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 their existing knowledge. It covers topics from soils and nutrition to cropping, livestock, economics, and decision-making. The goal is to help listeners fuse all these elements together for better, more confident, and more profitable farming. The host, an agriculture educator and perennial student, aims to fill hidden knowledge gaps to support resilient and profitable businesses.
Episodes
Episode 10: Frost From the Ground Up with Dr Ben Biddulph
Send us Fan MailCSIRO 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, Principal Research Scientist with CSIRO in Perth, formerly Chief Scientist of Primary Industries at DPIRD, and one of the country's leading voices on reproducti
Episode 9: What Native Plants Reveal About Our Soils with Kingsley Dixon
Send us Fan MailIn 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 soils.Kingsley explains how the very constraints that challenge farmers on sandy and duplex soils (extreme infertility, phosphorus limitatio
Episode 8: Beyond the Soil Map. What Really Matters Under Your Paddock with Tim Overheu
Send us Fan MailTim 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 agriculture decisions and why "farming to the characteristic that matters," whether that's pH, organic carbon or moisture, beats farming to ar
Episode 7: Soil Texture Part 2. How to Measure Soil Texture (and Why Overseas Research Can Mislead You)
Send us Fan MailIn 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 the clever physics of Stokes’ Law that lets scientists separate clay from silt.You’ll also learn how to read the texture triangle, and why the same
Episode 6: Understanding Soil Texture. Sand, Silt and Clay and Why Size Matters Part 1
Send us Fan MailThis 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:Texture is an inherent soil property that does not change in a human lifetimeExact size ranges used in Australia for sand, silt and clayWhy gravel and ston
Episode 5: What's Under your Paddocks? Soil Horizons and Parent Material with Tim Overheu
Send us Fan MailIn 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).With more than 30 years of hands-on experience across WA’s unique landscapes, Tim shares practical insights into:How parent material shapes the soils we
Episode 4: From Parent Material to Soil Horizons & Classification. Reading the Story in Your Paddock
Send us Fan MailIn 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 material, Time + humans), explains the important difference between layers and true soil horizons, and unpacks the four soil-forming processes that create t
Episode 3: Where in the World Did Your Soil Come From? A Global Tour of Soil Formation
Send us Fan MailWhy 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, Leonie takes you on a global tour of soil formation: from glaciers grinding fresh rock in Scotland and loess-blown fertility in the American Midwes
Episode 2: Where Does Our Soil Come From? The Geological Recipe Under Your Paddocks
Send us Fan MailIn 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 learn:What parent material really is (and the difference between residual and transported material)The three main rock types (igneous, sedimentary
Episode 1: Welcome to Agriculture From the Ground Up
Send us Fan MailWelcome 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 Smith; an aspiring soil scientist, agricultural educator, former farm manager, and mum of four. This introductory episode explains why this podcast exists
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