Last month 700 people came together for Grounded Festival on the Stewart Family’s Yan Yan Gurt West farm. This three-day event showcased local produce, landscapes and sustainable agricultural practices.
Matthew Evans from Fat Pig Farm started Grounded in Tasmania, to bring together local farmers, scientists and international experts. Evans aimed to “combine science and ancient wisdom to offer a healthier, more sustainable way forward” for Australia’s agriculture.
Each year the festival moves to a “different farm, in a new region, showcasing the landscapes, people and ideas that make Australian agriculture so unique”.
For many years the Stewart Family farm has been used for learning and farm tours. Three generations came together to welcome attendees to the property. The Stewarts explained that the best way to solve problems is to come together as a well-informed community. The 573-acre property produces prime lambs and wool with integrated agroforestry with almost 20% of the farm under trees.
The festival took place in a back paddock between lush riparian zones, shelterbelts and multispecies pasture. Farm walks with experts covered everything from identifying on-farm insects, to soil health and fungi.
This year’s program also brought together local and international experts across more than 50 topics including soil health, landscape regeneration and biodiversity. American agroecologist Nichole Masters talked about farmers finding balance, assessing their on-farm priorities and reflecting these in soil health through regenerative land management. Phil Mulvey talked about landscape rehydration and the linkages between rainfall and vegetation. Jack Pascoe talked about using fire and pest management across landscapes. Alison Poulot talked about the mycorrhizal relationship between fungi increasing water and nutrient availability to plants.
Landcare groups from across the Corangamite were also on the program, coming together to present the ‘Resilient Farming Course’. Co-designed with farmers, landcarers and experts the ROOTSS (R - Natural Resources, O - Organisms, O - Operations, T - Thinking, S- Soil Structure, S- Synergy) Diagnostic framework helps famers working together to understand and address constraints to make more informed decisions on their farms. Expanding on a successful pilot in Upper Barwon expressions of interest are now open for the next round launching in August 2026. Subsidised places are available for farmers in the Upper Barwon, Central Otway, Warrnambool District and Heytesbury Landcare regions to participate in this five-day Resilient Farming Course with ongoing peer and learning support. Places are available to 10 farm businesses in each landcare region.
if you are interested in completing the Course, get in touch with your relevant facilitator for more info:
Landcare Victoria joined the Upper Barwon Landcare Network and Otways Agroforestry Network in the exhibitor’s area, where staff helped attendees find their local landcare groups, advised about pests and improving biodiversity on farms. One area of interest to attendees was the New Future Landscape Action Planning Process.
This event came together because of the hard work of the Grounded team, Upper Barwon Landcare Network and the Corangamite CMA.