Humans of Agriculture

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

Rabobank Partner info:
This Humans of Agriculture podcast is proudly brought to you by Rabobank.
At Rabobank, support goes beyond banking. That's why they’ve created RaboElevate, a platform designed to help farmers, producers and agribusiness leaders expand their networks and prepare for generations to come.
Through RaboElevate, you'll gain access to industry-leading insights, practical learning opportunities, business management programs, events and connections with experts and fellow producers from across the agricultural sector.
Whether you're looking to strengthen your business skills, stay ahead of industry trends or connect with like-minded people, RaboElevate is designed to support your professional and business development.
 
Visit rabobank.com.au/elevate to learn more

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

Rabobank Partner info:
This Humans of Agriculture podcast is proudly brought to you by Rabobank.
At Rabobank, support goes beyond banking. That's why they’ve created RaboElevate, a platform designed to help farmers, producers and agribusiness leaders expand their networks and prepare for generations to come.
Through RaboElevate, you'll gain access to industry-leading insights, practical learning opportunities, business management programs, events and connections with experts and fellow producers from across the agricultural sector.
Whether you're looking to strengthen your business skills, stay ahead of industry trends or connect with like-minded people, RaboElevate is designed to support your professional and business development.
 
Visit rabobank.com.au/elevate to learn more

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

Rabobank Partner info:
This Humans of Agriculture podcast is proudly brought to you by Rabobank.
At Rabobank, support goes beyond banking. That's why they’ve created RaboElevate, a platform designed to help farmers, producers and agribusiness leaders expand their networks and prepare for generations to come.
Through RaboElevate, you'll gain access to industry-leading insights, practical learning opportunities, business management programs, events and connections with experts and fellow producers from across the agricultural sector.
Whether you're looking to strengthen your business skills, stay ahead of industry trends or connect with like-minded people, RaboElevate is designed to support your professional and business development.
 
Visit rabobank.com.au/elevate to learn more

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

Rabobank Partner info:
This Humans of Agriculture podcast is proudly brought to you by Rabobank.
At Rabobank, support goes beyond banking. That's why they’ve created RaboElevate, a platform designed to help farmers, producers and agribusiness leaders expand their networks and prepare for generations to come.
Through RaboElevate, you'll gain access to industry-leading insights, practical learning opportunities, business management programs, events and connections with experts and fellow producers from across the agricultural sector.
Whether you're looking to strengthen your business skills, stay ahead of industry trends or connect with like-minded people, RaboElevate is designed to support your professional and business development.
 
Visit rabobank.com.au/elevate to learn more

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

Rabobank Partner info:
This Humans of Agriculture podcast is proudly brought to you by Rabobank.
At Rabobank, support goes beyond banking. That's why they’ve created RaboElevate, a platform designed to help farmers, producers and agribusiness leaders expand their networks and prepare for generations to come.
Through RaboElevate, you'll gain access to industry-leading insights, practical learning opportunities, business management programs, events and connections with experts and fellow producers from across the agricultural sector.
Whether you're looking to strengthen your business skills, stay ahead of industry trends or connect with like-minded people, RaboElevate is designed to support your professional and business development.
 
Visit rabobank.com.au/elevate to learn more