A Place to Call Home | Stories from Australian Agriculture

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast, a podcast sharing the stories of people building a life in agriculture across rural Australia.

In this episode, I sit down with Brandon Sigvart, founder of B Rural Co. A growing rural business built around practical fencing tools, workwear and a strong connection to the bush.

Brandon shares his journey from growing up in rural Australia and working in the mines, to saving hard, buying his first property and eventually turning a side hustle into a full-time bu...

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AG INNOVATION SERIES | Innovation Beyond Technology with Josie Copley

In the final episode of the Ag Innovation Series, Sam Fryer sits down with Josie Copley from Copley Pastoral to explore what innovation really means in modern agriculture.

As part of a fifth-generation family beef business and Brahman seedstock operation, Josie brings a unique perspective to the innovation conversation. Working across livestock production, marketing and communications, she sees firsthand how businesses can evolve through genetics, data, better decision making and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Throughout the conversation...

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Ag Innovation Series | Ceres Tag, Livestock Technology & The Future of Beef Production with Jean Liebenberg 

with Jean Liebenberg

In this episode of the Ag Innovation Series, Sam Fryer sits down with cattle producer and Ceres Tag Business Development Manager Jean Liebenberg to explore what innovation actually looks like in the Australian beef industry.

Drawing on his experience as both a producer and ag tech professional, Jean shares his perspective on technology adoption, livestock monitoring and the growing role of data in helping producers make better d...

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 Ag Innovation Series | Innovation, Agronomy & The Future of Farming with Sam Simons

In this episode of the Ag Innovation Series, Sam Fryer sits down with agronomist Sam Simons from Poole Ag to explore innovation through the lens of modern farming systems.

Working with producers across broadacre agriculture, Sam is on the front line of some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the industry today. From weed resistance and labour shortages through to automation, precision agriculture and emerging technology, he sees firsthand what is driving innovation on f...

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AG INNOVATION SERIES | Practical Innovation, Mobble & The Next Generation of Agriculture
with Will Bucknell

In this episode of the Ag Innovation Series, Sam Fryer sits down with young producer Will Bucknell from Quambone in north-west New South Wales to explore what innovation actually looks like on the ground for the next generation of Australian agriculture.

After growing up on his family’s steer trading operation, Will went on to work on large scale cattle stations across Queensland before studying farm management at Marcus Oldham College, where he...

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Ag Innovation Series | Adapting, Innovating & Evolving in Viticulture 

with Liz Riley

In this episode of the Ag Innovation Series, Sam Fryer sits down with Liz Riley — an independent viticultural consultant and trainer based in the Hunter Valley, as well as sitting on the Plant Health Australia board and a Nuffield Scholar with more than 25 years of experience working across viticulture, sustainability, biosecurity and agricultural leadership.

Liz completed her Nuffield Scholarship in 1996 focusing on integrated pest management in vineyards, an experience that helped shape her approach to...

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AG INNOVATION SERIES | INTRODUCTION
with Sam Fryer & Alice Armitage

Welcome to the first episode of the Ag Innovation Series — a new collaboration between Pandaemonium and A Place to Call Home.

In this introductory conversation, Sam Fryer and Alice Armitage unpack what innovation in agriculture actually means beyond the buzzwords. From drones and AI to genetics, data collection, storytelling and succession, this episode explores the real-world challenges and opportunities shaping the future of Australian agriculture.

Across the series, we’ll sit down with producers, founders, rese...

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast, a podcast sharing the stories of people building a life in agriculture across rural Australia.

In this episode, I sit down with Tamara Finger, owner and manager of TF2 Grazing Company, a beef breeding operation recently relocated to Theodore in Central Queensland.

Tamara shares a powerful and practical story of succession done differently — starting with being gifted cattle as a child, building her own herd from a young age, and stepping into property ownership in her early 20s.<...

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast, a podcast sharing the stories of people building a life in agriculture across rural Australia.

In this episode, I sit down with Amanda Buchmann from JAB Agri Solutions, based in Southeast Queensland.

Amanda is a passionate advocate for the red meat and broader agricultural industry, focused on bridging the gap between industry knowledge and new entrants coming into agriculture. From growing up around livestock with her grandparents to building a career outside the industry in pharmacy and la...

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast, a podcast sharing the stories of people building a life in agriculture across rural Australia.

In this episode, I sit down with Lindsay Barlow from Triple B Brangus, based in Dingo, Central Queensland.

Lindsay and his family have built a highly regarded Brangus stud from the ground up, producing bulls for both southern and northern markets, while navigating one of the most important and often challenging parts of agriculture — succession.

