The Farmers Club Podcast

In part 2 of the full podcast, we spoke about the following: About where the herd and flock size are at And the opportunities around that How climate is determining how many Cattle or Sheep we breed. How they are utilising finance to create a new enterprise. We spoke about the importance of measuring. And what the metrics behind a Grass budget mean to his business. Nigel explained the process they...

In part 1 of the full podcast, we spoke about the following: Weather and trading conditions at Kerin Ag. The cost of doing nothing. Refer to this article here . How Nigel tried low-input Farming back in the 90s. And how they were literally forced into low-input Farming in the 90s. How you have to replenish what you take out when it comes to production. How is it that when we want something to work...

Jeff McDonald talking about mindset and why we do what we do... Ah shit, where do you start? This interview with Jeff went for a long time, and we covered a lot of ground. And usually we do a reasonably long 2 to 3-minute intro. I don’t think this podcast needs that. So I am just going to jot down some dot points on the subjects that you will pick up on. Here goes: > We humans dominate this ear...

This podcast is a little different; it’s from a panel we were involved in during the Farmers Day Out at Ballarat in late March. The lineup included: Lachie McKenzie - Founder of McKenzie Ag - Panel Facilitator. Brooke Dawson - CEO of Oakdale Meat Co . Phil McFarlane - CEO of Australian Plant Proteins . Alistair Ham - Founder of Windemere Oilseeds . Dwain Duxson - Founder of The Farmers Club The qu...

We recorded this podcast with Barry Clark live at a conference, and I had the pleasure of co-hosting this interview with the affable and ultra-professional Kirstin Diprose. This one is a real standout story on so many fronts, and it's chock-full of great business lessons and takeaways. In this podcast, you have to listen intently and perhaps replay some of the points to find the take-home bit...

Alice Mabin has done a lot in the Ag space, a hell of a lot. It would almost be safe to say more than anyone her age, and she's still only young. She has a creative mind, and she gets the Ag and Farming thing.  Alice has a saying she keeps telling herself: " What would I be doing if I only had 6 months to live ?" She builds her life around this statement. It stems from having a hors...

Ash has been a disciple of the Machinery Industry over the last 3 decades. He is a curious observer and has witnessed the many changes that have come to the industry over the years.  In this podcast, we cover the industry dynamics of what happens when there are fewer new buyers in the market and do a bit of scenario-playing about what might happen to the used market going forward.  We talk about w...

Ben McEvoy was an outstanding AFL footballer who played 252 games over a 15-year career, including two premierships with the Hawthorn Football Club. He was drafted by St Kilda and has a funny story about the draft, and when he was traded from St Kilda to Hawthorn, he didn’t know it was going to happen until it did.  Ben was passionate about Football but has what I’d consider a greater passion for...

We have Jeff back by popular demand. Our recommendation is that you listen to the first podcast we did, episode 25, for context, if you haven't already.  Some of the points we covered in this episode were around bank staff and how there's a lack of Agricultural knowledge within the bank, probably like never before. Jeff talked about the concerns around the viability of marginal Cropping...

St John (pronounced Sinjin) is an interesting cat, and we got him on because we wanted to hear his story and what he does, but we also wanted to get into the minds of you guys (the Farmers) and better understand the decisions you make and why.  So, by listening, you might get a better understanding of yourself and why you do what you do. You see St John has a business called Rural Sales Success th...

Kent Wooding has paved a well-built path in the Agronomy game, mainly in the Mallee area of Victoria. He started out in the space at 20 back in 1990, and he revealed to us that he actually wanted to work in the Livestock industry, most probably as an agent.  Back then, the Mallee was a mixed Farming region, but over the years Sheep have disappeared, so Kent probably made the right career choice. W...

Kate Burke has spent a lifetime in the Ag space and has worked alongside Farmers throughout her career. I've said it before: Kate gets Farmers and knows what makes them tick. You can only do this by closely observing the human side of Farming. Kate is a deep thinker, and when working in a consultancy role with Farmers, she has the ability to adapt to each situation, which can differ from one...

