Profitable Farmer

With  R U OK Day  taking place last week, I wanted to take a few moments to share a business coaching principle that changed my life.   In my younger years, I constantly struggled with poor self-esteem, low confidence, anxiety and, at times, depression. In addition, I was plagued by an active mindset of sabotaging my own sense of self.   Left unchecked, I hate to think where life might have taken...

Hi [First Name], In leadership, sometimes it pays to take the highest perspective possible. Today, as we find ourselves navigating global political unrest, war, pandemic recovery, disease threat, rising interest rates, inflation and significant seasonal volatility, this has never been more important. For an incredibly insightful global perspective and a highly considered and passionate interpretat...

As our world continues to change, our commodity and investment markets continue to be impacted by an ongoing series of externalities. To help us understand the current market conditions and to offer direction on navigating a significant recent market correction, I invite our resident investment specialist, Terry Tran, back to the Profitable Farmer Podcast. As always, it is great to connect with Te...

Succession is often described as a complex, challenging, confronting, highly emotional and intense process.   At its worst, succession can tear families apart, damage relationships and be the demise of significant farming dynasties. We have all seen this.   In this podcast, I interview succession specialist and ProAgtive Co-Founder Isobel Knight, for another look at this important topic.   “Done w...

Growing up, like most kids, I had three heroes: Mel Gibson, Greg Norman, and Phil Kearns.   All Aussies. All champions in their own way in their chosen field.   To celebrate our 100th Profitable Farmer Podcast episode, it gives me great pleasure to introduce Wallaby great Phil Kearns (OAM).   Phil is without question one of Australia’s greatest ever Rugby Union players. With 67 tests as #2 for the...

Eight years ago, Farm Owners Academy (FOA) was just an idea shared by two incredible visionaries, Greg & Deb Johnsson.   Six months later, and following some time with Business Coach Andrew Roberts, the business we see and cherish today was born.   And the rest, as they say, is history.   As this is our 99th Profitable Farmer Podcast, I thought it appropriate to reflect on this journey with FO...

Let me be straight for a moment.   Many of us are making tax ‘minimisation’ decisions at tax time that constrict our growth.   Many of us are expecting more of our Accountants than they are equipped to offer.   Finally, many of us do not have the people around us that can truly support our professional and business advancement.   These three things, especially at tax time, can be costing us a fort...

It is always a pleasure to catch up, shoot the breeze and reflect on all things finance, farming and family with Tony Catt, Director at Catapult Wealth.   Tony and the team at Catapult Wealth specialise in accounting, wealth creation and succession planning for Australian farming families. As one of FOA’s referral partners AND as our resident succession planning specialist, we recommend Tony and h...

For a vision to be compelling AND create meaningful change, it has to enrol and inspire. Well-designed, a compelling vision can align people from all walks of life, diverse backgrounds, varying persuasions, and even competing preferences. To me, it seems that for Australian Agriculture, this has been achieved thanks to Tony Mahar and the National Farmers Federation (NFF) . In 2018, NFF sought to p...

You will have heard me say this before: Time is our greatest asset.   So many of us feel SO BUSY. We operate in CHAOS. We are REACTIVE rather than proactive.   There is just not enough time in the day!   Putting it simply, I believe that farmers (as a rule) DO NOT VALUE THEIR TIME.   So many of us are STUCK in our business - ‘saving a wage’ by doing the LOW-VALUE tasks on our farm. And this is ‘co...

Once again, we are reminded that no two seasons are the same.   Distinct from prior seasons, we find ourselves in a new business environment where, like diesel prices, the cost of many farm inputs has increased by 30% plus.   The result of COVID and fuel prices on freight, combined with the Russia - Ukraine conflict, we may be looking at a situation where some inputs are in short supply at the far...

Let’s be real for a moment; business ownership is one of the world's toughest assignments. Even more so is farm business ownership, with its numerous complexities and subtleties. At the same time, business ownership AND farming can be very lonely places.   In our roles on-farm, and as we all know, we have “ups and downs”.   And so, my question is:   who do you have in your corner?   … who do you h...

Once again, our world has taken a surprising and unprecedented turn - on the back of fires, COVID, floods… and now war.    After a period of economic expansion and optimism, we now find ourselves experiencing a global shift to the market we operate in.    To explain and explore this highly significant shift, I am delighted to welcome back our resident investment specialist Terry Tran, founder of T...

