MODULE 7 RESOURCES
Core document
Leveraging your land
Leveraging your land is the key resource for this module, created to help landholders integrate ecosystem restoration with productive land management. It explores nature-based business models, including natural capital markets, alongside regenerative farming and soil health practices that build biodiversity, strengthen ecosystems, and boost agricultural success. Guided by the belief that healthy landscapes hold real economic value, this document is essential for farmers and landholders seeking to build long-term profitability while actively contributing to threatened species recovery and broader ecosystem restoration.
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Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, n.d.
The Carbon Farming Outreach Program Training Package provides landholders with resources on carbon farming and carbon credit markets. Developed with support from the Odonata Foundation, the training includes methodologies for soil carbon projects, biodiversity conservation, and land management practices to reduce emissions. It aims to help landholders maximise environmental and economic outcomes from carbon farming.
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David Hardwick, 2019
The Rapid Assessment of Soil Health (RASH) manual offers practical, hands-on methods for quickly evaluating soil condition in the field. It guides landholders through simple tests to assess soil structure, biology, and nutrient status, helping identify areas needing improvement to boost productivity and sustainability.
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Ray Archuletta
Ray Archuleta, a renowned soil health expert from the U.S., demonstrates the Slake Test, a simple yet powerful method to assess soil stability. This test reveals how well soil aggregates hold together when exposed to water, providing insights into soil structure and health.
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Corangamite Catchment Management Authority, 2013
The Brown Book is a comprehensive guide offering practical advice for farmers and landholders on improving soil health, managing erosion, and boosting agricultural productivity through sustainable land management practices.
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Cath Botta, 2015
This practical guide helps farmers and landholders interpret their soil test results. It covers key topics like soil texture, pH, nutrient levels, and cation exchange capacity, empowering land managers to make informed decisions to improve soil health and productivity.
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CSIRO, Division of soils, 1986
This classic guide turns everyday organic waste into a powerful soil amendment. It’s written for gardeners but includes solid science, like tips on balancing carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, to help anyone turn rubbish into rich, productive soil.
Tools
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Julius Hensel, 1894
Bread From Stones introduces soil remineralisation, advocating rock dust as a natural fertiliser to restore nutrients, enhance microbial life, and improve soil structure. Hensel’s ideas, once dismissed, are now key to sustainable agriculture. Farmers can use rock dust to reduce reliance on synthetic fertilisers and build long-term soil fertility. Though over a century old, Hensel’s insights align with modern regenerative practices, supporting healthier and more resilient land management.
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Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis, 2012
This book offers a detailed guide to understanding the soil food web, which consists of beneficial microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and nematodes that help plants access nutrients. The book highlights the importance of nurturing this ecosystem to promote healthy plant growth and reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. It provides practical advice for farmers and landholders, including using compost and mulch to support soil microbes and adopting practices like no-till farming to preserve soil structure. By fostering a balanced soil ecosystem, farmers can improve soil health, boost productivity, and build long-term sustainability.
Available for purchase
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Joseph A. Cocannouer, 1950
This text offers a thoughtful look at the important role weeds play in maintaining healthy soil. Rather than simply being seen as pests, weeds help bring nutrients to the surface and provide valuable insights into soil conditions. This book encourages landholders to consider how working with weeds can support sustainable land management and soil health.
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Gwyn Jones, 2021
This piece encourages landholders to rethink weeds, not just as pests, but as valuable indicators of soil health and ecosystem imbalances. By understanding what weeds reveal about the land, farmers can make smarter decisions to restore and improve soil quality naturally. This approach helps build more resilient farms and reduces reliance on chemicals.
Books
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ABC News, 2025
This article warns that 90% of the world’s soil could be degraded by 2050, threatening global food security. Human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable farming practices are major contributors to this soil degradation, which reduces the land’s ability to produce food and worsens challenges like climate change and population growth. Experts stress the importance of adopting sustainable land management practices, such as crop rotation, reducing chemical use, and implementing soil conservation techniques, to preserve soil health and ensure food security for future generations.
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Meat & Livestock Australia Limited, 2024
Farming for the Future collected data from 130 livestock businesses across NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, and Western Australia. The analysis revealed a positive correlation between natural capital and key performance indicators such as production efficiency, gross margin, EBIT, and resilience to climate and market shocks. The research suggests that investing in natural capital can enhance production efficiency by reducing reliance on costly and volatile inputs, including energy, fodder, animal health costs, and labour.
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Norton Rose Fulbright, 2024
This page from Norton Rose Fulbright provides an overview of Australia's new Nature Repair Market. The page outlines the market's framework, benefits, and eligibility criteria, explaining how businesses can participate by investing in nature repair projects to offset their environmental impacts and landowners can use the market to contribute to biodiversity conservation and gain financial and environmental returns.
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Clean Energy Regulator, 2024
This video showcases real-life examples of different farms participating in soil carbon projects. Landholders share their experiences, discussing the successes they’ve seen in carbon sequestration and sustainability. The video highlights the tangible outcomes of these projects, such as improvements in soil health and carbon storage. It also showcases the economic benefits landholders gain from selling carbon credits, offering insights into how soil carbon projects can both support the environment and provide additional income streams for farmers.
Articles and reports
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Farming for the Future is an innovative program designed to help Australian farmers enhance their natural capital, build climate resilience, and increase profitability. In partnership with the National Farmers Federation, the program works closely with farmers, agricultural advisors, and accountants to conduct on-farm assessments and collect data that demonstrates how natural resources, such as soil, waterways, plants, animals, and ecological health, can be connected to farm productivity and long-term financial success.
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Farming for the Future collected data from 130 livestock businesses across NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, and Western Australia. The analysis revealed a positive correlation between natural capital and key performance indicators such as production efficiency, gross margin, EBIT, and resilience to climate and market shocks. The research suggests that investing in natural capital can enhance production efficiency by reducing reliance on costly and volatile inputs, including energy, fodder, animal health costs, and labour.
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The Bionutrient Food Association supports farmers to grow healthier, more nutrient-dense food by improving soil biology and ecosystem health. Through education, research, and open-source tools, they help producers reduce input costs, improve crop quality, and access emerging markets that value nutrient density.
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CircleAG is working to commercialise Liquid Biofertiliser products that have shown strong results in farm productivity, resilience, and soil carbon sequestration. While not yet available for public sale, these inputs are already being applied at commercial scale through partner farms and have proven to be a long-term, cost-effective alternative to synthetic inputs.