Program

Executive Chairman of Macdoch Australia, Alasdair MacLeod, will welcome attendees and reflect on the evolution of the regenerative agriculture conversation, and the opportunity for current and future land stewards to become agents of change for a more sustainable future.

Renowned across Australia's agricultural and rural events, MC, Lyndsey Douglas is back to guide us through Wilmot Field Day's 2026 jam-packed program. Lyndsey’s dynamicism and industry expertise will thread the event’s key themes into a thought-provoking two days to inspire ideas and discussion.

A leading figure in the global regenerative agriculture movement, Dr Allen Williams will take the stage at WFD 2026 to share his insights into transforming land and livestock management. A sixth-generation rancher, consultant and self-described "recovering academic", Allen brings broad experience to an important conversation on the future of our agrifood system. He champions three core principles - diversity, disruption and compounding - and is an expert in adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing strategies proven to support plant recovery, soil heath, water infiltration and biodiversity. Grounded in real-world application, Allen will discuss ways to apply these principles in your own context, based on your environment, climate and operation.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Drawing from his work across more than 15 M hectares of farmland, Allen will set the scene with a practical explanation of the interactions between land, livestock, pastures and crops.
• Learn about Allen’s Three Rules of Adaptive Stewardship and how to apply them within your individual context. This is a set of principles to help you make responsive farm management decisions by looking at key indicators in your paddocks.
• Allen will explain Adaptive Multi Paddock Grazing and how you can manage livestock to enhance ecological health, nutrient cycling and forage quality and net profitability.

This panel brings together graziers whose paths into agriculture have been shaped by experience beyond the farm gate. Drawing on careers across other industries, disciplines and ways of thinking, the panellists will explore how outside perspectives influence the decisions they make on land, livestock and business. The conversation will focus on building resilience — economically, environmentally and personally — and how lessons from elsewhere are helping them manage complexity, risk and opportunity in modern grazing systems.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Hear from a panel of livestock producers about their grazing, soil and business management strategies for building long term resilience.
• Understand what’s involved in a soil carbon project and hear from producers about why they have decided to undertake a project (or not). Take away tips on the things to consider if you are also exploring this option.
• Get the real stories from producers on how their management strategies have translated into on-farm outcomes, such as pasture productivity, water holding capacity and soil carbon stocks.

Co-hosted by Coles' 2015 Farmer of the Year, Victorian producer Grant Sims, and plant and soil health educator, Joel Williams, this interactive session will explore the relationship between soils, crops, pastures and livestock in a multi-enterprise farming system.

Together, Grant and Joel will delve into the science of plants and soils, discussing seed treatments and biologicals, plant nutrition, livestock integration and multi-species pastures, fodders and cover crops.

Hear from Grant about the transformation of his family farming enterprise through these strategies, which have increased productivity and business resilience. Discover how this transformation, through connected supply chains and high value market opportunities, is securing the future for Grant's family farm and reshaping conversations about sustainable production.

With a mix of theory, practical and Q&A, this session will give you plenty of ideas to take back to your own business.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Joel Williams will translate the science of regenerative agriculture into practical explanations of:
  • Seed treatments and biologicals
  • Plant nutrition, health and foliar feeding
  • Livestock integration and grazing
  • Plant species diversity and multi-species pastures/fodders/covers
• Grant Sims will share how these practices have been implemented in his family’s mixed farming enterprise in northern Victoria, including some of their learnings along the way.
• Grant will also delve into the selection, agronomics and management of multi-species pastures/fodders/covers for different farm systems and environments.

Food and beverage companies are leaning on primary producers to hit their ambitious and sometimes aspirational sustainability targets. But their limited budgets, along with a regulatory and reporting quagmire, can draw skepticism from farmers. This session will explore how agri-food companies and banks are influencing the on-farm practices of the Australian producers supplying them. It will showcase the latest findings of BloombergNEF’s ongoing research series examining the opportunities and challenges of scaling corporate regenerative agriculture programs, before hearing from producers and processors feeling the corporate pressure to act.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Gain insights into the rise of “regenerative agriculture” in global food supply chains, and what this means for producers.
• Discover how sustainable sourcing and green finance policies are playing out in Australia – from the board room back to the farm.
• Hear from producers and processors from different industries about their response to these regenerative agriculture programs, and where they see opportunities to capitalise on them.

This is your chance to hear firsthand from a man who knows nearly every inch of the paddocks, trajectory, milestones, trials and tribulations at Wilmot, having played a part in the farm’s journey from conventional set-stocking to what it is today. A leader in his field and Atlas Ag’s Chief Grazing Officer, Bart Davidson will explore ways we can better manage grazing for optimal productivity and sustainability by leveraging the data and tools at our fingertips.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Take a first look at a new state-of-the-art grazing app from the team at MaiaGrazing and Atlas Carbon.
• Get into the paddock to see how the app is being used at Wilmot Cattle Co. to plan and manage grazing, including carrying capacity, stocking rates, paddock rotations, resting periods and livestock movements.
• Learn more about the relationship between grazing management and soil carbon sequestration.

