Episode Details
Back to EpisodesEpisode 31 - Rachel Ward on Learning Regenerative Agriculture in Real Time—From Fires to Grazing Decisions
Description
In this episode, I sit down with Rachel Ward—actress, screenwriter, and director of Rachel’s Farm, a documentary that follows her transition from conventional to regenerative agriculture.
What unfolds in this conversation is not a polished story—but a real-time journey of learning, questioning, and stepping into land stewardship without a clear roadmap.
Rachel shares how a series of events—from devastating bushfires to becoming a grandmother—woke her up to the urgency of doing things differently. From there, she found herself navigating cattle, grazing, and land management decisions as they came—learning by doing, and often figuring things out in the moment.
We talk about what it actually looks like to:
- Learn regenerative agriculture and Holistic Management International principles as you go
- Make grazing decisions when cattle don’t want to move (and what that reveals)
- Work with grass, seasons, and animal behavior instead of trying to control outcomes
- Navigate the shift from conventional thinking to relationship-based stewardship
- Build community in a space that can feel isolating
- And rethink how we connect regenerative producers directly to consumers
We also get into practical tools and perspectives around animal health and nutrition, including insights from:
- Dr. Will Winter → https://www.willwinter.com/
- Steve Campbell → https://www.tailormadecattle.com/
- Redmond Agriculture → https://redmondagriculture.com/
And if you haven’t watched her documentary yet, you can find it here:
- Rachel’s Farm → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x597VmhNZdE
This is an honest, grounded conversation between two women actively stewarding land—making decisions in complexity, learning through experience, and staying in relationship with the land, livestock, and the process.
⭐ What You’ll Hear:
- Rachel’s climate wake-up moment and transition into regenerative agriculture
- How Holistic Management shaped her thinking
- Real-world grazing challenges and decision-making
- The importance of community in regenerative systems
- Direct-to-consumer marketing and rebuilding food systems
- Practical approaches to supporting livestock health naturally
This conversation is a reminder:
You don’t need to have it all figured out to be a good steward.
You just need to stay in relationship—with the land, the animals, and the process.
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