Humans of Agriculture

Welcome to the Tom & Mick Show! In this episode, Tom & Mick sit down with Anna Speer to talk about her career across agriculture, AgTech, livestock operations and retail, and her current role with Stone Axe, a vertically integrated Wagyu business. From leading AuctionsPlus and working with Australian Agricultural Company and Woolworths to helping grow a premium Wagyu business, Anna shares what she has learnt about building teams, making commercial decisions and creating long-term value in an industry that never stands still.

Anna’s career has taken her from remote communities in the Northern Territory to some of the biggest businesses in the Australian red meat supply chain. After starting out in teaching and working in AgTech, she became CEO of AuctionsPlus, where she saw first-hand how transparency and competition could change livestock markets. She later moved into operations with Australian Agricultural Company before taking on a major red meat leadership role at Woolworths. At Stone Axe, she has found an opportunity to bring those experiences together, combining her interest in transformation, strong teams and purpose-driven business with the challenge of building a world-class Wagyu operation.

A big part of the conversation is about what it takes to run a vertically integrated business through changing market conditions. Anna explains how Stone Axe manages its supply chain from conception through to consumption, reducing its exposure to livestock price volatility while building long-term relationships with distributors and chefs. She also discusses the importance of planning well ahead, using a 10-year herd model to understand how changes in pregnancy rates, growth and production can affect future revenue. With rising feed, fuel and labour costs, the team is constantly looking at ways to improve efficiency, from reducing unnecessary livestock transport to investing in infrastructure and making better use of its property portfolio.

The conversation also gets into the bigger questions facing Australian agriculture. Anna shares her perspective on Wagyu’s place in the premium meat market, the importance of genetics and scale, and why building your own brand is not necessarily the right answer for every producer. Sometimes, the strongest commercial decision is to partner with specialists who can do parts of the supply chain better. Along the way, she reflects on leadership, the lessons she has taken from different working environments, and why understanding what makes each person tick can help them do their best work.

Anna’s experience offers a practical look at the connection between livestock production, commercial strategy and people leadership. Whether you are running a family operation, building an agribusiness or working somewhere in the red meat supply chain, there is plenty to consider about how you make decisions today while setting the business up for tomorrow.

Listen to the full conversation with Anna Speer for a candid discussion about Wagyu, business transformation, market cycles and what it takes to build a team and a business that can stand the test of time.

Key insights from the conversation:

• How Anna’s career moved from teaching and AgTech into leadership roles across AuctionsPlus, Australian Agricultural Company, Woolworths and Stone Axe.
• Why transparency and competition can create significant value in livestock markets.
• What private equity means for an agricultural business, including the pressure to make timely decisions and deliver a return on investment.
• How Stone Axe’s vertically integrated supply chain helps manage market volatility and build stronger long-term customer relationships.
• The importance of long-term herd modelling and understanding how today's decisions affect production and revenue years down the track.
• How businesses can manage rising input costs through supply chain efficiency, infrastructure investment, nutrition planning and better use of land.
• Why Wagyu’s premium positioning, genetics, scarcity and customer experience create a different market to everyday beef.
• What Anna has learnt about adapting leadership to individuals, building strong teams and knowing when to let go of control.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and catching up with Anna Speer
03:01 Anna’s career journey through agriculture and AgTech
07:49 From Woolworths to Stone Axe: finding purpose and impact
12:39 Private equity and making commercially sound decisions
19:29 The Stone Axe story, Wagyu genetics and business growth
26:14 Managing market cycles and building a resilient supply chain
31:20 Planning ahead: herd modelling and future revenue
36:00 Consumer trends, protein and Wagyu’s premium market
40:04 Managing rising input costs and improving efficiency
44:40 Wagyu versus Angus, branding and supply chain partnerships
50:17 Leadership, personal growth and building better teams

What happens when you step outside your own patch and spend time learning from some of the best operators in agriculture?

2026 Australian Zanda McDonald Award winner Bryce Neyland joins Oli after completing his mentoring trips across New Zealand and Australia. Bryce shares what he learned about risk, resilience, investment and leadership, and why seeing how other businesses operate has challenged the way he thinks about his own career and family farming business.

Importantly, Bryce didn’t win the first time he applied. He reflects on what changed between applications, the value of getting clear on where you want to go, and why sometimes the best thing you can do is put your hand up and have another crack.

