Rate My Professor David Hardwick

David Hardwick is a partner at Soil Land Food, an independent agricultural consultancy specializing in regenerative and ecological farming systems. As an experienced agroecologist with over 20 years in rural landscapes, farming, and food systems, he develops and delivers extension projects across Australia. His career began in community development and horticulture, followed by a dairy traineeship on an organic dairy farm in New South Wales. He has held diverse roles in Landcare extension, agronomy, soils, agribusiness, biofertiliser research and development, manufacturing, organics, training, and consulting. Hardwick has also contributed to rural cooperative and social enterprise projects and helped run a regional farmers market business with his wife. His educational qualifications include a Bachelor of Ecological Agriculture from the University of Sydney, a Diploma in Agribusiness from TAFE NSW, a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Grazing Land Management training from Queensland DPI, and Natural Sequence Farming from Tarwyn Park Training.

Hardwick's expertise encompasses rural extension and change management, regenerative and organic agriculture, food systems, soils, composting, biofertilisers, land management, agricultural quality assurance, research and development, rural business, and community and social enterprises. He employs creative approaches to projects, collaborating with farmers, communities, regional bodies, government agencies, and Landcare networks to build capacity in soils, change management, and regenerative agriculture. At Southern Cross University, he serves as a mentor and advisor in key initiatives such as the Regenerative Agriculture Mentoring Program (RAMP) and the Farming Together program, supporting the development of regenerative agriculture education and practice. Additionally, he teaches soils, regenerative agriculture, farm planning, and agroecology on a casual basis at TAFE NSW. Through these contributions, Hardwick empowers farmers and land managers with practical knowledge and skills to enhance ecological farming systems.