Profitable Farmer

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...

Over 15,000 kilometres of new fencing completed More than 16,000 kilometres of old fencing cleaned up or restored In excess of 11,000 farming families lifted from adversity Many thousands of communities deeply impacted The lives of so many completely transformed   It gives me great pleasure to introduce Kevin Butler to share his BlazeAid Story.   In the aftermath of the 2009 Black Saturday fires,...

Managing people, both family and in farming business, can undoubtedly be one of our greatest challenges. Not only do we have to navigate delicate working relationships with our brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers – grandmothers and grandfathers for some too! But, equally, we have casual, full-time, part-time, contractor, client and supplier relationships to ‘wrangle’, navigate,...

For me, Farm Owners Academy is a strong example of good business practice, well-applied. We are seven years old and have enjoyed significant growth year on year. We are an expanding team, all well-aligned to a common goal and cause. We deliver results, adding real and lasting value to the lives of those we serve. I am immensely proud to be part of this team and community. I am also very pleased th...

It is rare to meet true game changers and genuine leaders of Commerce & Industry, let alone get to interview two! In this episode, we meet Gaethan Cutri and Salah Sukkarieh - both pioneers in their own right. Salah Sukkarieh is the Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at the University of Sydney and CEO of  Agerris, a new Agtech startup company from the Australian Centre for Field Rob...

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Andrew Roberts ‘Robbo’ back to the Profitable Farmer podcast. Not only is Robbo one of the founders of Farm Owners Academy and the previous host of this Podcast, but he has also been my Business Coach and great friend for over 15 years. It is always compelling to catch up with Robbo and ‘shoot the breeze’. In this conversation, we explore the definition of a s...

Every six months, I like to check in with Terry Tran, our resident investment specialist and founder of the Freedom Trader, to get his insights into the global marketplace, our local economy and investing in the equity market and off-farm.   In this interview, we explore: the global economy given the ongoing pandemic; the impact that significant government intervention might have; what we might ex...

Our work ethic is legendary. No question.   Our ability to handle volatility, variability, risk, genuine adversity, constant change, and daily corrections is to be truly admired.   Equally, business ownership AND farming can be a lonely place.   Many of us have been here – playing full tilt, often without regular breaks for years.   It is no wonder so many of us, over time, become tired, stressed,...

I have heard it said in my travels that success leaves clues.   I have also heard it said that history often repeats itself.   In this podcast, we hear the story of a 95-year-old gentleman - also a great Australian businessman and entrepreneur.   This story is told through the eyes of his now 62-year-old son – also a great Australian businessman and entrepreneur. This is a story of initiative, pas...

So the saying goes…   The first generation starts a business. The second generation builds it up. The third generation ruins it.   I am sure we have all heard this bandied around over the years…   In my estimation, the Hutcheon & Pearce story, led by Arron Hutcheon, is a great rural and regional example of how to buck this trend, and thrive.   In this episode, I am fortunate to speak with Arro...