In this episode:

• What Bryce learned travelling through Australian and New Zealand agriculture
• Why New Zealand challenged his thinking about productivity and getting more from what you have
• What resilient Australian farming businesses do differently
• How leading businesses think about investment, risk and long-term decision-making
• Why Bryce is now thinking differently about planning for tough seasons on the family farm
• Learning to expect pressure rather than being surprised by it
• Why getting outside your own "sandbox" matters for personal and professional growth
• What changed between Bryce's first unsuccessful Zanda application and ultimately winning the Award
• Why the alumni network may be one of the Award's greatest opportunities
• Bryce's advice for anyone considering putting their hand up

Applications for the Zanda McDonald Award are open from 1 October to 31 October 2026.

If you’re involved in agriculture, want to keep learning and are curious about where you could take your career, Bryce’s advice is pretty simple: get your application in and have a crack.

Chapters
00:00 Catching up with Bryce
02:15 Life as the 2026 Zanda McDonald Award winner
03:11 The Australian and New Zealand mentoring trips
05:20 What New Zealand agriculture taught Bryce
06:32 Productivity versus resilience
08:04 How great businesses think about investment and risk
10:34 Bringing the lessons back to the family farm
11:30 Leadership, negotiation and personal development
13:27 Learning to expect pressure
14:39 What successful dryland farming businesses taught Bryce
17:00 Why apply for the Zanda McDonald Award?
19:01 Bryce didn't get through the first time
20:18 "I only know what I know"
22:04 What changed between Bryce's two applications
23:31 Bryce's advice to future applicants

Fourth-generation beef producer Stafford Ives-Heres is building Shanford Park on Tasmania's north-west coast with one eye firmly on the generations still to come.

From starting with 10 cattle and working cray boats to fund his growth, to succession, leasing land and questioning whether owning more country always makes commercial sense, Stafford shares how he's thinking about building a family business that's valuable enough to be taken on, not simply sold.

We chat about:

• Growing up at Shanford Park and being the last of four kids to become interested in farming
• Starting with 10 cattle as a teenager
• Working cray boats along Tasmania's remote west coast
• Using off-farm income to build livestock ownership
• Why the family moved from dairy into beef
• The beginnings of Tasmanian Seaweed Fertilisers
• Separating family businesses to make succession work
• Growing livestock numbers through ownership, leasing and share farming
• Why Stafford questions the need to own every hectare
• Building equity and optionality for the next generation
• Creating pathways into agriculture without owning land
• Why professional development and strong networks matter

Chapters

00:00 The realities of regional connectivity
05:09 Meet Stafford Ives-Heres
06:17 Farming on Tasmania's north-west coast
10:21 Starting with 10 cattle
12:15 Leaving farming for the cray industry
16:24 Lessons from working at sea
18:01 From dairy farming to seaweed fertiliser
23:40 Separating businesses and navigating succession
25:36 Growing the beef business
28:29 Having children and thinking generations ahead
31:04 Playing the long game with land and scale
32:22 Professional development, equity and what's next
36:18 Leasing land and creating pathways into agriculture
39:05 Rabobank's Executive Development Program

Jack and Lisa Beattie didn’t set out to build a strawberry propagation business. After leaving Jack’s family dairy operation and trying several different ventures, an unexpected opportunity at Ouse in Tasmania changed their direction.

Today, JCLM Farming produces around 10% of Australia’s strawberry nursery plants. Jack and Lisa share the decisions, setbacks and lessons behind that growth, and their ambition to become the provider of choice for Australian strawberry growers.

In this episode:

• Leaving the family farm and starting again
• Why their early businesses were important stepping stones
• The unexpected move from dairy into strawberry propagation
• The moment they decided to back one business rather than keep diversifying
• Why Ouse is uniquely suited to growing strawberry nursery plants
• Growing JCLM to around 10% of the Australian market
• Finding and bringing new strawberry genetics into Australia
• How six plants can become millions through propagation
• Digitising the customer journey from ordering through to delivery
• Building a team around Jack and Lisa’s different strengths
• Their goal to double JCLM’s share of the Australian market

