Good People to Know

National Farm Safety Week is a time to reflect on how we can make Australian farms safer.Tragically, 2024 was a devastating year for Australian farming communities. The industry suffered its highest year of fatalities in over two decades, with 72 lives lost.Last year on the podcast, FarmSafe Australia Chair and Tasmanian farmer, Felicity Richards, shared insights from the 2024 Safer Farms Report about how farmers can make their world a safer place.Felicity now returns to discuss Farmsafe Australia’s 2025 Safer Farms Report, proudly sponsored by WFI, with new podcast host Damien Gallagher. Conversation centres around the alarming number of fatalities and accidents still occurring on farms, what can be done to raise awareness of the risks and how to improve safety on farms. Felicity also reflects on stories of near misses, and the learnings from what could have been. As you’ll hear - a momentary lapse in concentration can change a life forever.To access the Report and other important Farmsafe Australia resources, please visit: Safer Farms Report 2025 - Farmsafe.

Today on National Ag Day themed ‘Grow you Good Thing’, we celebrate farmers and the incredible contribution they make to the lives of all Australians. Farmers are central to the future of this country and serve as an incredible example of resilience and ingenuity, adapting to the harsh Australian climate to feed the country and the world.One of those farmers is Brad Egan, who was awarded ‘Young Farmer of the Year’ in 2022 for his utilisation of technologies to help decision-making and lift productivity on farms. During the series, many of our Good People to Know have discussed the role and potential of technology to revolutionise the sector and Brad is the perfect example of how it can be put into practice.Brad joined Andrew Beer in person to talk about his family farm in Scaddan WA, the technology systems they’ve adopted and the benefits they’ve seen, as well as discussing sustainability and how technology can help the industry meet its goals.

With spring upon us, many regional communities’ thoughts are turning to preparation for bushfire season. With climate change causing an increase in the frequency and severity of bushfires in Australia, there is a pressing need to reduce emissions and find new ways to make communities resilient.In this episode Andrew Beer speaks with Sean Appoo from the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation, an organisation who use traditional burning methods to reduce the impact of bushfires and the emissions they cause. Working with traditional owners and organisations like the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation, landowners can not only make their farms more resilient to fire, but also earn carbon credits that they can invest back into their business.Disclaimer: WFI’s parent company, IAG, partners with the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation as part of their Reconciliation Action Plan.

1820 people have died on Australian farms since 2001. It’s a sobering statistic made worse by the fact that nearly 15% of those deaths were children under 15.This is just one of the statistics raised in the 2024 Safer Farms Report which was released today to mark National Farm Safety Week. The report is an important resource for farmers and their families, with the purpose of promoting safer work practices that save life and limbs. This National Farm Safety Week, Tasmanian beef farmer and Farmsafe Australia Chair, Felicity Richards is asking farmers and the industry to join Farmsafe Australia in driving change.In this episode, Felicity speaks to Andrew from her farm in Tasmania about the 2024 Safer Farms Report and shares what farmers can do to make our world a safer place for farmers and their families.Felicity Richards and Farmsafe are good people to know and WFI Insurance is proud to be an ambassador of Farmsafe Australia and sponsor of this year’s Safer Farms Report, which can be accessed alongside a raft of other important resources at https://farmsafe.org.

Last month over 120,000 people from around Australia and the world descended on Rockhampton for Beef Week - a wonderful reflection of the strength and scale of agriculture in Australia. With red meat production accounting for just under 11% of Australia’s emissions, it was a big focus of conversation at the event. In this special episode recorded on the ground at Beef Australia 2024, Andrew shakes hands with Agforce President, Georgie Somerset, and Agforce CEO, Michael Guerin, about the role the beef industry plays in addressing climate change. Andrew, Georgie and Michael chat about the importance of sustainability, how emissions are measured and how farmers can improve their sustainability and take advantage of new opportunities through AgForce’s scientifically backed AgCare program. Georgie even took the time to explain how the AgCare program has helped improve both her family’s land and her business. As you’ll hear, Georgie, Michael and AgForce really are good people to know. For more information about AgCare head to www.agcare.org.au. AgForce is an alliance partner of WFI and does not make any recommendation or provide an opinion about WFI’s products. If you take out an eligible policy with WFI, AgForce receives a commission from WFI of between 5% and 10% of the value of the premium payment (excluding taxes and charges).

