Agriculture from the Ground Up
Agriculture from the Ground Up is a practical podcast that helps farmers, advisors, students, agronomists and anyone in agriculture build on to the knowledge they already have; from soils and nutrition to cropping, livestock, economics and decision-making, so that you can fuse it all together into even better, more confident and more profitable farming.
As an agriculture educator and perennial student, I want to help you fill those hidden gaps so you can make better decisions and grow a more resilient, profitable business.
Episodes
12 episodes
Episode 12: Chemistry Basics Part 1. Why the Periodic Table Matters in Your Paddock
Most of us left the periodic table behind at school. In the paddock it still matters. A lot.This is the first of two short episodes that introduce the chemistry you actually need as a farmer, soil scientist or agronomist. We start with t...
Episode 11: The View From the Hill. Where We're Going with this Podcast
What if the nutrition problem, the moisture problem, the pH problem and the non-wetting problem in your paddock are not four separate issues — but one underlying constraint wearing four different hats?In this episode, Leonie steps back f...
Episode 10: Frost From the Ground Up with Dr Ben Biddulph
CSIRO gave us Wi-Fi, Aerogard, plastic banknotes and the word petrichor (that earthy smell of rain on dry ground).This week they give us Dr Ben Biddulph.We're heading into prime frost risk, so I sat down with Ben, Princ...
Episode 9: What Native Plants Reveal About Our Soils with Kingsley Dixon
In this episode of Agriculture from the Ground Up, Leonie sits down with Professor Kingsley Dixon (one of Australia’s leading plant biologists and restoration ecologists) to explore what Western Australia’s native plants can teach us about our ...
Episode 8: Beyond the Soil Map. What Really Matters Under Your Paddock with Tim Overheu
Tim Overheu, Principal Research Scientist at DPIRD, returns for round two, and this episode goes well beyond soil types.We dig into why water holding capacity, not soil classification, is often the real driver behind precision agricultur...
Episode 7: Soil Texture Part 2. How to Measure Soil Texture (and Why Overseas Research Can Mislead You)
In Part 2 of our soil texture series, we get practical.Leonie walks through how to measure soil texture in the paddock using the classic hand-texturing and ribbon test and explains how particle size analysis works in the lab, including t...
Episode 6: Understanding Soil Texture. Sand, Silt and Clay and Why Size Matters Part 1
This episode explains what soil texture really is. Leonie breaks down the three mineral particles that make up texture — sand, silt and clay — and shows that the difference between them is simply particle size.Key points covered:...
Episode 5: What's Under your Paddocks? Soil Horizons and Parent Material with Tim Overheu
In this episode of Agriculture From The Ground Up, Leonie sits down with Tim Overheu (Principal Research Scientist, past National President of Soil Science Australia, and one of Western Australia’s most experienced soil scientists).
Episode 4: From Parent Material to Soil Horizons & Classification. Reading the Story in Your Paddock
In this episode of Agriculture From The Ground Up, we connect the dots between parent material and the soil profiles you dig into every season.Leonie walks through the CLORPT framework (Climate, Living organisms, Relief, Parent ...
Episode 3: Where in the World Did Your Soil Come From? A Global Tour of Soil Formation
Why do Scottish farms look so green and productive while many WA Wheatbelt soils are sandy and naturally low in nutrients? The answer isn’t farming skill or climate alone; it’s geology and the age of the parent material.In this episode, ...
Episode 2: Where Does Our Soil Come From? The Geological Recipe Under Your Paddocks
In this foundational episode, Leonie explores the very beginning of soil: parent material. Discover why two farms just 10 kilometres apart can perform so differently, even when they get the same rainfall and use the same varieties.You’ll...
Episode 1: Welcome to Agriculture From the Ground Up
Welcome to the very first episode of Agriculture From The Ground Up: a practical video podcast series dedicated to bridging cutting-edge soil science with real on-farm application in Western Australia and beyond.Hosted by Leonie S...