The EcoFarm Aotearoa Podcast – Book Companion Series.

In Chapter 20 of The EcoFarm Aotearoa Book Companion Series, we explore the idea of structure, from the soil beneath our feet to the spine in our bodies. What begins with a conversation about jaw alignment and Western Price quickly unfolds into a much deeper discussion about how mineral balance, nutrition, and physical structure are inseparable. Whether it is calves developing broader heads after changes in soil management or the visible shift in posture through functional dentistry, the message is clear. Structure reflects health.

This episode moves between farm practice and personal experience, showing how addressing root causes rather than symptoms transforms outcomes. From soil tests and mineral corrections to foot alignment, spinal charts, and DNA sequencing, the common thread is foundation. When the base is right, resilience follows. When it is neglected, problems surface elsewhere. Farming, business, community, and human health all mirror the same principle.

We Discuss:

• How jaw alignment, posture, and mineral nutrition reveal deeper systemic health
• Why soil structure and mineral balance directly influence livestock development and behaviour
• The shift from treating symptoms to addressing root causes in farming and personal health
• Functional dentistry and skeletal alignment as examples of structural correction in action
• How nutritionally dense food begins with healthy soil and builds stronger people and communities

Hosted by: Stephen Brunton & Ewan Campbell

Powered by: EcoFarm Aotearoa – ⁠⁠⁠www.efa.nz⁠⁠⁠

Our FREE E-Book:⁠

https://www.ecofarmaotearoa.nz/download-our-ebook/⁠

Listen to An EcoFarmer’s Discovery:⁠ https://open.spotify.com/show/3wIgUUghlsKIje76E5tjBA?si=b4aa009579a34ac1⁠

In this episode, Stephen and Ewan sits down with Ross and Lance, who made a bold transition away from conventional inputs and into biological system thinking. What began with digging holes and finding no worms has evolved into a complete mindset shift, from chasing nitrogen and spraying weeds to rebuilding soil depth, animal health, and farm confidence.

The conversation follows their two-and-a-half-year journey, including the tough first 12 months, the drop in pasture production, and the turning point when animal health rebounded and costs began to fall. From reducing nitrogen from 150 units to just 5, eliminating Roundup and routine drenching, and watching worm castings return, this episode explores what really happens when you move from feeding plants to feeding soil biology.

We discuss:• Dropping nitrogen from 150 units to 5 and what happened next
• The first-year “shake” and why most transitions feel worse before they improve
• Animal health changes, milk urea pressure, and reducing nitrate stress
• Even grazing patterns, calmer cows, and fewer flies
• Cutting Roundup, urea, summer crops, and imported feed
• Herbage testing and understanding excess nitrogen in pasture
• Rebuilding red clover density and growing deeper topsoil
• Lifestyle shifts, lower health inputs, and regaining control of the farm
• Why solving problems through nutrition changes long-term outcomes

Using real on-farm examples, the discussion shows how shifting from a consumable input model to a soil-first biological system doesn’t just change pasture, it changes decision-making, confidence, and lifestyle. Rather than chasing symptoms with more product, the focus becomes removing limiting factors, stabilising biology, and building a system that strengthens year after year.

Hosted by: Stephen Brunton & Ewan Campbell

Powered by: EcoFarm Aotearoa – ⁠⁠www.efa.nz⁠⁠

Our FREE E-Book:https://www.ecofarmaotearoa.nz/download-our-ebook/

Listen to An EcoFarmer’s Discovery:https://open.spotify.com/show/3wIgUUghlsKIje76E5tjBA?si=b4aa009579a34ac1

The EcoFarm Aotearoa Podcast – Book Companion Series.
This episode covers Chapter 19 and dives into one of the most controversial and intriguing concepts in regenerative agriculture: biological transmutation. What sounds like alchemy becomes a practical exploration of how soil biology can transform elements, balance nutrients, and supply what plants and animals need without constant external inputs.

From kiwifruit orchards producing potassium without applications, to chooks laying hard shells without added calcium, Ewan and Steve challenge chemistry-only thinking and unpack the role fungi, bacteria, and even electrical stimulation play in nutrient cycling. At its heart, this chapter is about restoring trust in biology and questioning the systems that shut it down.

We explore:• What biological transmutation is and how it differs from conventional chemistry
• Orchard lessons from potassium cycling and the PSA wake-up call
• Bioremediation: how fungi and microbes break down toxins once thought permanent
• Why herbicides disrupt nutrient creation at its source
• How farmers can regain independence by working with biology, not against it

This episode is a reminder that nature already knows how to build, balance, and repair if we stop interfering long enough to let it work.

Follow along. Watch full episodes on YouTube and Spotify Video.

Useful links:
• Learn more / get the book: EcoFarm Aotearoa (efa.nz)
• Our FREE E-Book: https://www.ecofarmaotearoa.nz/download-our-ebook/

• Listen to An EcoFarmer’s Discovery:
https://open.spotify.com/show/3wIgUUghlsKIje76E5tjBA?si=7f68bd8183ea46ae

• Audiobook: Available on Spotify