"...the competition to an apple grower is not the neighbour, it is the Mars bar..." Fiona Hall

Fiona Hall is a cherry and apple grower, packer and marketer from Orange NSW, where she and her husband Bernie run Caernarvon Cherry Co and Bonny Glen fruits. Plus she makes a mean cuppa!

Marketing seasonal produce such as cherries both nationally and internationally, is a key to producers getting good prices for their products and sustaining growth. We discuss the challenges of market penetration, and the need to work together as a smaller industry to achieve growth. Meanwhile, ageing workforce's and farm consolidation are changing the business dynamics in the local apple industry.

Fiona's shares her thoughts on developing the confidence to lead an industry through practical action, and building an upbeat community.

Click the link below to check out the interview.

Interview August 2018

Culture and managing the unknown

Ash Keegan is the CEO of FABAL Pty Ltd, one of Australia's largest private agriculture management companies. Prior to this Ash was the Chief Viticulturist and entered the industry from a less than conventional path.

This is a fantastic conversation, with some real nuggets of wisdom along the way including being OK with not knowing the answers to every question. We also discuss the need to care about your employees in building team culture and the paddock PHD.

Other topics covered include:

  • 12 questions to ask your staff

  • 3 rules of profitable business

  • How to push the boundaries of your knowledge and understanding

Enjoy.

" Agriculture is in my blood" Dr Mark Krstic - The AWRI

"I was given room to really grow, given responsibility beyond my age to go and do things...." Dr Mark Krstic,

Dr Mark Krstic - Business Development Manager of the AWRI (Australian Wine Research Institute) - has foundations in diverse fields of agriculture and now finds himself well entrenched in the research community of the Australian and global wine industry.

We discuss the history of the AWRI, his mentors and influences throughout his career, future industry opportunities and the first release of the Shipwreck beer project made in collaboration with James Squire.

Click the image to watch the video….

**** This is a recording from 2018, and the bottled shipwreck beer sold out in fast time****

**I too missed out on sampling the beer from the worlds oldest yeast made new again!***

The Nuffield Phenomenon - Dr Jean Lonie

"Leadership is finding your voice and having the agency to step into issues that are important to you, and be part of the conversation. Leadership is stepping up to a situation that needs people to be part of it and you have that voice." Jean Lonie

Dr Jean Lonie is a Director of Nuffield USA, and has now completed her PHD at Penn State University. Her topic was "The Public Value of Global Agricultural Capacity programs -specifically the Nuffield Phenomenon". Jean discusses the Nuffield program, agricultural leadership, capacity building,  collaboration,  and the concept of antifragility.

Differing time zones are a challenge but caffeine carried me through this interview.

Click the picture to watch the video. Enjoy

Change. Inevitable, and often for the best..

"Look at things from a different angle...  be open to someone who's doing it the opposite way. You can learn something from someone's opinion. You might not agree with it, but you might learn something from that" Simon McLachlan

Simon lives this philosophy. He's a keen observer, respectful of others and not afraid to upset his own status quo.  He has converted farms from conventional to bio dynamic practices, moved states and climate zones and grown any number of different crops. He and his wife Josie also directed an off the grid youth wilderness retreat. Perhaps this period of hard work in humble, disconnected surrounds helped solidify the observer that Simon is today. Now they are developing their own property in Hoddles Creek, a long way from Simon's roots growing pineapples,ginger and strawberries in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. 

Simon and Josie embrace change, and their farming is all the better for it.

Enjoy, the video.