The Otway coast where I live is famous for its beaches and forests, but it’s also farming country. Sharing the Great Ocean Road with the tourist traffic are workhorse farm utes (with bonus farm dogs on a good day). With fuel and fertilizer costs exploding thanks to Donald’s war, we’ve had a brutal reminder of how vulnerable the industrial global food system is to geopolitical forces, relying as it does on synthetic fertilisers, chemicals and long haul freight. And locally, these pressures come on the back of two years of punishing drought. Might this crisis persuade conventional and industrial farmers to make the leap into more sustainable, accountable practices? Pondering this, I went along to the Grounded Festival at the Yan Yan Gurt West Farm. Check out the story in The Monthly here: https://www.themonthly.com.au/june-2026/nation-reviewed/true-farm?share=djF8M2M5MTRhOTR8RkdbRVlCX0lVXTtEW0pWR1tEWUNcXVNCWEJSWUdRJ0RGU1dQVl9EQ0E=