The last six months has been fast moving for Peter Andrews, since “Australian Story” went to air. It’s heartening that the program has received nominations for a number of international awards and Peter received nomination for Senior Australian of the Year. His latest nomination is for the McKell Medal for outstanding contributions to agriculture.

As you may have guessed, Peter has been inundated with requests for site visits to properties and to undertake many group presentations. He has helped out with as many of these as is humanly possible and conducted a number of field days, while at the same time working on the NSF project at Gerry Harvey’s “Baramul Stud”.

The scientist’s study at Baramul is continuing and the work in monitoring and evaluating the NSF system is coming up with exciting results, giving credence to the observations their colleagues first made in 2002. Additional positive outcomes are anticipated.

Meanwhile, new NSF projects have received government and private sector funding at Bungendore, Quirindi and Liddell in NSW, Blackwood Basin in WA and Gumlu in Qld. Fur ther on-ground projects have been submitted for funding and more are in the pipeline.

Several bids for funding an NSF manual and training courses have proved unsuccessful. Instead, some initial development work has been undertaken through voluntary effort and with the guidance of the NSW Department of Natural Resources.

On an even bigger scale, the ABC has commissioned a book on Peter and NSF to come out later this year. This book will fill in many gaps for the many interested parties, because it will focus more on Peter’s insights into the landscape than the personal aspects in “Australian Story”.

In approaching governments and leading players in the private sector, Peter along with his team of supporters has been amazed at the interest his philosophies are creating. To assist this process, a series of Power Point presentations have been developed and refined and the website has been expanded at www.nsfarming.com

Ra ther than forming a foundation, Peter has preferred to proceed as he has done through his life, as an individual with a wide range of friends who share his interest in making life on the land more productive and sustainable for Australia’s people, plants and animals.

This is why the enormous amount of unsolicited voluntary contributions of effort and expertise has now accelerated Peter’s progress in reaching higher levels of Government and business. Many of these leaders are becoming personally involved and are not just parties with a passive interest.

Leading non-government organisations such as Landcare and Greening Australia are also lending their weight to helping establish trial and demonstration sites.

A major step already underway is to put a consortium of private, government and community organisations toge ther to extend the demonstration and evaluation of NSF in a range of landscapes and productive enterprises. This group will focus on improving the efficiency of water use in the landscape for the benefit of the Australian environment, rural communities and farms.

There have been some real surprises coming from industry players. In particular, major food retailers and producers are taking an increasing interest in the quality and cost effectiveness of Peter’s techniques to meet the tastes and nutritional demands of the Australian consumer.

They note the advantages that NSF has in conserving water and minimising the application of herbicides, pesticides and artificial fertilisers, all of which are strongly linked to the escalating price of oil and qualms over the wellbeing of consumers and the Australian landscape.

Leading coal mining companies are also coming forward seeking Peter’s advice on how their major rehabilitation sites and buffer lands can be restored to create a more sustainable landscape. There may even be greenhouse benefits gained by using Peter’s techniques, which are driven by the key role of plants in the overall environment.

At the national level, Peter was invited by a coalition of members of parliament from across the political spectrum to present his ideas during the last week of Parliament. The Greens and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Gary Nairn MP, hosted this highly successful event in December. Future visits by Ministers to NSF sites are in train.

In May, Peter has been invited along with a panel of leading scientists to present a lecture on Natural Sequence Farming at the National Science Festival in Canberra.

This is a real breakthrough for Peter on a range of fronts after decades of frustration in trying to communicate the clear benefits of NSF to the broader community. But there is still a long way to go.

What really keeps Peter going has been the support of his many friends over the years and the overwhelming response of people like you who came forward with interest and support after “Australian Story”. This continues to be the hinge on which these new doors are opening.

Opportunities like NSF generally happen once in a lifetime; If you feel you would like to open more doors to make a difference, please contact me at any time.

A list of ways people can help is attached below.

Yours sincerely,

Garry Reynolds
Executive Officer

Note: Garry left NSF in 2006 after his agreement was completed.

How can I help Peter Andrews leave the Australian landscape in better shape with Natural Sequence Farming (NSF)?

• Spread the word with friends, relatives and associates
• Visit NSF trial demonstration sites to learn more
• Provide mentoring advice in your area of expertise
• Provide a pathway to areas of personal and corporate sponsorship
• Put Peter in touch with business and financial decision-makers
• Provide an avenue to Government policy makers and funding providers
• Assist in developing submissions to funding bodies
• Contribute to distilling Peter’s work in a manual through writing or funding
• Help up-skill farmers and the next generation with the production of a DVD
• Contribute to the design or financing of courses for NSF trainers
• Offer your property as a national trial and demonstration site
• Contact friends or relatives with a potential site
• Make a direct donation to the work to support Peter with NSF
• Help provide fur ther scientific and academic support for Peter’s work
• Provide marketing advice, funds or links for NSF
• Provide leads for the media to follow up with Peter
• Help design or fund travel to presentations to major forums
• Provide financial or legal advice to assist Peter
• Write letters to Govt Ministers to generate further support for NSF
• Put Peter in touch with key like-minded bodies to work in partnership

Don’t be limited by our imagination – can you offer a new path?