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and JCLM Farming today
02:20 Jack’s farming roots and moving from the UK to Tasmania
05:09 Leaving the family dairy business
07:25 The difficult first decade on their own
09:06 Their first businesses and lessons from things that didn’t work
12:12 Lisa’s perspective on money, growth and building the business
16:11 How strawberries unexpectedly entered the picture
18:55 The two phone calls that changed their direction
22:43 Building JCLM into 10% of Australia’s strawberry plant market
24:44 Creating value for customers and aligning the team
26:29 Jack and Lisa’s different strengths as leaders
28:45 Global genetics and the story of six Eclipse plants
32:34 Building a digital-first strawberry nursery
37:47 The ambition to double JCLM’s Australian market share
39:14 What are the chances your strawberries started at JCLM?
40:41 The strawberry needle scare, COVID and labour challenges

Michael Spencer has spent more than 30 years across livestock agency, corporate agriculture, cattle processing and pastoral operations, including roles with Elders, AACo and Bindaree Beef before helping build Adcock Partners.

In this episode of The Tom & Mick Show, Michael joins Tom and Mick to unpack what good livestock agency actually looks like, why Adcock Partners deliberately operates under the radar, and what he is seeing across cattle markets from northern Australia through to the eastern states.

They discuss:

•  Michael’s unconventional path through Elders, AACo, Bindaree Beef and into Adcock Partners 
•  Why relationships and people remain the foundation of a strong agency business 
•  Building a business around agility rather than corporate complexity 
•  Why Adcock Partners has deliberately stayed relatively quiet and selective 
•  How livestock agency has changed over the past 30 years 
•  What good service looks like when clients span enormous distances 
•  Seasonal conditions across Queensland and the Northern Territory 
•  Why producer confidence can move cattle prices quickly 
•  The relationship between live export and domestic cattle markets 
•  Why live export remains critical to northern Australia and Indonesia 
•  What Michael expects from cattle markets heading through spring and into 2027

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Michael Spencer and Adcock Partners
05:24 Michael’s path from Melbourne to livestock agency
12:41 From Elders and AACo to Bindaree
18:05 Building Adcock Partners and the business philosophy
23:34 What good livestock agency service looks like
29:48 Seasonal conditions across northern Australia
35:12 The cattle market and influence of the farmer
40:36 Live export, Indonesia and changing cattle markets
46:18 What happens next for the cattle market
50:20 The Charbray question and wrapping up

Gerard Hines and Chris Duff have spent nearly four decades working alongside each other, building one of Australia's most respected independent agribusinesses from a single rural store into a national business. 

What does it take to build an agribusiness from a handful of people into a national business, without losing the culture, relationships and local connection that made it successful in the first place?

Gerard Hines and Chris Duff are the co-founders of Delta Agribusiness. Their working relationship stretches back almost 40 years, from a small rural business near Young, NSW, through the creation of Delta Agribusiness in 2006 and more than 20 acquisitions, before Delta ultimately became part of Elders.

This is a conversation about much more than growth. Gerard and Chris unpack the decisions, people and principles underneath it, from backing themselves during drought, putting their own money on the line and using employee ownership to create alignment, to learning why balance sheet strength, local relationships and great people matter when building a business for the long term.

Key insights from the conversation:

• How Gerard and Chris built a partnership spanning nearly 40 years through trust, respect and shared values
• Why bringing independent agronomy into agricultural retail fundamentally changed their business model
• The role mentors and early equity opportunities played in shaping Delta's inclusive ownership philosophy
• What IAMA, Wesfarmers and AWB taught them about leadership, governance, systems and financial discipline
• Why Delta was founded during the middle of a severe drought and how backing themselves changed everything
• The importance of maintaining a strong balance sheet so opportunities can be seized during difficult seasons
• How focusing on people, culture and local relationships drove more than 20 successful acquisitions across Australia
• Why equity ownership became one of Delta's greatest tools for attracting, retaining and aligning great people
• How staying connected to customers and the frontline has remained critical, even as the business has grown nationally
• The lessons learned from succession planning, bringing in private equity, and ultimately partnering with Elders to secure Delta's next chapter

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Gerard Hines and Chris Duff's Journey

