Profitable Farmer

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 62,000 farming members, Farm Tender transacted sales of over 100 million in the 2022 calendar year, providing a valuable, efficient, dependable service to our industry.

Success like this doesn’t come easy. Achievement of this sort follows countless mistakes, multiple failures, immense effort and sheer determination.

From humble farm beginnings to real momentum in the online, two-sided marketplace space, Dwain and his team offer us inspiration as to what is possible when as business leaders, we see a small opportunity, commit completely and then determine personally to succeed no matter what.

My key takeaways from my time with Dwain:

• back yourself on your ideas – perhaps playing it safe ‘isn’t it’

For more information about Farm Tender and DelayPay CLICK HERE.

To register for Farm Tenders annual conference, ‘The Business of Farming’ in Bendigo on Friday 3rd, March, CLICK HERE.

Congratulations, Dwain, on all you have achieved. Well done on the service you provide to our industry and the genuine, high-quality way you deliver it.

Your story is one worthy of sharing – I just hope we have done it justice.

Hutch & the Farm Owners Academy Team

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 focus to helping high-performing teams overcome communication challenges and aligning executive teams leading major construction and corporate projects.

The other great thing about this time of year, is the opportunity to reflect on the season just gone, and then dedicate real time to setting down the plan for the new year.

In this podcast, and over a coffee, he and I explore the importance of planning, and the keys to aligning a team to a common plan.

At FOA, we recommend getting off-site for ideally two full days, with a clear agenda, and all key decision-makers. We see this as a critical step in moving from reactive to proactive in your business leadership. This brings on-farm business teams together and on to the same page.

In this interview, James shares some compelling insights as to how he facilitates workshops designed to overcome relationship issues, help team members see a higher perspective, and re-align common goals.

There are so many insights here, especially for those working with that important on-farm blend of family and non-family teams.

Enjoy, and share with me your insights in our Profitable Farmer Facebook Group.

Sincerely,

Hutch

Business can be a very lonely place. Farming can be isolating. 

• Where were you, and where are you now? 

• How has the Farm Owners Academy community helped you?  

… and so many great lessons and incredible insights. 

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;

Brett provides some incredible insights, which confirms for me why Market Check continues to be the most respected and credible grain marketing firm in Australia.

In the closing, we touch on Brett’s personal story of adversity. Through this, Brett offers us some important comments on what can help support us through times of challenge, how to keep a deep sense of personal strength and how to find positivity through periods of challenge.

Brett, thank you for your time and generosity. As always, an absolute pleasure.

All the best to you as we move into a harvest season like no other!

Hutch

Right now, there are many farming families facing real challenges.

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 Academy Coach David ‘Westy’ Westbrook dedicated months on Kangaroo Island, supporting fire-affected members of our community with their recovery efforts.

I asked them to join me for this episode to offer some hope and inspiration to those experiencing challenges and their own version of adversity – large or small.

In this episode, I reflect with Troy and Nette on where they have arrived to on the other side of their adversity. I also ask Westy to reflect on what our Farm Owners Academy community on Kangaroo Island did in the weeks and months that followed the fires that not only inspired him, but allowed them to recover and thrive.

Where Troy and Nette’s business Ashmore Rams is now, is incredible. Their mindset, determination, decision-making and their results speak for themselves. For more information on Ashmore Rams, Click Here.

I hope the insights shared in this episode on gratitude, perspective, calmness, kindness, planning, decision-making, and massive action offer some clarity and direction for all of you as we arrive at the end of a very unique season.

Troy & Nette remind me that there is always a silver lining and that ‘good’ things can come from the ‘bad’ if you stay the course and choose to own the situation we find ourselves in.

Thank you, Troy, Nette and Westy – an uplifting and important conversation.

Be kind, everyone, and let’s nail the end to this season!

Best,

Hutch

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 men from our Platinum Mastermind community and I attended the “Breath and Break Through Retreat” hosted by Mark, Trevor and Kane at Elevated Springs in Hepburn, Victoria. It was an incredible few days together, focusing on self-awareness, connection, personal growth and a deeper understanding of yourself.

“We want to call ourselves successful, but to be successful requires strength and courage, and the biggest strength and courage we can have, is to be our true self.”

In this episode, we explore some important themes in more depth on creating the life you desire, including:

• It’s not what you do but who you are that matters.

Make sure you stick around to the end, where we run an activity to help you identify and make desired changes in your life.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Thanks again for having me,

Westy

P.S. Find out more about Mark Kluwer & upcoming retreats at Elevated Springs by clicking here.

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, self-awareness and emotional intelligence.

In fact, there is now a transformational model – the PR6 FACTOR – that outlines the six core domains underpinning human resilience… who knew!!

In this episode, Maria and I explore:

• what is it to be resilient;

This podcast references Episode #104 ‘What is it to be resilient’, and connects with Episode #105 ‘Resilience in Family Relationships.’ I encourage you to listen to these prior to enjoying this one.

Importantly, and as Maria suggests, be kind to yourself as you listen to this. If you feel these podcasts ‘trigger you’ or raise issues for you, we urge you to reach out and speak to a professional on any one of these related support lines:

• Lifeline: 13 11 14

Resilience is an immensely important topic - especially as farmers and valued participants in families and rural communities.

For those interested in deepening your ability in this area, please consider Maria’s training series: Resilience First Aid – click here to discover more!

Thank you, Maria, for the work you do, for your commitment, and for your unwavering dedication to helping individuals, families, and teams be better – for themselves and each other.

I so very much value your time and insights in this conversation.

Be well, everyone and thank you!

Sincerely,

Hutch & Team

P.S. Discover more about the six domains of resilience – click here

P.P.S. Find out more about Maria Ruberto and her incredible work – click here

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;

So often, we find ourselves in an unhealthy dynamic, whereby the strength of family relationships are left unchecked.

Tracy is a true genius in supporting individuals to reflect on, review and transform important family relationships. Her program “People Pleaser to Soul Pleaser”, and now her recently released best-selling book, is dedicated to helping people do the deeper work on this - creating opportunities for new, vibrant and more resilient family relationships.

To support our discussion, please find a related article from Tracy that might assist you – Click Here to access.

Tracy, on behalf of our entire community, thank you for all you do and your support in helping people foster stronger and more resilient family relationships. Farm Owners Academy is lucky to have you.

Enjoy this podcast and use it as your opportunity to make meaningful changes for the better within your families.

With respect,

Hutch

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 how to do ‘the deeper work’. Focusing on changing my psychology, strengthening my resolve and building my resilience has been an active process that has helped me immensely for over 20 years.

In this episode, I share the concept of the IDENTITY ICEBERG and (hopefully) provide you with a model and process that you can work through to help build your resilience and be at your best.

I talk about the self-development work we need to do around the skills, values, priorities, beliefs and identity that define who we are and who we strive to become.

This is my way of reaching out to our loyal listeners.

I value you greatly, and ask R U OK?

Take care, stay strong and thank you.

Hutch & team

When you’re ready to take the next step and work with us, here are three things you can do:

1. Subscribe to our ‘Profitable Farmer’ podcast

This free audio podcast delivers ideas to help you run a great business, leading to more profit, control and freedom – Click here.

Our new Facebook community is where smart farm owners learn how to get more profit, control and freedom, and you can connect with like-minded farm owners – Click here to join

3. Work with us privately

If you’d like our team to help you scale up your farming business or create a ‘freedom farm’ just email us at [email protected] and put “Private” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to improve and I’ll send you the information you need to get started!

Hi [First Name],

In leadership, sometimes it pays to take the highest perspective possible.

When you’re ready to take the next step and work with us, here are three things you can do: