Farmers attend holistic farm field day
Published on 23 June 2026
Local farmers loved holistic farm field day
Local farmers were inspired by Brian Whelburg of Inside Outside Management during a field day delivered by Nambucca Valley Landcare and Nambucca Valley Council last week.
Mr Whelburg taught landholders about Yeomans’ scale of permanence and he encouraged them to observe their farm’s ecological indicators, such as the presence of earth worms and insects, to help evaluate farmland health.
“Society is moving in the right direction, there’s such a big change happening all around the world today,” Mr Whelburg said.
“Moving agriculture away from this production-based model to a more regenerative model, where we look after the country, is part of this.
“The agriculture industry can be better at managing the land. There’s figures out there, such as for every kilogram of food produced, seven kilograms of top soil is lost – we struggle to replace that soil.
“We need to turn these types of farm practices around, to make better decisions for ourselves, for our families, for our finances and for our environment.”
Nambucca Valley Council Manager Economic Development and Tourism said Council sponsored the event because it helped to meet outcomes in the Nambucca Valley Community Strategic Plan 2035.
“Supporting our local farms to be sustainable and profitable is important and it is a priority the community shared it wanted delivered during the strategic planning process,” she said.
“Talarm field day on Wednesday 17 June was a great success, being fully booked, well attended and it also had a fantastic morning tea put on by the newly formed Talarm Hall Committee members – so thank you to those community members.”
Nambucca Valley Landcare Local Coordinator Ainslie Ashton said the workshop and field time in Welshs Creek Santa Gertrudis stud’s paddock was time well spent by farmers who had travelled from as far afield as Nana Glen to hear Mr Whelburg speak.
“Brian Whelburg from Inside Outside Management gave an excellent workshop, assisting farmers to take in the big picture view, rather than just thinking of how long their cows have been in a particular paddock,” she said.
“We learned about Yeomans’ scale of permanence and how we should look at farm planning starting from permanent elements such as climate, landscape and location of water, and then consider more changeable elements such as fencing and vegetation.”
There will be an opportunity later in the year to learn more as Mr Whelburg will be running a full holistic management course in the Nambucca Valley starting in September, information will be shared through the Nambucca Valley Landcare mailing list and via social media.
Stay up-to-date by monitoring Landcare’s website here or sign up to Council’s e-news, Valley Business News, here
Also you can catch up on all things relating to sustainability at this Sunday’s Sustainable Future Expo, happening at the Unkya Reserve, Eungai, from 9am to 4pm.
ALL MEDIA ENQUIRIES TO:
Mr David Moloney
ACTING GENERAL MANAGER
02 6568 2555
David Moloney
ACTING GENERAL MANAGER
DATE: 23 June 2026