01:52 Early Days of Agriculture and Agronomy

04:00 Founding of Delta Agribusiness and Initial Challenges

08:05 The Impact of Industry Changes and Mergers

11:57 Lessons Learned from Industry Challenges

15:57 Growth Strategies and Private Equity Involvement

20:08 Building Company Culture and Leadership

25:02 Managing Growth, Succession, and Industry Dynamics

31:47 The Decision to Start Delta and Early Risks

36:04 Timing and Market Conditions During Launch

40:03 Resilience During Droughts and Market Cycles

45:07 The Role of Relationships and Trust in Business

49:48 Strategic Acquisitions and Private Equity Partnerships

54:58 Adapting to Industry and Market Changes

59:55 Leadership, Culture, and the Future of Delta

Podcast Keywords

Delta Agribusiness, Gerard Hines, Chris Duff, Australian agribusiness, agronomy Australia, agricultural leadership, agribusiness entrepreneurship, rural business, agriculture careers, agricultural retail, private agronomy, Australian farming, business growth, mergers and acquisitions, employee ownership, business culture, drought resilience, leadership development, succession planning, Elders, regional business, entrepreneurship in agriculture

Action Steel Sales Coordinator Role - Find here.

We sit down with Lennie Grace to learn more about Action Steel and the current opportunities available in his sales team. 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Action Steel and family business
01:27 How Action Steel started
02:01 Growing up in the family business
03:33 Why Action Steel chose agriculture
04:53 The importance of focus
06:21 Building a network for growth
08:18 Team, culture and specialist skills
10:03 The Sales Coordinator opportunity
12:43 Understanding the role and customer experience
18:26 Transparency, incentives and the future of Action Steel

Building a premium beef brand isn't just about producing exceptional cattle. It's about understanding markets, embracing data, building the right team, and having the patience to make decisions years before the product reaches a customer's plate.

In this episode, Harry Kemp shares the story behind King River, the family-owned Wagyu business that has grown from a bold partnership between two Queensland families into a premium beef brand supplying customers across more than 35 countries.

Harry reflects on growing up in a family grazing business, leaving school early to return to the land, and how his approach to learning has evolved alongside the rapid transformation of Australian agriculture. What began as a traditional cattle operation has become a data-driven business where genetics, consumer demand, and long-term thinking shape every decision.

Together, Oli and Harry explore the realities of building a premium export brand, why consistency matters more than chasing perfection, and how strong relationships have underpinned King River's remarkable growth over the past five years.

From genetics and data to leadership, teamwork, and customer relationships, this conversation offers a fascinating insight into what it takes to build a modern beef business that delivers quality from paddock to plate.

Key insights from the conversation:

• Harry's journey from the family cattle property to co-founding King River
• Why two family businesses joined forces to build a premium Wagyu brand
• The challenges of building a business with a four-year production cycle
• How genetics, data, and consumer demand are transforming beef production
• Why consistency matters more than producing the highest marbling scores
• Building a business that now supplies premium Wagyu to more than 35 countries
• Lessons on rapid business growth, leadership, and putting people in the right roles
• The importance of relationships, accountability, and shared values in successful partnerships
• Why producing great food is ultimately about bringing people together, regardless of language or culture

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Harry Kemp and King River Beef
02:20 The significance of the Ekka week and industry events
04:00 Harry's background and early life in farming
07:32 Changes in beef farming over 21 years
10:07 The formation of King River Beef in 2019
11:30 Utilising Wagyu to optimise feedlot infrastructure
14:05 Transition from selling cattle to branding and marketing
16:22 Meeting the Rich family and forming the partnership
19:45 Managing rapid growth and team restructuring
24:55 Impact of genetics and breeding on marbling
29:38 The importance of data and technology in decision-making
34:22 Building a global customer base and maintaining quality
44:01 The future vision for King River Beef
45:20 Harry's perspective on being a food producer
46:47 The universal language of good food and beef
47:22 Closing remarks and next steps for the business

In the second of a two-part panel series with the Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, Oli Le Lievre sits down with St George producers Jake Moon of Moonrocks and cotton grower Craig Saunders to explore how innovation is being used to solve real problems within two very different farming businesses.

Jake shares how Moonrocks identified labour and weed management as a growing constraint before adopting an AI-powered green-on-green sprayer, while Craig reflects on how the pursuit of growing more cotton with less water led him to rethink irrigation and develop automation for bankless systems.

This conversation is not about promoting a particular product. It is about what happens before and after a technology is adopted: identifying a problem, researching potential solutions, working through the economics and building the people, systems and processes needed to make it work.

Jake and Craig discuss the importance of measuring performance, understanding return on investment and being willing to challenge the way things have always been done. They also share the limitations, frustrations and unanswered questions that remain, from integrating data across a business to deciding which investment should come next.

