John Fargher grew up on a remote family station in the Northern Flinders Ranges, where distance, drought, hard work and innovation were simply part of life. He saw first-hand how quickly farming can change. A station that once needed 40 people could later run with four or five. Horses gave way to motorbikes. Water runs that once took days could be done in hours by plane. Each shift changed what was possible, and left John asking one question: what is the next step change in livestock agriculture? That question became AgriWebb. In this episode, John Fargher, co-founder of AgriWebb, shares the story behind one of Australia’s great ag tech businesses, from a floppy disk sitting unused in a station office to a global platform now used across 28 countries, tracking more than 20 million head of livestock. He talks openly about the early days, the failed hardware ideas, the farmer who almost said no but then chose to back them, and why that moment still gets him emotional more than a decade later. We explore:

• What AgriWebb is seeing across global agriculture and why Australian agribusiness may be slower to invest than other markets
• How AI is shifting livestock management from recording what happened to forecasting what is coming
• Why the future of farm data is about planning ahead, not just tracking the past

• How AgriWebb now supports farmers across Australia, the UK, the US, Brazil and beyond

For farmers, this is more than a technology story. It is a reminder that progress rarely comes from one big leap. It comes from practical people backing better ways of working before the rest of the industry catches up. This is Part 1 of the AgriWebb story, with more to come in the next episode.

Thank you John, for sharing the story so openly, and for the work you and the AgriWebb team continue to do in helping move agriculture forward. Keep winning, Jeremy Hutchings & the Farm Owners Academy Team

A good season can hide a lot. So can a strong balance sheet. But performing well on the surface does not always mean the business is built on the right foundation.

Risk builds quietly. Options narrow over time. And by the time most farm owners recognise it, they have less room to move than they thought.

In this episode, Jeremy sits down with Andy Fenton, Managing Director of Fenton Financial, who brings more than 20 years of experience across financial planning, funds management and investment banking, to unpack a confronting but important idea:

It can be our business structures that kill our farm businesses.

Not all at once. Not dramatically. But over time, through outdated structures, poor protection, limited leverage, unnecessary tax inefficiency, and too much control sitting with the bank.

Andy explains why so many farming businesses are still operating in structures that were inherited, kept because they were simple, or never reviewed as the business grew. He talks through what can go wrong when land, machinery and trading operations are tied together in the wrong way, and why that can leave farming families more exposed than they realise.

We cover:

• why outdated structures can quietly hold a farm business back

• the risks of having land and trading activities sitting together

• how tax averaging and poor structuring can limit flexibility

• why banks can gain too much control when security is not set up well

• how better structures can improve protection, succession and wealth creation

We often see farming families operating in structures that no longer fit the business. That’s why conversations with specialists such as Andy matter. While Farm Owners Academy is not an accounting firm, we help members ask better questions, think more strategically, and strengthen the business behind the farm through the deeper support available in our 3-year comprehensive Platinum Mastermind program.

If this episode has raised questions about how your business is structured, you can learn more about Andy and his work at https://fentonfinancial.com.au/

Andy, thank you for bringing a clear and commercially grounded perspective to how structure, tax and leverage can shape the level of risk, control and succession in a farm business.

Till next time, Jeremy Hutchings & The Farm Owners Academy Team

Are you concerned by the uncertainty surrounding increased fuel prices?

Is the current global turmoil challenging your view on how to best navigate this season?

The biggest risk right now is not fuel, fertiliser, interest rates, or global instability. It's panic.

Uncertainty has a way of hijacking clear thinking. It pulls people into worst-case scenarios and pushes reactive decisions before the facts are fully in.

That is where the real damage starts. Not in the disruption itself, but in the response to it.

Because when something shifts, whether it is a headline, a price rise, or a disruption, the natural human response is not calm, measured thinking. It is alarm. It is projection. It is the tendency to ask, “What if this gets worse?” rather than, “What is actually true right now?”.

In this conversation, Sam Johnsson, Tracy Secombe and I unpack what it really looks like to lead through uncertainty, not just from a business perspective, but from a mindset and leadership standpoint.

We cover:

• how to check your state first and move from angst and panic back to composure and optimism

• why stepping away from drama, media, and negativity helps you come back to facts and make logical, informed decisions

• how to use forecasting to assess worst case, average case, and best case, and adapt your approach accordingly

• how practices like gratitude, exercise, and self-regulation help lift your mindset so you can lead your family and team more strongly

You do not need to pretend uncertainty is not there. You do need to lead yourself well enough that it does not make your decisions for you.

Sam and Tracy, thank you for the practical insight and steady perspective you’ve brought to this conversation on how to lead through uncertainty.

Navigating the financial side of the business in times like this can feel overwhelming, and you’re not alone. Many farm owners have felt that same pressure and have used the Cash Flow Optimiser to turn uncertainty into clearer thinking and more confident decisions. If that’s where you’re at right now, you can find out more here.

Keep winning,

Jeremy Hutchings & the Farm Owners Academy Team