Liz Blair’s partnering Conservation and Farming

Humans of Agriculture

For Liz, it was easy to fall for her now husband with their shared love of nature. It became their dream to purchase their first farm and test out a theory they had in Uni - that agriculture and conservation could live in harmony rather than conflict.

In this episode of Humans of Agriculture, Oli Le Lievre sits down with Liz Blair to discuss how agricultural practices can reframe their relationship with the world around them. Liz grew up in Scotland before moving to Australia where she learned the value of sustainable farming. She and her husband have embraced a philosophy of land stewardship, prioritizing biodiversity alongside cattle grazing. Liz discusses the challenges of balancing farm productivity with environmental preservation, the importance of conservation on private land, and the potential of biodiversity markets in rewarding sustainable farming practices.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• How Liz and her husband scrounged every penny to buy their farm
• Their philosophy behind integrating biodiversity into commercial farming
• The heartbreaking challenges and incredible rewards of sustainable land management
• Integrating ecosystem thinking in conservation and farm productivity
• The potential of nature repair markets and biodiversity initiatives

Guest Bio:
Liz Blair is a farmer and passionate advocate for sustainable agriculture and conservation. With a background in natural resource management, she has worked as a National Parks ranger and with Catchment Management Authorities, helping landholders integrate biodiversity into their farming systems. She and her husband run a farm in northern New South Wales, focusing on balancing production with environmental stewardship. Through their work with Ecosystem Thinking, they support private landholders in managing landscapes to benefit both agriculture and biodiversity.

Subscribe and Review: Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform to help us reach more listeners passionate about agriculture and the incredible people behind it!