About us
Holding Ground was founded to put processing power back in farmers’ hands — working alongside regenerative and small-scale producers to design, enable and deliver practical, regionally grounded solutions that rebuild local food systems.
We bring together on-the-ground farming experience with strategy, policy and business expertise — bridging the gap between idea and implementation.
Our Team
Lauren Stevens
Co-FounderLauren is a regenerative pork and poultry farmer based in the NSW Murray Plains region, with deep, practical experience in paddock-to-plate production and the realities of small-scale farming. Her farm business Bundarra Farming For Good supplies a range of restaurants, cafes and providores around Australia, as well as direct to households.
In 2019 she helped establish the Murray Plains Meat Cooperative, a collective of local producers formed to address the growing loss of regional processing infrastructure. Through this work, Lauren led the successful advocacy to establish the region’s first farmer-owned micro-abattoir, which opened in 2024 — ensuring that regenerative, organic and small-scale producers can continue to access ethical, local processing.
Her work is grounded in real-world problem solving and she brings a clear, practical lens to developing solutions that genuinely work on the ground.
Co-FounderEmma Marshall
Emma brings over 15 years’ experience across small business, government and environmental policy, with a focus on primary industries, land management and systems change.
Working with local and state government agencies, she has contributed to legislative reform and policy development across the agriculture sector, and has held roles spanning climate adaptation, coastal management and carbon farming.
She has also led business strategy and brand development for a multi-site hospitality group she co-founded with her partner, gaining insight into the tail-end of the food production system.
Emma brings a structured, strategic approach to complex projects — combining commercial thinking with policy insight and stakeholder engagement — helping translate ideas into viable, fundable and deliverable outcomes.
Contact us
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