Making your own Opportunity, with Martin Lovegrove

Speaker 1 0:00 Oh no, I was gonna say, Well, now that I'm business owner, and you find yourself having these conversations with other business owners, and that you wouldn't even think that I'll would be having five years ago, you check this out and yourself, all in there, you're running your land enterprise, you talk about different things that you just didn't even think of few years ago. And the commonalities between running a business an ag supply business like mine, or mechanics shop down the road, there's commonalities at the same. So yeah, it is. And to perfectly honest, the business side of things, what's interests me the most even in farming, but growing crops grind growing and being crops in there. But it's actually the business structures and how you you run the business and how you set it up in the accounting. So yeah, that's I find that greatly Interesting. Oli Le Lievre 0:50 Well, and I like I just find it so fascinating, because it's always like analysis. And it's always problem solving being like, Okay, we're here, but how do we get to there? And I guess there's no kind of linear way, like we literally before we jumped on here to record, we're chatting about like, projects. And yeah, like, we can look at what's happening in Jan, Feb and March. And we're actually nearly out of time. And we're looking at how we've structured things. It's like, oh, we've got this week or two weeks to do this. But it's like, well actually, consider doing it across two weeks. Can we do it in two days? And then how does it flow from one person back to me back to someone else to be finalised? And yes, Speaker 2 1:27 and then you realise that if it's the limitation of your business, or what you're doing is, then people power it? Do you take the step and grow the business in employees? That's something that we've gone through pretty majorly last couple of years. I don't even know what we're up to, I'd say non staff in our business now. We employed another graduate yesterday. And the Christmas Show, which I merely told me you had yours. The Christmas shows getting really expensive rally. Yeah, sounds good. But Oli Le Lievre 2:01 yeah, the first thing that I default to when someone tells me how many employees they go, Well, I think it means what payroll must be like each fortnight, but then also, each month, when you get your bill and your PAYG of what you got to pay. And I think as is bad, we three heading on for that for you at nine, you're Yeah, at least double ours. Speaker 2 2:21 And, you know, you're employing professionals in mostly professionals, and they like to get remunerated for their time, which is good. And they should, and I was an employee once and I thought the same. So it was good. And you can't do it without them. No, Oli Le Lievre 2:35 absolutely not. And I think that's the, it's the coolest part of business where you start to see people with skills that you'd like, that I don't even have. And for me, I think 2020 For what I really want humans bag to be is like move from, I guess this attachment that it has to me at the moment to be more of like a weight. And how we actually do that is it's a real challenge. But I think hopefully when we sit here this time next year, it's like, how cool is that it's now evolved that it's bigger than me. It's beyond me. It's it's a real team, and different people bring in different aspects into it. So I heard Speaker 2 3:09 one interview you did with a guy who was advertising for a station manager somewhere. And he was saying that if he does his job, right, he'll be out of a job, you know. So if he builds his business, or if it wasn't for a current member who's been for harvest road? Yeah. So if he does his job, right, that means that he's doing he's putting make himself redundant, you know, and that's true success, isn't it? I mean, I'll imagine that. That Oli Le Lievre 3:34 idea of as a small business owner throwing out that yeah, my my job, like, I know, I'm successful when I don't actually have to do anything or that, that I'm actually not the best person running the businesses is actually true success. Speaker 2 3:47 That is true success. I waiting said that. I was just like, where? Yeah, that's the way to describe it. Yeah. That's, that's, Oli Le Lievre 3:55 or maybe the other one is when you've got the systems and the people that you can actually go like, you know, what, I actually just want to return to being an agronomist, and I'm gonna go away from doing payroll and all of that, and I'm just gonna go be an agronomist. Speaker 2 4:08 Yes, yes. Yes. And I think I've had the epiphany. Now, I think that's where I'm at. In opposition. Yeah. Yeah. I'll think I'll think I think that's where I'll be happiest still in that. Yeah. So I'm talking to a mechanic or yards and machinery dealership, and you this was a few years ago, he said, he's just employing as many apprentices as he can get. So it didn't matter how many. So this was through a tractor dealership. And he said, doesn't matter how many, but I'll put them on. I'll put them on because inevitably, how many study if you get a couple to say you've got a great succession plan going forward? I guess that stuck with me being what we don't know. So now we got we took on a graduate last year we've taken on a graduate yesterday, so for next year, and it's about the flow effect, and you know, these guys growing and learning, and hopefully getting a few to stick around Oli Le Lievre 4:59 Yeah, a few putting you out of a job. So Marty, I'm interested. I think we're going to cover a little bit of country in this conversation. But I want to start off how does a kid from South Australia who wanted to be a share ended up as an agronomist, and tell me about this fascination he's sharing. So, Speaker 3 5:16 and we're allowed to say that over skinny white boy from the barren Valley in Arab Peninsula, yeah, that's, that's essentially, I grew up on family farm, a place to root out and just a kid on the farm. And I've heard different podcasts, you speak to people and, and I was a kid on the farm I was I just loved it. And so we're shaping wheat and barley farm. And I just loved, loved