In keeping with WFD tradition, The Wilmot Paddock Experience takes attendees through the farmgate to see regenerative grazing practices in action. As you walk through the pastures, hear from Wilmot’s farm management team, who will be joined by keynote speaker, Allen Williams.

Together they will share observations and facilitate discussion on the indicators that producers can use to help inform their landscape and livestock management, such as pasture composition, groundcover, soil health, and grazing behaviours. Walk away with a solid understanding of the indicators and ideas you can use in your own operation to apply Allen’s regenerative principles.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Step through the gate for a closer look at regenerative management strategies being implemented on the Wilmot property.
• With the guidance of Allen Williams, build your toolkit and skills for assessing the health and condition of your land and livestock.
• Drawing from Allen’s work over thousands of farms, discuss practical and achievable ways to enhance the health of your land and livestock, using the observations at Wilmot as an example.

Jump into a soil pit with Dr Susan Orgill, Chief Scientist at Impact Ag Australia, and learn to unearth layers of information about your soils through observation. What can roots, pores, particles, textures, colours, moisture, microbes and other indicators tell you? Discuss the factors that could be limiting your pasture or crop production, and discover practical strategies you could put in place to remediate your soil constraints.

What you’ll get out of this session:

Take a deep dive into a soil pit and uncover the secrets beneath your feet:

• Discover the story your soil tells by learning to assess its health and characteristics through simple visual clues, both above and below the surface.
• Explore how soil layers, texture, and organic matter work together with biology to drive nutrient uptake and water retention.
• Discover 5 practical tips to check your soil health using nothing more than what’s already in your farm ute!

Over the last few years, an urgent need to address ecosystem decline and biodiversity loss has stirred global commitments to nature repair, with Australia introducing a world-leading Nature Repair Market to help accelerate action through the creation and trading of “biodiversity credits”. Like the carbon market, the Nature Repair Market facilitates opportunities for landholders to be rewarded for activities that restore and enhance natural ecosystems.

So, what does this mean for your business? Join Chair of GreenCollar, Brendan Foran, for a candid conversation with representatives from the NRM, finance, agtech and environmental market sectors to understand the nuts and bolts of these environmental markets (biodiversity and carbon), hear what we can expect from the initiative in the future, and how the markets' earliest on-farm projects have been unfolding.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• This panel discussion will cover the nuts and bolts of Australia’s ACCU Scheme (carbon market) and Nature Repair (biodiversity) Market.
• Learn about how credits or certificates can be earned through agricultural methods and practices.
• Understand how these practices are currently being integrated into different farm systems.
• Discover new technologies being used to measure, monitor and manage carbon and biodiversity.
• Get across the latest market developments such as reviews and new methods, and what bearing this has for farmers now and into the future.

In keeping with WFD tradition, The Wilmot Paddock Experience takes attendees through the farmgate to see regenerative grazing practices in action. As you walk through the pastures, hear from Wilmot’s farm management team, who will be joined by keynote speaker, Allen Williams.

Together they will share observations and facilitate discussion on the indicators that producers can use to help inform their landscape and livestock management, such as pasture composition, groundcover, soil health, and grazing behaviours. Walk away with a solid understanding of the indicators and ideas you can use in your own operation to apply Allen’s regenerative principles.

Jump into a soil pit with Dr Susan Orgill, Chief Scientist at Impact Ag Australia, and learn to unearth layers of information about your soils through observation. What can roots, pores, particles, textures, colours, moisture, microbes and other indicators tell you? Discuss the factors that could be limiting your pasture or crop production, and discover practical strategies you could put in place to remediate your soil constraints.

What you’ll get out of this session:

Take a deep dive into a soil pit and uncover the secrets beneath your feet:

• Discover the story your soil tells by learning to assess its health and characteristics through simple visual clues, both above and below the surface.
• Explore how soil layers, texture, and organic matter work together with biology to drive nutrient uptake and water retention.
• Discover 5 practical tips to check your soil health using nothing more than what’s already in your farm ute!

