How Soil Biology Lifts Lamb & Vineyard Profit

Healthy soil isn’t a buzzword here — it’s driving better grapes and better lambs. Inside a NSW vineyard/winery system where compost biology and livestock cut inputs and lift profit. Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @farmlearningtim   Today I’m at Bunnamagoo winery (near Mudgee, NSW). It's a 400-hectare wine and fat lamb enterprise where the team is rebuilding soil biology with diverse mid-row pasture, crash grazing, and a carefully tested compost program made from winery and livestock waste. You’ll see how they: Integrate sheep into vineyards (without wrecking production) Use diverse mid-rows (clovers, chicory, lucerne, grasses) to support soil function Build compost as a “biological factory” (bacteria:fungi balance, temperature monitoring, repeated lab testing) Reduce reliance on traditional fertiliser and spraying regimes by improving plant resilience Make hard profit-first decisions (removing unprofitable vines, reinvesting into quality blocks) Use canopy work (cane pruning, shoot thinning, bunch thinning) to turn less yield into higher value wine This is practical, farmer-to-farmer systems thinking: animals + plants + microbes + measurement — and a clear focus on profit over yield. soil biology in vineyards, compost microbiology, bacteria to fungi ratio, regenerative viticulture, sheep grazing vineyards, diverse species pasture, holistic farm systems, profit vs yield farming, biological inputs, vineyard floor management, canopy management, shoot thinning, bunch thinning, cane pruning, reducing sprays, improving grape quality. If you want more grounded, real-world farming systems like this: ✅ Subscribe to Farm Learning with Tim Thompson 🔁 Share this with a viticulture mate, grazier, or agronomist ▶️ Watch more soil + grazing system case studies on the channel Featured: Paul Baguley (agronomy) + Rick Stanaford (winemaking) Location: Bunnamagoo, near Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia Products/suppliers mentioned: Crop Biolife https://www.cropbiolife.com/ ALSTA Nutritional testing https://altsa.com.au/ AGVITA Microbial testing https://agvita.com.au/ Paul Baguley (PB Ag Consulting)   / pbagconsulting   #RegenerativeAgriculture #SoilHealth #Viticulture #Grazing #Compost 3) Chapters / Timestamps (00:00 Format) 00:00 Soil biology meets wine + fat lambs (why this matters) 00:51 “Don’t decouple animals and plants” (system overview) 03:10 Vineyard mid-row pasture: diversity, not “weeds” 04:48 Grazing + slashing pressure instead of chasing perfect clean rows 05:09 Biodiversity = predator balance (less pest pressure) 06:13 Composting as a biological factory (made from on-farm waste) 07:34 Testing for bacteria:fungi ratios (data-driven compost) 09:03 Vineyard health changes winemaking inputs (fewer corrections) 10:30 Building compost: lime, temperature monitoring, biology additives 12:53 How long compost takes (18 months) + why patience matters 13:27 Avoiding potassium issues: test, tweak, re-test 14:43 Greener pastures longer: 12-month production goal 15:16 Scale: lamb finishing numbers + pasture resilience 16:16 Profit vs yield: removing unprofitable vineyard blocks 18:50 Reinvesting savings into quality blocks (cane pruning + thinning) 20:06 One bunch per shoot: less yield, higher value wine 21:27 Crash grazing windows + clean mid-rows before budburst 23:10 Future farming: biologicals, testing, adapt and implement 24:35 Sprays changing: softer, targeted, more biologicals