DIGGING DEEPER - AG CHATS WITH AL
Real farmers, real conversations, practical insights and inspiring stories.
Join Al Micallef and special guests to help unlock your farm's production potential.
Whether it's in relation to drought or economic shifts, this podcast is your go-to for developing resilience in agriculture.
This podcast is made possible by the Future Drought Fund Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program co-funded by the Victorian and Australian Governments.
DIGGING DEEPER - AG CHATS WITH AL
DIGGING DEEPER - Agricultural Innovations and Challenges: A Conversation With Peter Norwood
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Host Alister introduces Digging Deeper Ag Chats and speaks with Pete Norwood of Full Circle Nutrition after he contributed to the Gippsland Soil School, including a practical farm visit at Rohan Bigley’s. Pete recounts growing up on a mixed farm near Mendooran, NSW during the 1982 drought, studying ag science at Charles Sturt University, and later building farms in Stratford and now Seaspray with challenging sandy and saline soils improved with gypsum and lucerne establishment. He describes a pivotal shift toward Kinsey-Albrecht concepts after solving downer cow problems via phosphorus and discovering soil-plant mineral imbalances, emphasizing calcium’s role in soil structure and the need for reliable soil and plant testing (including Albrecht methods, total tests, and sap/tissue analysis). Discussion covers nitrogen use and cofactors, sulfur leaching and application, foliar strategies, and the Growing More Topsoils project at Gippsland Research Farm and its expansion to Skeene Creek, where treatments have increased topsoil depth and improved clay structure, aiming to boost resilience and water-holding capacity.
00:00 Podcast Intro
00:59 Meet Pete Norwood
01:12 Soil School Field Day
02:35 Early Farm Life
04:24 Mendooran Soils
05:30 Drought Memories
06:00 Old School Farming
08:46 Uni and Moving South
10:02 Seaspray Sand Country
11:54 Downer Cows Breakthrough
14:25 Kinsey Albrecht Shift
17:58 Learning From Farmers
21:21 Nitrogen and Animal Health
24:37 Farm Consult Process
25:24 Soil Testing Methods
28:06 Phosphate Options
29:04 Avoiding Chloride Potash
29:41 Rhizophagy Explained
31:35 Calcium Builds Structure
33:18 Sulfur Product Deep Dive
37:13 Foliar Feeding Strategy
41:16 Growing More Topsoils
46:27 Scaling Trials at Skeene Creek
50:26 Advice to Younger Self
52:21 Wrap Up and Contacts