Whether it’s macadamia nuts, kakadu plums, bush tomatoes or lemon myrtle, native Australian ingredients are having a real moment. But did you know that Australia is also home to a variety of traditional grains used in what is thought to be the world’s oldest bread? In Narrabri, NSW, the University of Sydney is working with the local Gomeroi people to research the use of these grains using modern agricultural techniques. More suited to our harsh climate and more resilient to the effects of climate change, native grains could well be a way for farmers to improve sustainability, resilience and develop stronger ties with their local traditional owners. To discuss the research and its potential applications, Andrew Beer shakes hands with two good people to know: Gomeroi woman, Kerrie Saunders from the University of Sydney, and George Truman from NSW Local Land Services. You can find out more information about the University of Sydney’s research by visiting the research homepage or checking out the Native Grains video series on YouTube.

With women officially representing 33% of the workforce according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), Australian Agriculture is an industry that has historically had a significant gender imbalance.In today’s special International Women’s Day episode of Good People to Know, Andrew finds out more about this gap in diversity by shaking hands with President of Australian Women in Agriculture and National Farmer Federation’s Independent Board member, Nat Somerville.Nat is a farmer of Torres Strait Islander descent that lives and works on Ngadjuri Country in South Australia’s Mid North. Her own participation in the National Farmer’s Federation (NFF) Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program in 2018 has led to some amazing next steps in her career and she is a passionate advocate for greater diversity and representation in all its forms.Make sure you listen in to hear Nat talk about the gap in diversity, how the industry will benefit from being more inclusive and how the National Farmer’s Federation aim to address this through their Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program.Registrations open for the Program today! You can find out more information and register at https://nff.org.au/programs/diversity-in-agriculture-leadership/.

In this episode, Andrew Beer chats with GIVIT CEO Sarah Tennant, about how GIVIT is helping Australians who have been impacted by natural disasters. Disclaimer: WFI’s parent company IAG, is the National Disaster and Emergency Partner of GIVIT. As part of this partnership, IAG has provided funding to GIVIT to help support pandemic and disaster impacted communities. This year to date, there have already been countless storm, flood and bushfire events impacting communities across Australia. Regional communities are particularly vulnerable to these weather events, and people sometimes find themselves in precarious situations having lost all or most of their possessions.  That’s where GIVIT comes to the fore, helping those in need. Partnering with governments and other businesses, GIVIT is a unique Australian organisation that acts as a “matchmaker” between those who need support, and people who want to offer their help or donate goods.  As you’ll hear in this podcast, their impact in helping people recover from disasters has been remarkable.

In our last season we spoke at length about the increasing frequency and severity of weather events due to climate change, and it’s a topic that regularly comes up when talking to our farming communities.With natural disasters impacting more regional Australians than ever before, Andrew shakes hands with El Carter, National Emergency Response Lead with Australian Red Cross. They discuss her experience and how regional communities can better prepare for future weather events.With over 17 years at Australian Red Cross leading their response to some of the nations’ biggest disasters, El truly is a good person to know.

In October the National Farmers Federation held their annual conference where the theme was ‘Australia to the World’. With around 70% of Australia’s produce being exported, it’s an important topic to Aussie farmers.We were there shaking hands and speaking with leaders and experts on Australia’s moral and financial obligations in feeding a world heading to upwards of 10 billion people, the issues that affect Australian exports and the role sustainability plays in a warming world.

This is the final episode of the first season of Good People to Know. We would be very interested in your thoughts on the first season and would love to know what other topics or initiatives you would like to see in the future. Please click here to share your thoughts.In today's episode Andrew continues his conversation with Scott Hammond, CEO Lifeline Broken Hill Country to Coast about mental health and the unique challenges faced by Regional Australians.During this second part of the conversation they discuss the role of social media, the pressures faced by the farming community, the under-resourcing of mental health support services and how people can care for the mental health of themselves and others.This episode contains discussion of mental health, suicide and suicidal ideation, which some people might find disturbing. If you or someone you know is suicidal, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or use their text service on 0477 13 11 14.Mental health support is available at the below links:Lifeline Broken Hill Country to Coast - https://www.llbhc2c.org.au/Lifeline Australia - https://www.lifeline.org.au/resources/Chat service - https://www.lifeline.org.au/crisis-chat/13 YARN (13 92 76) - https://www.13yarn.org.au/ - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis support line

