WHAT IS
GROUNDED?
GROUNDED is an annual conference, a field day and festival where soil, food and farming are all celebrated. The inaugural event was held in Tasmania’s picturesque Huon Valley on Fat Pig Farm in early December 2024, coinciding with World Soil Day. (If you don’t know the date, there’s no judgement here – but it is the 5th of December.) The event has paved the way for bigger GROUNDED events, with mainland events in WA on the 19th and 20th September 2025 (as a satellite event after RegenWA’s conference in Perth) and for Victoria in Autumn 2026.
We are a group of farmers and farm supporters with roots in all aspects of agriculture, including dairy, cropping, horticulture and grazing who are keen to bring a fresh approach to farmer learning. The GROUNDED team has plenty of heft, from PR to Accounting, from event management to farmer training. You can check out the advisory panel and committee here.
We do it because we all know that growing food and caring for landscapes is a big job, and there’s always something more to learn. We are firm believers in the benefits of spreading knowledge about food systems, particularly in a fun, safe setting, and even better on a farm.
We take the best knowledge holders from around Australia and beyond to share their wisdom on how to rebuild soil and encourage biodiversity all while running viable financial farm businesses. We throw in cracking food and wine, plenty of chances for social interactions, and a bit of music to make it seem less like work, and more like fun!
GROUNDED is for farmers, growers, soil lovers, food systems thinkers, nutritionists, school garden enthusiasts and their friends. How to grow food better is important for ecosystems, food systems, health systems, financial systems and communities.
Practical advice is always best shared by growers with other growers. Knowledge is easier to digest when done on-farm, in a casual and entertaining fashion. People come because of the quality of the speakers and workshops. They will come back because of that, plus the food, music and mood of the event.
We want everybody to not only be inspired, but also emboldened to make change, both on their farm and in their community. Farming better and getting food to all parts of our community in the best shape and most nutrient dense condition is in everybody’s interest. Participants leave not only with the tools to do better, but the confidence and inspiration to make it so.
GROUNDED relishes existing land holders, indigenous knowledge and the latest science all the while as it nurtures a new cohort of farmers who see their roles not just as growing food and fibre, but as custodians of the future. We hold in our hands the ability to reshape ecosystems, regenerate landscapes and farming better is the answer to so many of the world’s ills.
