 500 acres of Crops Wheat, oats, rye. Cattle trading Merino Stud (Ram Sales)

In 1930 my father (Harry Seis) did not require any pesticides and only a small amount of fertiliser to grow good wheat crops. Why cant we do that now ?

If our farms have healthy, carbon - rich soil instead of dysfunctional soil. Better water holding capacity. More available nutrients. Less fertiliser. Produce nutrient dense food

If our farms had diverse grasslands or pastures that functioned like grasslands? Our farms would have healthy, functioning, carbon - rich soil. Less fertiliser No insecticides No fungicides. Produce nutrient dense food

Instead of good soil and grassland we got the ‘Green Revolution’ and Industrialised Agriculture

For the last 60 years, around the world, agriculture has been influenced by the use of: monoculture crops supported by high rates of fertilizer and pesticides This has been an ecological disaster

Agriculture is crashing all over the world because it does not function in an ecologically sound way. Reduced soil carbon levels (Reduced soil moisture) Reduced soil fertility ( More artificial fertilizer) Increasing insect attack. (More insecticide) Increasing crop disease. (More Fungicide) Modern Agriculture l acks resilience and ecological function

Agriculture is about FOOD But there is something fundamentally wrong

Mineral depletion in meat Iron reduced by 54% Copper reduced by 24% Calcium reduced by 41% Magnesium reduced by 10% Potassium reduced by 16% Phosphorus reduced by 28% Source: UK Ministry of Agriculture

Australian fruit and vegetables Potatoes Calcium 27 mg3 mg 89% Broccoli Magnesium160 mg29 mg 82% Carrots Vit. A 25,000 IU 91 IU 99.6% Apples Vit. C 25 mg 5 mg 80% It is possible to buy an orange today that contains ZERO vitamin C.

Most of this decline in nutrients is related to a serious decline in Soil health and Soil Carbon Poor quality food is caused by poor quality soil

Why do I do things differently?

Unsuitable grazing and cropping practices caused major grassland and soil damage to ‘Winona’ from 1930 to

Industrialized, high input, farming methods From 1950 to 1978 on ‘Winona’ Sown to introduced pasture. (clover ryegrass, etc and regularly re-sown) Annually fertilized with 125kg/ha. Ploughing and cultivating soil to sow crops (high rates of fertilizer & pesticides) Set stock grazing. This high input system was very productive during this era.

These high input methods were costing us over $80,000 annually (2013 values) And over time, doing serious ecological damage to Winona.

High input, Industrialized Agriculture started to crash on “Winona” during the 1970s Fertilizer costs became too high. Cost of sowing pasture became too high. Rainfall no longer infiltrated. Soil lost structure. Soil became acid. Salinity problems. Trees dying. We were going broke.

How and why did I change?? During the 1970s the cost of production was becoming too high and it was more difficult to be profitable BUT !

Major bushfire destroyed Winona sheep killed All buildings destroyed 50 km of fencing burned No money

How did I change Looked for low input agriculture methods.(1980s) Stopped using pasture fertilizer and pesticides (1980) Focused on 100% ground cover. (crops and pasture) Started ‘time control grazing’ in 1990 Developed ‘Pasture Cropping’ in 1993 Combined ‘Pasture Cropping’ and ‘time control grazing’ in 1995 Focused on restoring Winona to grassland.

How do we stop killing plants and restore grasslands?

Grazing Management Animals are blamed for creating deserts around the planet It is not the animal that is the problem It is the human managing the animal that is the problem. Nearly a third of the world's farmland has been abandoned in the past 40 years because inappropriate management has made it unproductive

“Pasture Cropping” was invented and developed in 1993 by Colin Seis & Daryl Cluff

“Pasture Cropping” is a land management technique where annual crops are zero - tilled into dormant perennial grass or grassland.

We have farmed the same way for 5000 years. Why haven't crops been planted into grass before? It was known that annual plants will compete with each other. (wheat & annual grass) Crop disease It was assumed that perennial plants would also be incompatible with cereal crops. No one had looked at how nature worked in a grassland (Warm season and cool season plants are compatible)

Pasture Cropping Grazing and cropping are combined and managed in a way where each one benefits the other.

‘Pasture Cropping’ Zero till sowing of crops into perennial pasture. Never Plough. Never kill perennial grassland species. Weeds are managed by creating large quantities of thick litter by using good grazing management Very careful use of herbicides, if necessary.

February 2010 Pasture Cropping Perennial grassland

Sowing Oats May 2010 After mulching with sheep and/or Cattle, zero-till plant the crop into litter and mulch of dormant warm season perennial grass. Pasture Cropping

Sow crop into litter Pasture Cropping No herbicide is required with this much litter

Emerging Crop Pasture Cropping

10 th September 2010 Pasture Cropping The crop can be grazed by animals

14 th October 2010 Pasture Cropping

Pasture Cropping. Harvest the crop with emerging perennial grass beneath.

Graze grassland after the crop is harvested

Native grass seed can be harvested after the cereal crop is harvested Seed is sold for re-vegetation, and in the future, sold for human consumption

Pasture Cropping will: Produce crops for grain and/or grazing. Will improve pastures by stimulating perennial grass species and species diversity. Will improve soil health and increase soil organic carbon. Will improve ecological function.

Vertical Stacking of Farming and Grazing Enterprises

Over a 12 month period the paddock has produced 1.Grazing of grassland pre sowing the crop 2.Grazing of the crop (sheep & cattle) 3.Grain from the crop 4.Grazing of grassland after harvest (sheep & cattle) 5.Native grass seed Reduced fertilizer (reduced by 70%) No insecticide No fungicide No ploughing

Vertical stacking of different enterprises on the same area can give far more production and profit per Ha. Grain (wheat, oats, rye, barley) Sheep meat Cattle Wool Native grass seed Native grass seed human consumption Carbon sequestration

Agriculture, and sound ecological practices should function together

On Winona no insecticide has been used for over 20 years. We have no insect attack in crops and pasture. How??

Insects 1.Insect attack of crops and pastures can be controlled by having more insects. 2.Insecticides are not selective, they also kill predators like spiders and wasps that will control insects naturally. 3. Insecticides will ultimately lead to more insects and more insecticides.

Crop Fertilizer reduced by 70% No fertiliser used on pasture for over 30 years How??

Winona’s soil now has 204% more organic carbon. Has sequestered 46.7 t /Ha of carbon (172 ton/Ha of CO2.) Holds almost 200% more water. (360,000 lt /Ha) All of the soil nutrients including trace elements have increased by an average of 172% Ph has increased from Winona Soil Neighbour soil

No fungicide used on ‘Winona’ for over 20 years No crop or pasture disease How??

Soil microbe tests on Winona have shown: Total fungi increase 862% Total bacteria increase 350% Total protozoa increase 640% Total nematode increase over 1000% Having healthy soil with large numbers and large diversity of soil microbes will control plant disease.

Is it profitable and productive?

Compared to previous high input agriculture. Annual income is higher. ‘Winona’ is running more sheep. Crop yields are similar. Harvest and sell over 1000 Kg of native grass seed. Soil organic carbon levels are increasing. Soil Phosphorus, calcium, ph, magnesium and trace elements are increasing (available and total)

By managing agriculture and sound ecological principals together, we can : Restore Grasslands Improve Soil Carbon Improve water holding capacity. Increase plant and animal diversity. Reduce plant and animal disease. Improve soil health. Increase profit.

Agriculture can be more profitable and environmentally regenerative But: Agricultural practices need to function closer to how Nature had it originally designed.