As we step into 2026, there’s a lot of noise out there.

Geopolitical tension. AI hype. Market highs. Media drama.

And if you’re a farm owner trying to make steady, strategic decisions in the middle of a tight season… it can feel like one more thing to carry.

In this episode, I sit down with my good mate Terry Tran, founder of Freedom Trader, to cut through the headlines and look at what the data is actually telling us.

Because while the media sells emotion, markets move on numbers.

And if you’re building off-farm wealth whether inside super, a managed fund, or direct equities, this matters.

We uncover:

• What’s really driving the market surge (and why it’s not as broad as it looks)

• Why AI investment is inflating valuations across tech

• What Warren Buffett and other “smart money” investors are quietly doing

• What questions you should be asking your advisor or super fund

• And how to prepare so you’re not a spectator when opportunity returns

If you’re looking for a clear, practical framework to assess markets, filter quality investments, and build an off-farm portfolio with confidence, join Terry’s exclusive FOA webinar on March 17th at 7:20pm AEDT. Register here.

You can also learn more about Terry’s philosophy, real-money approach to risk management, and the Freedom Trader Blueprint program via his website here.

Thank you Terry for your generosity, your clarity, and for continuing to equip farming families with the tools to invest with confidence and discipline.

Yours in investing,

Jeremy Hutchings & the Farm Owners Academy Team  

What if the real constraint in your business isn’t effort, seasons, or skill, but the role you’re still stuck playing?

For Ben and Kate, this question didn’t arrive neatly. It crept in over time.

Their journey took them far from the farm first, through university, into investment banking in London, and straight into the pressure cooker of the GFC. Long hours. High stakes. A world where structure and accountability were non-negotiable.

Choosing to come home to the family farm wasn’t about escaping work. It was about building something of their own.

What they returned to was a third-generation Darling Downs farm growing irrigated silage for Wagyu feedlots. A good business, but one run largely from people’s heads, with no clear leadership role and a heavy reliance on who was on the ground each day.

Here’s what we explore:

• What it really took to come home and spend years earning influence before having authority

• Why their succession took close to two years, and why slowing it down led to better decisions and stronger relationships

• The point where expanding pivots and working harder stopped delivering growth

• What changed once Ben stepped out of daily operations and into a full-time CEO role

• How simple rhythms now hold the business together, including weekly meetings, clear roles, and a 90-day operational focus

If you know your business could handle more, but not the way it’s currently being run, this conversation will give you a clearer reference point for the next shift.

Ben and Kate, thank you for sharing what leadership looks like when it’s intentional, well-timed, and anchored in long-term thinking. The clarity you’ve built into your roles, your team, and your systems is a benchmark for what’s possible when committed leaders give good decisions the space to compound.

Cass, thank you for walking alongside Ben and Kate as their coach. The decisions, structure, and confidence reflected here show what’s possible when farm businesses are supported, not left to figure it out alone.

Sincerely,  Jeremy Hutchings & the Farm Owners Academy Team 

There comes a moment in every farm business where the question isn’t how much more can we do, it’s what do we actually want to build?

For Simon and Naomi Goode, that moment came after years of doing everything: cropping, hay, livestock, all while raising four kids and managing 3,200 hectares in Victoria’s eastern Wimmera. They weren’t in crisis. In fact, from the outside, they were flying. But inside, they were carrying too much. Too many moving parts. Too many long days. Not enough space to step back, lead strategically, or live the life they were working so hard to create.

In this episode, their FOA Accountability Coach, Rick Morris sits down with Simon and Naomi to explore what it really looks like to evolve a fifth-generation family farm into a professionally run business without losing the heart of it.

From completing full succession to stepping into defined leadership roles, they share what it took to:

• exit a legacy enterprise that no longer served them;

• restructure the business and move Naomi into the CEO seat;

• create a trusted “Core Four” advisory team to guide decisions;

• redefine success around clarity, family time, and aligned growth.

You’ll hear Simon speak candidly about letting go of old work patterns, building a team he can trust, and learning to prioritise leadership over busyness. And Naomi with her background in public health and local government unpacks how she’s brought structure, financial discipline, and long-term planning into the heart of the business.

If you’re running a solid farm but craving more alignment… if you’re stuck in the weeds but ready to step up and lead… or if you simply want to see what’s possible when a couple gets clear, strategic, and intentional, this episode is for you.

Thank you Simon and Naomi for your candour, courage, and willingness to share the journey so generously. You are a brilliant example of what’s possible when structure meets heart, and business meets life. And Rick, thank you for being a steady guide and coach on their journey, and for holding this conversation with such care.

Here’s to more farmers leading like this.

Keep winning,

Jeremy Hutchings & the Farm Owners Academy Team