So many farming families I meet feel completely REACTIVE in managing their farms. On so many levels, we often are left feeling like the business is running you, not you it. With all that is going on in a typical week, the long list of improvements to make, the complexities of programs and rotations, the changes of the season… for me, it is easy to see why so many arrive here.   One of my favourite quotes is from global personal performance expert Brian Tracy:   “We feel good about ourselves...

  Technology can be pretty incredible. With its exponential advancement, there is no doubt we are on the cusp of unprecedented change on-farm and across our industry.   Our game is rapidly changing, allowing us to achieve much more with much less.   For me, our future is very exciting. In this episode, I invite you to join me and an audience of 350 progressive, growth-oriented and passionate farmers at one of our Deep Dive conferences (usually exclusively for our Platinum Mastermind...

Throughout each year, I value the opportunity to invite our Investment Specialist Terry Tran to join us on Profitable Farmer.   With rising inflation, increasing interest rates, ongoing supply issues and softening commodity prices we are potentially entering a new agri-economic landscape, different from all we have experienced in recent years.   In this podcast we explore how Terry sees the investment landscape at this time. We discuss the important of being proactive and creating...

It is so easy in this game to constantly put in massive hours, ensure everyone around you has what they need, and focus intently on getting the job done. An extended finish, a challenging season and ALREADY the urgent requirement to get set to ‘go again’… I hear of many farming families feeling they must sacrifice their holiday plans to stay on top of production imperatives. Right now, it is critical we stop, take stock, and be reminded of the importance of putting ourselves first. Following...

So often in this game, we attend only the training put on by the R&D extension agencies or free events by our advisers.So often, we wait for a grant to become available before we commit to a course, or we focus on improving our skills ONLY when there is a subsidy or sponsorship toward the funding of it. My point is: So many farmers don’t invest enough in themselves!In this episode, Andrew ‘Robbo’ Roberts (Farm Owners Academy Co-Founder) & I re-connect and focus on the impact of making...

There are some genuinely impressive Australian stories of entrepreneurial success in our industry — true, unsung, modern examples of courage, initiative, determination and pioneering.   For me, Dwain Duxson and the Farm Tender story is one of those.   Founded in March 2012, Farm Tender is Australia’s pre-eminent online buying and selling marketplace for farmers and associated agricultural companies, facilitating sales of grain, hay, farm machinery and agricultural equipment.   With over...

We are excited to be kicking off our first podcast of 2023, we hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year break. May 2023 be your best year yet!   One of the great things about this time of year is friends dropping in on their holiday travels.   There truly is nothing like old friendships. Whilst visiting us, I am delighted to once again welcome great mate James Kelly to our podcast. As Managing Director to Alchimie Management Consulting, James and his team dedicate much of their...

Business can be a very lonely place. Farming can be isolating.  Sometimes… no, often… we can feel like we are ‘going it alone’.  Our challenges, failings, and issues can feel unique to us.  In my experience, when you commit to joining a Mastermind Group, everything can change. There is much wisdom to call on from those around us, and we quickly realise we are not alone and our issues are not our own.  In a Mastermind, we get to surround ourselves with like-minded, growth-oriented peers. We...

It has once again been a unique farming season - perhaps one like no other!   In this episode, and once again, I call on Brett Stevenson, Managing Director & Founder of Market Check – the most influential, independent grain marketing and education service for Australian farmers.   Together we explore: an assessment of the current season; advice on the importance of proactive grain marketing at this time; an estimation of short-term grain price movements; a perspective on medium and...

Right now, there are many farming families facing real challenges.Extended rains, widespread flooding, the prospect of failed crops, wet paddocks and the complexities all this brings for hay carting, harvest and the end of our season.   A season that promised so much.   A cost-base inflated by the aftermath of a global pandemic.   Seven years ago, Platinum Mastermind members Troy and Nette Fisher, Ashmore Rams (Woolshed, SA) were decimated by the Pinery Fires.   Three years ago, Farm Owners...

Dave ‘Westy’ Westbrook here – and I have hijacked this episode of the Profitable Farmer Podcast!   For me, true wealth is about the inner success or the ‘inner hero’ that we all have inside us, and, at the end of the day, our farming businesses are tools to help us create the life we desire.   I am so incredibly excited to welcome three special guests to the podcast - Ironman world champion Trevor Hendy, AFL legend Kane Johnson and breath and Ice bath guru Mark Kluwer.   Recently, 16...

As Part III on the important topic of RESILIENCE, I speak with the incredible Maria Ruberto – specialist in the neuroscience and deep psychology of human resilience.   Her official definition: Advancing despite adversity.   Love this.   I find how our mind works so fascinating. Recent advances in neuroscience continue to help us more deeply understand this area and seem to favour the more innate and humanistic practices advocated for mental well-being, personal development,...

To speak plainly, family relationships need to be resilient in family business.   To be honest - so often, behind closed doors, simply, they are not.   As Part II on the topic of RESILIENCE, I speak with Farm Owners Academy Director and Soul Pleaser Program Founder, Tracy Secombe – our resident authority on this topic.   In this episode, Tracy & I more deeply explore: how families can compromise an individual’s resilience; how we can improve family relationships and strengthen...

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 me and where I might be right now.   One of the greatest gifts in my life has been to learn...

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 interpretation tailored just for us – as Australian Farmers – it gives me great pleasure to introduce one...

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 Terry and, importantly, understand: what’s happening in the equities markets at...

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 well, and applying sound business management fundamentals, succession can be a very positive...

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 Australian Wallabies,10 as Captain and 73 games for the NSW Waratahs, Phil was a key...

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 FOA Co-Founders Greg Johnsson & Andrew Roberts.   From that initial idea, now to an...

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 fortune.   In this episode, I welcome farm finance specialist Jeff McDonald, Executive...

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 his team highly.   In this podcast, Tony and I take the opportunity to re-connect and reflect...

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 prepare a shared vision for Australian Agriculture. A sixth-month consultation process with the...

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 ‘costing us a fortune.’   In this podcast, I speak with two of the most professional and...

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 farm gate.   In this podcast, and on the back of a local meeting with a buying group I am part...

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 have around you helping you be at your best? … who do you call on to ensure you are...