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Look after the soil, save the Earth: farming in Australia’s unrelenting climate – The Guardian
Former governor general Michael Jeffery says soil health and regenerative farming is essential for security and carbon emissions.
From the red soil of his hometown in the Western Australian outback town of Wiluna, Michael Jeffery very nearly became a farmer.
He opted for being a soldier instead, serving in Malaya, Borneo and Vietnam, where he was awarded the Military Cross and the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. After a distinguished military career, he served as governor of his home state of Western Australia and governor general of Australia – who represents the Queen, Australia’s head of state.
So he doesn’t enter public debate lightly. But he is highly exercised by his latest topic: restoring Australia’s ancient soils.
It was a world first when he was appointed by Julia Gillard’s Labor government as the first national soil advocate in 2012 and his term was extended under the former National party leader and agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce. Since then he has consulted with thousands of farmers, Indigenous land managers, policy makers, students and interest groups across the country.