Simon Quilty is, hands down, Australia's leading Red Meat and Livestock analyst. What separates Simon from others is his ability to take complex scenarios and relay them in simple terms. He has developed a delivery style that Farmers can understand, and when it's understood, Farmers can then make the necessary decisions they need to make within their own businesses. Simon's parents...

The 2nd part of the Bill Long interview is about his critique of the GRDC and Grains industry RD&E in general. Critique might sound like a bit of a negative word, but it's not; it's great to hear from people like Bill who tell it like it is and with an informed opinion. He outlines what he thinks needs to change, but also praises the many things that are going right.  Bill sent us an...

Bill Long has had a most interesting career in Agriculture. His wife, Jeanette, sent me Bill's list of achievements, and I could not believe how long it was. Bill started as an Agronomist after growing up on a Farm in the Mid North of SA. His inquisitive mind meant that he chose agronomy over being a Farmer, which he stepped back into later in life. When he started in Agronomy, it marked the...

Jonathan Lillie and his brother Jamie are in charge of the Lillie family generation business called Fox and Lillie. Fox and Lillie started in 1948 in the Wool industry, a good year to start a wool-based business in the lead-up period to what was known as the 1950s Wool boom. Fox and Lillie is a great Australian Agricultural success story as they have stood the test of time and have constantly pivo...

We interviewed Tim Burvill from the South Australian Cattle Company (SACC).  The SACC is a very interesting business that has a few moving parts to it. It has a couple of properties in the South East of South Australia where they run Cattle and a Feedlot, they have a wholesale dry-aged Beef company and a brand called Kings and Queens, which sells to select supermarkets.  They had a couple of resta...

Nikki Lyons just set a record for shearing 502 Merino Lambs (unmulesed ones, mind you) in a 9-hour working block with breaks in between. Nikki outlines in detail what she went through on the day and the preparation she put in before the event. It's a real team game, and Nikki relies on those around her, so she can fully focus on her job at hand and what's in front of her handpiece. With...

Pat Mangan created the Farming tour industry in Australia through his business, Swagman Tours, which he started in 1987 and sold in 2020. It was a business that served the Farming industry very well because it got people off their Farms and onto other Farms where they picked up ideas that they could take home and experiment with. Pat is known as the guru of the Farm Tour industry. After he sold th...

Our guest today is Kelly Marson from Let's Talk Australia . Kelly has blown me away with her passion for wanting to help with the negative experiences that come with mental health issues. You will get an understanding of her passion and commitment when you hear her speak. Because of this, and also because it's such an important subject, we have decided to make this podcast available to t...

This is part 2 of the Ken Solly podcast preview.  We start out with a group of Ken's favourite sayings, some of which he is famous for amongst his clients and those who have attended events he has run and spoken at. We cover off on many aspects of the business of Farming as well as some Sheep industry happenings, which Ken is very passionate about. Ken also opens up about his person battles a...

Our latest podcast guest is none other than Ken Solly. For those of you keen on advancing yourself in Agriculture, this is a must listen. Ken has helped numerous Farmers in his time, firstly as a TAFE teacher, and after that as a self-employed consultant.  His great mate Wayne Hawkins said he could have easily doubled or even tripled the turnover of the Farmers he worked with, such was his influen...

Libby Price is a 40-year media veteran, and she has spent half of that time in the Ag and Rural media space. Libby is best remembered for her presenting gig at the ABC Country Hour, which she did for around 12 years.  Libby had a 3-year stint as a newspaper editor at the Benella Ensign but was wooed back to Radio by the Ace Radio network to present the Country Today program. This was 8 years ago,...

This was a fantastic Woolshed chat with Ben Duxson, who Farms at Marnoo in Victoria. And yes, Ben is my brother.  We discuss a wide range of topics from his Sheep classing run that he started when he was 21, right through to him being the unofficial spokesperson for Farmers fighting against the transmission lines. Some have called for Ben to enter politics, which he did not rule out. Ben has his G...

Joe Messina is a student of the Farm Machinery market both here and in Canada. This Aussie turned Canadian turned Aussie again gives us a rundown on where the very expensive new Machinery market is at and where it's headed. I hope you enjoy. End of message. The Farmers Club podcast is now only available to our paid newsletter subscribers. We know that won't suit everyone, but it's a...