From robotics and irrigation automation to labour, software, profitability and long-term planning, this is a practical conversation about using innovation to build more productive, adaptable and drought-resilient farming businesses.

The Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub is supported by funding from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund. Learn more at www.unisq.edu.au/sqnnswhub.

Key insights from the conversation:

• Why Jake and Craig began looking for new ways to solve labour, water and productivity challenges.
• How Craig’s pursuit of “more profit per drop” led to the automation of bankless irrigation.
• How robotics is helping Moonrocks reduce manual weeding, lower herbicide use and improve crop performance.
• Why measuring water use, labour, inputs and yield is essential when assessing new technology.
• The importance of matching innovation with a clearly defined business problem.
• Why successful adoption depends on people, processes and simple, reliable systems - not just the technology itself.
• How farmers can assess return on investment without chasing every new product or efficiency.
• The role of data, software and connected systems in improving decision-making.
• The value of learning from other farmers, industries and international businesses.
• The practical challenges of adopting technology, including cost, integration, support and uncertainty.
• Why profitability is central to long-term sustainability and drought resilience.
• How innovation can shift farm roles away from repetitive manual work and toward higher-skilled decision-making.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Craig Saunders' farm and innovation focus
01:50 Historical context of farming equipment and evolution
03:52 The rapid pace of agricultural change and innovation
06:53 Craig Saunders' farm history and diversification
10:06 Water management challenges and technological solutions
15:01 Adopting bankless irrigation and automation
20:06 Jake Moon's farm history and crop diversification
24:57 Use of AI-powered sprayers and weed management
30:11 The impact of technology on crop health and yields
34:48 Decision-making processes and data leverage in farming
40:00 The role of grants, strategic planning, and future opportunities
45:11 Lessons learned from travel and industry networks
50:10 The importance of continuous evolution and innovation in agriculture
55:04 Future prospects: local manufacturing, AI, and robotics
57:52 Final thoughts on the future of agriculture and technology

In this episode of Humans of Agriculture, Oli Le Lievre sits down with Josh Tepper, CEO, and Michael Webb, COO and co-founders of Ornata Technologies, to explore how they're transforming farm operations through autonomous machinery and why now is an exciting time to join their growing team.

Following their appearance at evokeAG, Josh and Michael share how Ornata has evolved from launching its first commercial customers to building strong momentum across Victoria. They discuss their unique approach to autonomy, where experienced remote operators work alongside autonomous machinery to deliver the benefits of automation without adding complexity for farmers or requiring them to replace the equipment they already own.

The conversation also provides an inside look at the newly created Area Sales Manager role across Victoria and Southern New South Wales. Josh and Michael explain why this is much more than a sales position. It is an opportunity to build trusted relationships with farmers, understand their operations, demonstrate the technology in the field, and help producers solve one of agriculture's biggest challenges, finding skilled labour.

Whether you're passionate about agriculture, technology or helping farmers adopt new innovations, this episode offers a genuine insight into life inside one of Australia's most exciting agtech startups. Josh and Michael explain what success looks like, why trust sits at the centre of every customer relationship, and how joining Ornata today offers the chance to grow alongside a business shaping the future of Australian agriculture.

To learn more about Ornata Technologies and the Area Sales Manager opportunity, visit the Humans of Agriculture careers page.

The role is live now, and we'd love to hear from people who are ready to help bring the next generation of autonomous farming technology to Australian agriculture.

Key insights from the conversation:

• How Ornata has progressed from its first commercial deployments to a growing customer base.
• Why Ornata's remote operations platform makes autonomous farming practical for today's producers.
• How the business helps farmers address labour shortages while using the machinery they already own.
• Why building trust with farmers is the foundation of every customer relationship.
• What the Area Sales Manager role looks like day to day.
• Why understanding farming systems matters more than having deep technical knowledge.
• How customer referrals are driving growth across regional farming communities.
• What it is like working in a fast-growing Australian agtech startup.
• Why joining early creates opportunities to grow with the business.
• What success looks like after the first 12 months in the role.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Ornata Technologies and the new role
02:34 Six months of progress and milestones
05:31 The importance of local customer relationships
12:00 Why Victoria and New South Wales are key markets
15:10 What success looks like in the territory manager role
22:45 Customer profiles and farm types
26:54 Onboarding and what to expect in the role
36:51 The future of autonomous farming technology