Lindsay’s story starts far from w...

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast, a podcast sharing the stories of people building a life in agriculture across rural Australia.

In this episode, I sit down with Seamus O’Connor from O’Connor Agriculture, based across the Calliope and Boyne Valley regions west of Gladstone in Queensland.

Seamus and his wife Hannah are building a diversified farming business running breeders, backgrounding cattle, producing hay, and more recently selling beef direct to their local community.

But their journe...

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast, a podcast sharing the stories of people building a life in agriculture across rural Australia.

In this episode, I sit down with Mark Vass, a fifth-generation cane farmer from the Burdekin in North Queensland.

Mark’s journey into agriculture hasn’t been a straight line.

Starting out as a boilermaker, Mark spent time working across the country before jumping into running a music festival with his brother in his early 20s — an experience that taught him plen...

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast, a podcast sharing the stories of people building a life in agriculture across rural Australia.

In this episode, I sit down with Nick Holliday from Belvedere Farm.

Nick and his wife Brydie are building a diversified farming business producing grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork and eggs, selling their products direct to consumers.

But Nick’s pathway back into agriculture hasn’t been the typical one.

Coming from generations of agricultural families where each generation has ha...

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast, a podcast sharing the stories of people building a life in agriculture across rural Australia.

In this episode, I sit down with Teek Carmichael, based around Condamine in Queensland, who somehow manages to wear a few different hats across agriculture, business, fitness, and community.

Teek works in finance with Business and Rural Solutions, helps run the family cattle and feedlot operation with her husband Ben, and is al...

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast.

In this episode, I sit down with Brecken Curtis — rural finance specialist, business owner, investor, and long-time Longreach local.

Brecken originally moved west for what was meant to be a two-year stint in banking… and more than 20 years later, he’s still there — having built a career in agricultural finance and stepped out to create his own brokerage, Season Finance.

This is a conversation about rural lending, risk, vision, and what it actually takes to build asse...

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast.

In this episode, I sit down with Ross Newman — pasture agronomist, problem solver, decision-making coach, and lifelong learner based in Rockhampton.

Ross works with beef producers across Queensland helping them solve the problems consuming their pasture systems — and more importantly, coaching them to make smarter decisions in their business.

From growing up on a potato farm that’s been in the family since 1897…
 To stepping away to build skills and experience…
 To travelling internationall...

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast.

In this episode, I sit down with Mia Ryan — founder of Howdy, a community-focused app designed to help young people connect in regional Australia.

While studying at university, Mia stepped into the world of tech and entrepreneurship, building an app in an industry she’d never worked in before.

This is a conversati...

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G’day and welcome to the A Place to Call Home Podcast.

In this episode, I’m joined by Charlie Thurgate, a 24-year-old cattle producer based in Tamworth, New South Wales — and someone who genuinely wears a lot of hats.

Charlie’s story is one of resilience, responsibility, and having a crack. From stepping into management at a young age, to building his own trucking business, surviving a serious accident, and rebuilding from the ground up — Charlie has packed a lot into his early twenties.

Today, he’s building K...

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G’day and welcome to Episode 1 of Season 7 of the A Place to Call Home Podcast.

To kick off Season 7, I’m joined by Tim Lee.

I first heard Tim speak at the Young Beef Producers Forum in Roma, and you honestly could’ve heard a pin drop in the room. The way he shared his story stuck with me, and I knew it was a conversation I wanted to bring to the podcast.

Tim’s journey has taken him from the army back into agricult...

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G'day and welcome to episode 72 of the A Place To Call Home Podcast

Today I’m joined by Jacob (Jake) Wolki, a mixed-enterprise farmer from Woomargama in southern New South Wales. Jake and his wife Ann run a 60-hectare home block with Nguni cattle, Berkshire pigs, laying hens, honey, an orchard and a stack of little side enterprises – all feeding into their on-farm butchery and direct-to-consumer business.

What started as a personal health crisis and a backyard veggie patch has evolved into a fully fledged, mult...

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G'day and welcome to episode 71 of the A Place To Call Home Podcast

n this episode, Sam Fryer interviews Andrew and Megan Miller about their journey in agriculture, their experiences with HerdXL, and their aspirations for land ownership. They discuss the challenges and lessons learned from managing properties, the development of the HerdXL app, and the importance of financial literacy and community support. The conversation also touches on personal growth, family dynamics, and the value of surrounding oneself with the right people.

In this episode we...