Nick Russo is the third generation of his family to run Bellevue Orchard, a 40-hectare apple and cider operation 45 kilometres from Melbourne's CBD that his grandfather Angelo started in 1953.

In this conversation with Romey, Nick shares the full business story behind one of Australia's most interesting urban fringe farms. From the 1998 hailstorm that forced the family to choose between selling the property or installing an apple juicing plant, to a million-dollar bottling line, five revenue streams from the same kilo of fruit, and the real pressure of carrying significant debt while interest rates work against you.

Romey closes with a frank debrief on why farm businesses struggle most in the transition from small-medium to medium-large, and why stress testing every idea before committing capital is the single most important thing any farm business owner can do.

Not sure if you're ready to start your farm journey? Find out exactly where you stand. Get your free Farm Readiness Scorecard at https://farmreadiness.culturedestates.com

#FarmChange #BellevueOrchard #NickRusso #RegenerativeFarming #FarmBusiness #AppleOrchard #FamilyFarm #FarmEntrepreneur #DirectToConsumer #GreenWedge

Matt Wong did not plan to be a farmer. He planned to hire one. Three years later, he is the one fixing pumps in 40-degree heat, moving cattle, and running a 150-acre regenerative property outside Melbourne with a co-ownership model he built from scratch.

In this conversation with Romey, Matt shares the full arc of how a successful lawyer, business owner, and host of the Discernible podcast ended up with mud on his boots and a water problem he cannot stop thinking about. COVID was the catalyst, but the pull toward something more real, more physical, and more purposeful had been building long before that.

Matt and Romey cover the Dunning-Kruger curve as an honest map of the farming journey, the valley of despair that hits when your plans collide with what the land actually wants to do, the case for intelligent outsiders making better regenerative farmers than multi-generational operators in some instances, and why the network effect is worth more than any single piece of machinery.

Matt also talks about Joel Salatin and Polyface Farms, the autodidact farmer, the physical transformation that comes from 14-hour days outdoors, and what he would say to any lawyer, doctor or office worker who has ever wondered whether this kind of life is actually for them.

Subscribe to Farm Change for more farmer journeys, on-farm visits, and regenerative farming conversations from across Australia.
https://farmchange.substack.com

#RegenerativeFarming #FarmChange #MattWong #Discernible #LeavingTheCity #FarmLife

What happens when a sixth-generation farmer inherits degraded land with a soil pH of 4.5 - and decides to fix it without a single bag of synthetic fertiliser? John Stewart of Macedon Ranges Lamb shares the full story: from a superphosphate addiction that was slowly bankrupting the land, to a thriving regenerative lamb business selling 900 animals a year at three times commodity value, direct to consumers at farmers markets across Victoria.

In this conversation, John unpacks the science behind soil recovery, the economics of vertical integration, and the very practical decisions - rotational grazing, multi-species pasture mixes, biological inputs, low-stress animal handling - that transformed a struggling 202-hectare property in the Macedon Ranges into one of the most compelling regenerative lamb businesses in Australia.

This isn't theory. John talks about real numbers: what going backwards looked like ($100K+ in extra feed costs during the worst drought in 150 years), what recovery looked like (soil pH from 4.5 to 6.5–7 without lime applications in recent years), and how the direct-to-consumer model changes everything about farm economics.

Whether you're a farmer considering a regenerative transition, someone dreaming about leaving the city for a rural property, or simply a curious eater who wants to understand where premium lamb actually comes from - this episode is full of hard-won, practical wisdom.

Key topics covered include: why superphosphate is like a drug for soil; how biological inputs (fish, kelp, worm juice, bacteria) unlock dormant nutrients; rotational grazing with smaller paddocks; Coopworth composite breeding for fertility and meat quality; the White Suffolk and Charolais terminal cross system; lamb survival rates of 95-96% vs an industry average in the 70s; pricing lamb at $700-$750 per animal vs $250-$300 at the livestock market; and why the Macedon Ranges is one of Victoria's best-kept secrets for anyone wanting a working farm close to Melbourne.

John's farm: https://www.mrlamb.com.au/
Farm Change Substack: https://farmchange.substack.com

Subscribe to Farm Change for more conversations with farmers, growers, and land stewards doing things differently across Australia.

#RegenerativeFarming #LambFarming #MacedonRanges #FarmChange