How a rundown dairy farm, a big dry and professional embarrassment created a blank canvas for exploring new regenerative farming methods and mindsets.

In 1999, agronomist Ian Moss - known to all as Mossy - took up a 40-hectare section of a run-down dairy farm outside Pittsworth. Besides running a few chooks and tending a vegie garden, Mossy had no grand vision for Alaringa. It was a place to return to and recharge after long days on the road servicing his many clients across Northern NSW, Southern Queensland and all points west. All that changed after the big drought of 2017-2019.

Alaringa is very much an extension of Mossy himself. There are a few endearing rough edges, like the rusty Southern Cross windmill missing half its sails, a lingering testament to the state of the farm when he moved in. And there's the War Wagon, a doorless Hilux with almost a million on the clock, which acts as a mobile workshop, fencing truck and bar for the occasional sundowners on Alaringa's far corners. Then there's the land itself: with views up and down the rangeland, the relatively small farm feels as expansive as Mossy's personal approach to agronomy.

With views up and down the rangeland, the relatively small farm feels as expansive as Mossy's personal approach to agronomy.

I've visited Alaringa a few times over the last 18 months. On each visit the pastures were thick with multispecies. Once, after good rain, the paddocks were a chest-high forage forest that our camera crew had to push through and often got lost in. I'll never forget seeing Mossy on one visit, standing amid the towering brassicas and grasses, the air alive with beneficial bugs, looking about as content as a farmer could be.

A big dry creates a radical rethink

Alaringa, however, wasn't always such an arcadia. During the drought of 2017-2019, Mossy's clients were hurting and turned to him for solutions, especially for ways to become drought ready for the inevitable big dry. But it wasn't just his clients in the west that were doing it tough. His own farm, not far from a fertile Condamine River floodplain, was in strife as well.

Before Mossy knew it, his paddocks had turned to dust, he was hand-feeding his sheep, and when the rains did come the erosion was severe. 'Here I was,' says Mossy, 'an agronomist that everyone was coming to looking for answers, and when I looked around, Alaringa was in the same state as everyone else's place.'

'I'd realised that up until the drought, I'd been using my farm as little more than a house with a big backyard; it was flogged,' he recounts. 'Suddenly I realised I had the unique opportunity to work with a blank canvas.'

Before Mossy knew it, his paddocks had turned to dust, he was hand-feeding his sheep, and when the rains did come the erosion was severe.

While Mossy now had a blank canvas to work with, it was his clients who provided the inspiration and encouragement to create. 'We knew that the old ways were no longer cutting it, particularly in the face of climate change, catastrophic declines in soil health, and ever-increasing input costs,' says Mossy. 'My clients basically empowered me to look for new ways of managing the land.'

The agronomist had always believed in sustainability as an ideal: now was the time to act. And it was through the growing palette of regenerative practices that he found a way forward.

From dust bowl to Dorpa paradise

Grazing management has always been a big part of F.A.R.M.'s services, so that made the perfect starting point for change. Alaringa's paddocks were divided into smaller cells so his newly introduced Dorper flocks could be rotationally grazed. An old seeder was put back into action to sow various blends and mixtures of forage crops into what were once predominantly monoculture paddocks. What surprised Mossy most of all was the rapid turnaround in Alaringa's soil health and water retention, which is especially noticeable throughout the dryer periods. Another benefit has been the improved health of his lambing Dorpers, thanks to the nutritional and medicinal benefits provided by the diverse range of forages now available. 'Our weaning rates are up over 150%,' explains Mossy, 'and our mortality rates are lower than expected.'

What surprised Mossy most of all was the rapid turnaround in Alaringa's soil health and water retention, which is especially noticeable throughout the dryer periods.

Ever the tinkerer, Mossy has also modified a ripper so it can inject custom composts - such as locally sourced coffee grounds - into small sections of Alaringa's paddocks. 'One of the great things about being able to run multiple small-scale trials with our composts and seed mixes is that we can compare the results,' explains Mossy, 'and that gives us greater confidence to advise our clients.'

Turning mistakes into knowledge

Not everything always goes to plan, especially when you're trialling new practices that sometimes raise more traditional-industry eyebrows. He'd much rather make a misstep on Alaringa, however, than see his clients make that same mistake at scale.

Another advantage of making mistakes is that they can sometimes provide a great learning opportunity for others. Alaringa recently hosted a two-day, farm-rehydration bootcamp delivered by the Mulloon Institute. While Mossy's new management practices were showcased as great examples of what to do, the design of his leaky weir systems was held up as an example of what not to do.

'After the erosion which followed the big dry of 2017-2019,' says the agronomist, 'I kind of rushed in to remediate the situation with a design based on a limited understanding of how to read the landscape in terms of hydrology.'

By using Mossy's less-than-ideal weir designs as a case study, the workshop participants will be able to avoid costly mistakes when they undertake their own rehydration projects.

We'd much rather make a misstep on Alaringa, than see our clients make that same mistake at scale.

Another benefit of life on Alaringa is that it pits Mossy against the very same day-to-day challenges his clients face. In recent years, the scourge of wild dog attacks have taken an ever-increasing emotional and financial toll on graziers. Last Easter, a pack of dogs stole onto Alaringa and went on an indiscriminate killing spree. After losing almost 20 Dorpers in a single night, Mossy purchased a pair of donkeys to act as guardians for his flock. As Mossy will tell you with a laugh, 'There's a bit of a learning curve when it comes to introducing donkeys into your paddocks.' But you can bet he'll soon be up to speed and passing his newfound knowledge on to his clients.

Paddocks become classrooms

Alaringa has certainly come a long way since Mossy first took over in 1999. In 2021, Mossy put the original farm back together by purchasing the 56-hectare block from his neighbours and soon after, the F.A.R.M. Agronomy team set up office in the farm's worker's cottage. Today Alaringa is a hive of activity as F.A.R.M.'s reputation grows. The paddocks are seeing more and more foot traffic as organisations such as Resource Consulting Services (RCS) and the Mulloon Institute choose Alaringa as a destination for field days and workshops. As delegates gather around clods of carbon-rich soil, or share insights at morning tea over Karen's (Mossy's partner) famous vanilla slices, Alaringa has evolved from a place of learning for Mossy into a place of discovery for all.

The paddocks are seeing more and more foot traffic as organisations such as RCS and the Mulloon Institute choose Alaringa as a destination for field days and workshops.

F.A.R.M. Agronomy offers a diverse range of services, yet whether he's guiding his clients on soil health or financial benchmarking, Mossy's discovered that the learning journey is often a two-way street. During the dry spell of 2017-2019 when a number of long-term clients kept him on to investigate ways in which they could prepare for the next inevitable drought, Mossy learned the value of imperfection. He was reassured that they didn't expect him to be right 100% of the time and that it was okay to make mistakes. He learned that the right strategies won't result in wins every year but will always average out to show significant improvement over time. 'For me that was incredibly liberating,' Mossy recalls. 'At the end of the day, it's all about progress, not perfection.'

Only a few short years ago Alaringa's paddocks were hard packed and listless. Today you can feel a life-filled sponginess under your boots as the land bounces back to life. Like many who've dared to venture out of their comfort zone, Mossy's choices haven't always been perfect, but his progress continues to inspire.

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