This is your chance to hear firsthand from a man who knows nearly every inch of the paddocks, trajectory, milestones, trials and tribulations at Wilmot, having played a part in the farm’s journey from conventional set-stocking to what it is today. A leader in his field and Atlas Ag’s Chief Grazing Officer, Bart Davidson will explore ways we can better manage grazing for optimal productivity and sustainability by leveraging the data and tools at our fingertips.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Take a first look at a new state-of-the-art grazing app from the team at MaiaGrazing and Atlas Carbon.
• Get into the paddock to see how the app is being used at Wilmot Cattle Co. to plan and manage grazing, including carrying capacity, stocking rates, paddock rotations, resting periods and livestock movements.
• Learn more about the relationship between grazing management and soil carbon sequestration.

Wilmot Field Day is proud to announce Motherland as our event Charity Partner for 2026.

Motherland connects rural mothers across Australia, reducing isolation and improving mental health outcomes by building community and support through the Motherland podcast, their online rural mothers’ group, scholarships and events. Motherland and Wilmot Field Day share a commitment to the future of agriculture, and to solutions that build the resilience of farmers, people and planet.

Founder and CEO, Stephanie Trethewey will be our guest speaker for WFD’s iconic Dinner under the Stars. Join us to hear Steph’s inspiring story.

At the intersection of science and regenerative agriculture is US agroecologist and farmer, Dr Jon Lundgren. Jon is no stranger to challenging the status quo, pushing for change across the scientific sector in how we look at the health of our food and agriculture system.

Jon founded the Ecdysis Foundation to provide R&D to scale and transfer innovation and regenerative practices across a diversity of farms. His 1,000 Farms Initiative recognises that regen ag is not the work of a single farm, nor a single farmer, but a movement. Over the last three years, Jon and his team have collected data from almost 1,300 farms on biodiversity, ecosystem function, environmental factors, production yields and business economics. Armed with this data, they are growing a movement across regions, crops and farm systems in North America that delivers benefits for farmers, the environment, and communities. Hear about the latest findings from the project in this thought-provoking presentation.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Jon will set the scene with a practical explanation of the relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem services and agricultural production.
• Learn about the role of agriculture as a solution for ecological restoration and climate impacts.
• Gain insights from Jon’s work with farmers who are implementing regenerative management practices to improve biodiversity, and seeing subsequent benefits in areas such as pest control, soil health, soil carbon and water retention.
• Jon will share the findings and data from the 1,000 Farms Initiative (over 1,600 farms), which show that regenerative farms can achieve equal or better yields, higher profits, and stronger ecological outcomes.

At Cavan Station, in NSW's Southern Tablelands, collaboration between producers, agtech providers and environmental experts is bringing regenerative agriculture to life. Strategic use of livestock, paddock rotations, groundcover mangement and vegetation management are used to enhance the ecological function of the landscape, build soil carbon and encourage biodiversity, whilst supporting profitable agricultural production over the long term. In this case study, hear about how regenerative practices at Cavan Station are providing holistic benefits for the business, livestock, environment and surrounding community.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Livestock production as the engine — adaptive grazing boosts groundcover, soil health, and productivity while reducing climate and erosion risk.
• Landscape restoration at scale — targeted revegetation, riparian repair, and habitat reconnection rebuild ecological function and natural capital.
• Smart agtech proving the outcomes — remote sensing, IoT, integrated data systems, and tools like Agronomeye quantify carbon, biodiversity, and productivity gains to guide decisions and unlock new markets.

From the US to Australia, producers are finding common ground in regenerative agriculture as a solution for land decline, climate change and food security. Hear how innovative US croppers, Clint and Ashley Jessen, are bridging the gap between growers and buyers, and helping to grow the regenerative agriculture movement through their local certified organic and certified regenerative supply chain.

Producing wheat, legumes and other grains over 20,000 acres in the heart of the US, the Jessens use crop rotations, reduced-tillage and organic fertilisers to maintain the health of their soils and sustain production in a variable, often harsh, climate. Their focus has long been on regenerating the land, but recently becoming certified under "Regenified" has helped to attract product premiums from buyers. In a region dominated by conventional agricultural operations, the Jessens are leading the way for other farmers exploring regenerative practices, also operating a certified organic and certified regenerative grain elevator, a facility that local farmers can use to reliably store, access and transport certified product.

Through the Jessen's story, we'll generate ideas and explore opportunities to enhance local, connected supply chains here in Australia.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Learn about the Jessen family’s use of traditional tillage methods and chemical-free farming for growing grains, lentils and other crops.
• Hear how the Jessens established their regenerative grain elevator, providing storage and logistics for growers in their region to move product through a fully regenerative supply chain.
• Find out how the Jessens have become certified organic and regenerative, what the certification process entails, and how these certifications benefit them and their customers.

Family farms are the backbone of Australian primary production and of the WFD program. As family farms come under increasing pressure – with rising land values, input costs and push for commercial scale – how can family farms increase their economic potential by adopting regenerative practices and harnessing a growing demand for sustainably produced food?