In this Podcast, I am delighted to interview my good friend and FOA Business Coach Sam Pincott, sharing with you the story of Holbrook Paddock Eggs.   With so many emerging businesses, especially those that dare to be different, we face a multitude of headwinds, challenges and even criticism. In their careers, Sam and his wife Prue have faced their fair share of all of these. I have genuinely admi...

Some important constructs that have changed my life:  “A business will never out-grow its owner”; “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you’ve always got”; “For things to change, FIRST I must change”; “The hardest part to learning is letting go of what you think you know”; “Thoughts are things, and it is in taking control of our mind, that personal transformation can occur”; and...

Every business needs a CEO - including our farm businesses! As Part II of our Take Control Client spotlight, in this episode, I am delighted to share an interview with Farm Owners Academy (FOA) Member Ben Taylor.   Ben is a valued Take Control Program Graduate and now, a genuine high performer within the FOA Platinum Mastermind Program. Along with his wife Kate, his parents and brother Sam, Ben ru...

Happy New Year, and may 2022 be your best year yet!   Up to 85% of our success is determined by the QUALITY of our plan and our ability to implement it consistently – It has been proven!   In this episode, I am delighted to share an interview with Farm Owners Academy (FOA) Member Jack Owen. Jack is a valued Take Control Program Graduate and a current FOA Platinum Mastermind Program member. He runs...

So much of our focus AND the advice we receive is centred around optimising our Farm Businesses.    When we think about off-farm investing, we look to shares and real estate as our primary options.    Remember the small business. Often, the small business we run as a ‘side-hustle’ beside our farms get little attention and are often left to play ‘second fiddle’.    In this podcast, I propose that p...

In this episode, I welcome Andrew Roberts back for an interview he coordinated with Bianca & David McGiveron, Founders of ‘Our Cow’. This is a genuinely inspiring Australian success story. Just three years ago, David and Bianca were engulfed by prolonged droughts AND wiped out by fires. They were broke, tired, and forced to do something else… to think ‘outside the box’. They asked themselves:...

Land Prices are through the roof, bank lending policies continue to tighten, and the red tape is getting thicker for all across our industry.   If we are serious about farm expansion, inter-generational transition and driving new & improved operating performance, we need to be looking and thinking ‘outside the box’ now more than ever.   With these realities in mind, I call on Collaborative Far...

And so, I continue my series of interviews with remarkable rural Australian women.   Ladies & gentlemen, meet Lyn Sykes.   Spending some time in nursing and counselling in her early career, Lyn found herself invited to help a group of farmers better manage family communication… and the rest, as they say, is history!   Thirty years plus and a highly successful career later, Lyn has become an ic...

Strong Commodity Prices, a favourable season (for many!), low interest rates and strong capital gains… have you EVER seen such optimism?   In Greg Johnsson’s opinion – this is (for most!) about as good as it gets.   And he is right – if you are not making solid profits now, there could be something wrong in your farm business.   In this Podcast, I call on FOA Founder and fellow Director Greg Johns...

Do you have an overly active mind and struggle at times with overthinking ??   Trust me on this. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.   As farmers, we often work alone and have a heap of time to think… deeply… about things that serve us AND things that may not.   This interview with FOA Head Coach Tracy Secombe reminds us that we are trained to be ‘in our heads’ and logically problem-solve to ‘manufacturer’ our goa...

If you love food & cooking, Maggie Beer is Australia’s much-loved national icon and go-to authority. If you love your kids, it’s Maggie Dent! Well-known to many of you and revered as the ‘The Queen of Common Sense’, Maggie is an absolute champion on all things parenting. Maggie’s roots are very strongly tied to Agriculture. She is passionate about this community – our strength, endurance, resi...

My podcast has been hijacked!!! In this Episode, Farm Owners Academy’s Farm Business Coach, David Westbrook, takes the reins and interviews an extraordinary woman making a big, big difference in the lives of thousands of families.   Back in 2016, David experienced a life-changing lesson.   That lesson?   ‘Humans sacrifice their health in order to make money. Then they sacrifice money to recuperate...