Roughly one in five Australians will experience a mental health condition at some point in their lives – a statistic that’s true for the city and the bush. But it has been suggested that mental health conditions in Regional Australia are under reported and to make matters worse, the age-standardised suicide rate is 60% higher in regional areas compared with capital cities, with the rate increasing with remoteness.To chat about this important topic Andrew is joined by Scott Hammond, CEO Lifeline Broken Hill Country to Coast. With over 20 years’ experience and managing an area of over 1.2 million km across NSW and SA, Scott lends his important insights to a conversation that will open your mind to an issue that is seldom discussed.With so much to discuss this conversation will be released in two parts, with part two being released next week.This episode contains discussion of mental health, suicide and suicidal ideation, which some people might find disturbing. If you or someone you know is suicidal, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or use their text service on 0477 13 11 14.Mental health support is available at the below links:Lifeline Broken Hill Country to Coast - https://www.llbhc2c.org.au/Lifeline Australia - https://www.lifeline.org.au/resources/Chat service - https://www.lifeline.org.au/crisis-chat/13 YARN (13 92 76) - https://www.13yarn.org.au/ - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis support line

Australian farms consistently top the list of most unsafe workplaces in Australia, with roughly one in six people killed on the job in Australia working on a farm.Andrew chats with John Darcy from the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) about how we address safety on Australian farms.Free safety materials are available to farmers Australia-wide by visiting makingourfarmssafer.org.au.

Traditionally farms get passed on from generation to generation, but with many farmers not having children to pass their farm onto, the average Australian farmer is now in their 50s leading to economic and social challenges for agricultural communities.This week Andrew is joined by Cultivate Farms CEO, Sam Marwood to talk to about how we keep more older farmers on the land, bring new families onto farms and revitalise regional communities through investment.You can find out more by visiting Cultivate Farms.

The development and adoption of new technology on farms is touted is one of the key drivers in the National Farmers Federation’s 2030 Roadmap.To demonstrate the future of farming through robotics and artificial intelligence, as well creating new sustainability and carbon models to drive improvements in farming practice, Charles Sturt University recently launch a ‘digital hands free farm’ in Wagga Wagga.To tell us more, Andrew is joined again by the projects chief scientist, Professor David Lamb.

In today’s episode Andrew digs into Australia’s emerging carbon economy and what’s in it for farmers with Professor David Lamb - Chief Scientist at Food Agility and Adjunct Professor at University of New England (AU). Working in precision agriculture for more than 25 years and leading more than 40 industry-funded R&D projects, David really is a good person to know.During the conversation they discuss how farmers can help the fight against climate change by not only reducing their carbon footprint, but also helping to draw carbon out of the atmosphere whilst opening new revenue streams and improving the health of the land.

Technology, social media and the COVID-19 pandemic have opened up new exciting business opportunities for regional small businesswomen. To find out more our host Andrew Beer, EGM WFI, sat down with Carrie Kwan from Mums & Co and Edwina Sharrock from Birth Beat to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities regional businesswomen face and how female entrepreneurs can help address real-world issues in the regions.Both Carrie and Edwina show how living regionally is no barrier to running a successful business and how, in the case of Edwina, female entrepeneurship has helped overcome the barrier of distance in accessing quality pregnancy and childbirth education in the regions.To find out more about Mums & Co visit https://www.mumsandco.com.auTo find out more about Birth Beat visit https://birthbeat.com

In part two of Andrew's conversation with National Farmers Federation President, Fiona Simson, they discuss some of the risks to the NFF's 2030 Roadmap.How will the industry find the investment they need to adapt to changing technology and become more sustainable? What does volatile international trade mean? And how does insurance help mitigate risk in an industry where a years income can be lost in a day?

The agricultural industry is an exciting place to be at the moment - advances in technology and preferable weather conditions have led to much optimism in the sector.In the first of two episodes, Andrew is joined by National Farmers Federation President, Fiona Simson, about their 2030 roadmap for the Australian agricultural industry to reach $100b in farmgate output and the role of sustainability, climate and technology.

Biosecurity, extreme weather, trade, climate, changes in technology… there is a lot on the minds of our Aussie farmers at the moment.To discuss this and more our host, Andrew Beer, spoke with NSW Minister for Agriculture and Western NSW Dugald Saunders.