Hear from a diverse panel of speakers on the opportunities that lie ahead, covering everything from finance and farm productivity, to emerging technologies and R&D, and certification and standards for sustainable agriculture.

Experts in their field, this panel will share insights that span agricultural sectors and supply chains, as we explore pathways to unlock these opportunities for more family farms.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Hear from industry leaders about the trends and opportunities they see emerging for family farming entities over the next decade – from consumer behaviours and higher value markets to sustainability initiatives.
• Learn about investment in R&D and technological development to equip family farms for the future.
• Discuss opportunities for business diversification for farm profitability and long-term viability.

Chef-turned-farmer, author and broadcaster, Matthew Evans has a talent for bringing together farmers, food lovers and innovators around our food and agriculture system. Having founded Fat Pig Farm with his family in Tasmania's Huon Valley, a 70-acre mixed enterprise, he invites community to connect with agriculture, from the ground up. Matt has a focus on soil health as the basis for nutritious, high quality food and human wellbeing.

In this session, unpack some of the myths and trends influencing the narrative around our food, and discover how Matt is using his platforms to tell a different story. Be inspired to tell your own story, helping to connect consumers to sustainable food production practices and family farming

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Helping to bridge the growing divide between consumers and farmers, Matt will share his own story and ideas about how to reconnect people with their food.
• Matt will discuss the role of healthy soils in growing more nutritious food, and why this is garnering attention from consumers. He will share how a focus on soil health at Fat Pig Farm has enhanced their production quality and yields.
• Use this session to consider how your commodities are produced, marketed and sold, and whether there are opportunities to tap into local supply chains that are better for your bottom line.

Adopting cropping practices that work with ecosystem processes to build soil health, biodiversity and resilience often requires farmers to develop new skills and knowledge and make decisions that consider a more complex set of variables. In this session, Soils for Life’s Courtney Young and SA crop grower Tom Robinson will break down the on-ground reality of putting regenerative cropping practices into action. They will walk through, step-by-step across a growing season, how Tom collects soil and plant health data to make decisions that support his soil and crops, landscape health and farm profitability. The session will explore how adoption is a process that relies on ongoing support and practical on-farm monitoring and data collection.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Join Tom and Courtney for a walk-through of a growing season on Robinson Farms – Tom’s family’s no-till, controlled traffic cropping (and seasonal livestock) operation in SA.
• Tom will share the types of soil and plant health data that he collects to inform his management decisions, including his use of tissue and sap tests for foliar feeding. He will talk through the process of designing and delivering foliar sprays.
• Hear how the Robinsons’ focus on plant nutrition has translated into crop resilience, pest and disease resistance, pasture quality, and grain quality and weights.

This is your chance to hear firsthand from a man who knows nearly every inch of the paddocks, trajectory, milestones, trials and tribulations at Wilmot, having played a part in the farm’s journey from conventional set-stocking to what it is today. A leader in his field and Atlas Ag’s Chief Grazing Officer, Bart Davidson will explore ways we can better manage grazing for optimal productivity and sustainability by leveraging the data and tools at our fingertips.

What you’ll get out of this session:

• Take a first look at a new state-of-the-art grazing app from the team at MaiaGrazing and Atlas Carbon.
• Get into the paddock to see how the app is being used at Wilmot Cattle Co. to plan and manage grazing, including carrying capacity, stocking rates, paddock rotations, resting periods and livestock movements.
• Learn more about the relationship between grazing management and soil carbon sequestration.

In keeping with WFD tradition, The Wilmot Experience takes attendees into the paddocks to see regenerative practices in action. As you walk around the property, hear from Wilmot’s farm management team, who will be joined by keynote speaker, Jon Lundgren.

Learn from Jon about the 1,000 Farms Initiative, which is using data from a network of farms in the US to provide producers with better tools and indicators to assess the health of their landscape. Jon, and the Wilmot team, will share these learnings as you walk across the paddocks, sharing their experience on improving natural capital and farm profitability through agronomic, ecological and economic factors.

Jump into a soil pit with Dr Susan Orgill, Chief Scientist at Impact Ag Australia, and learn to unearth layers of information about your soils through observation. What can roots, pores, particles, textures, colours, moisture, microbes and other indicators tell you? Discuss the factors that could be limiting your pasture or crop production, and discover practical strategies you could put in place to remediate your soil constraints.

What you’ll get out of this session:

Take a deep dive into a soil pit and uncover the secrets beneath your feet:

• Discover the story your soil tells by learning to assess its health and characteristics through simple visual clues, both above and below the surface.
• Explore how soil layers, texture, and organic matter work together with biology to drive nutrient uptake and water retention.
• Discover 5 practical tips to check your soil health using nothing more than what’s already in your farm ute!