hearing time. But sitting in the mobiles all day when I was a kid, you know, chucking the pieces at me as sort of catching them flicking into the end of the bale and, and I just love that and when we got a bit older is to sweep the floor and get in the way of the shoe. Yeah, I was just really fascinated. I loved it as a kid. And that's what I wanted to do. I thought it was cool. And I guess, in a way every boy wants to be what their dad was and does. So, you know, my dad was a shear and a lot of cool guys. When I was a young fella growing up, they became shears and yeah, it was good. That was interesting site, and then how to how to become a grunt when Colin agronomists, so dads are first generation farmer, which is quite interesting. So him and his brother went share farming of all places, a place called Penong, which is, you know, your listeners might know, but on the Australian Bight, and if anyone's driven across, you know, it's not, you know, grown crops, no doubt, but it's not what you say is like Blue Ribbon farming country. And his brother had an eight bag average one year and a nine bag average the next year, on pretty big acres back in the early 70s. And he said he made enough money to buy a farm, and so well to start farming anyway. And so he began that with sharing and into that. He said he paid a lot of tax on that in He always says that. Anyway, so when it got to the pointy end of may have grown up and trying to learn to shear and dead show me a bitten is pretty patient, I suppose. And 1415 year old thinking is Shannon water from the speed here. He just said Marty, no, no shearin's not the go mate. It's not. So um, my mum and dad were pretty determined on getting me to university, which is what we did. You know, it was the best decision of my life put upon me by my parents, and they encouraged me to do that. That's what we ended up doing was going to university. Do Oli Le Lievre 7:36 you ever reflect back and go? Like, I really wish I'd gone sharing or do you think it was it was something that you're interested in? Because you're exposed to it? And it kind of faded? Speaker 2 7:44 Yeah, yeah. Some days I'll tell you might sit in, or just think, how easy would it be? How less stressful would it be? The harder you work, the more you make, which is straight out good business. And after work, what are you worried about? You're just worried about the next year, you know, the stress of it would be pretty, pretty nice to be honest, or the lack of stress in it would be I don't think from time to time we Yeah, it'd be nice to blow out to under shape and just go have a schooner at the pile and knock off for the day, mate. Oli Le Lievre 8:15 How's this? Okay? Slight tangent, because I'm going to come back to another point. But I was in in Queenstown very recently, and abandoned to a fella down the road. And he was like, Oh, what are you up to? He was a farmer in the area. He said, I've just been watching two women break the world record of sharing most sheep shown in 24 hours and I reckon he said it was a mother and daughter and now we're gonna have to go fact check this a mother and daughter duo 24 hour record and 11 170 shape or something in 24 hours. Unknown Speaker 8:47 That'd be good money. Wouldn't it be good? Well, Oli Le Lievre 8:49 the other thing I was gonna say is like, you could clock off from work and have no worries until the next day. The only thing is when you go on holidays, all you could think about is how tough that first day back sharing is going to be after a little time off. Speaker 2 9:01 Yeah, yeah. Let's let's be honest. It's a dream best left as a dream. Yeah. Oli Le Lievre 9:07 Sorry to crush your dreams, Speaker 2 9:09 man. And interesting for your podcast. Perhaps we should leave no fact checking of our podcasts just in case. So Oli Le Lievre 9:17 this one only Yeah. Now we always fact check. Somebody told me your old man's a first gen farmer. I'm interested. Was there a pull from him to come back to the farm? Or was there actually not the opportunity to do that straight out of university? No. Speaker 2 9:28 Well, yes. And no. Yeah, especially straight out of uni. There was a bit of interest in me coming home. We actually looked at buying a farm about that time or when I was my last year at uni and it didn't happen. So it just didn't happen what that night so and then a that was never ever, you know, just coming home like it's never been. It's not you know what you want to do? And but there was I was pretty keen early last strike. At the end of uni. I was thinking, Yeah, that might be the guy, but it didn't turn out. And so I ended up getting a job in the Department of Ag on your Peninsula in South Australia. Yeah, not bad. It's pretty central area in South Australia. It's a really good farming area and got a job there, and which is great. And Oli Le Lievre 10:12 there's a fork in the road. You were doing that for a while, then you thought, you know what that university thing my parents pushed me into wasn't so bad. after all. Maybe I'll go and study a little bit more. Speaker 3 10:21 Yeah, well, yeah. So basically, the time that you're Peninsula, finished uni, that was number one, right? You know, all you went to uni, I suppose. I don't know. But I went to uni. And I had a great, great time. It was the aim was to finish in Europe. And but what I got out of uni was the contacts and the mates and you still know all the lectures and whatever. A lot of them are still lecturing, actually, which has been at the other day, but it's the mate ship and the contacts you make from uni, which is good. And that's why all went well. Not one dad sent me I'm sure he sent me to get an education, but to make people which is the biggest part of agriculture, probably your Peninsula happens or loved your Peninsula. I was the Baskerville B grade footy coach for a year, which is pretty exciting. Going at passkey. We loved it. I got so Yorke Peninsula was a big driver in lentils and growing lentils In Australia. They sort of pioneered it. I'm not even sure when they started working on it, but I was there in about Oh, 50607. And lentils was a big part of what they did. I had a couple of families there, sort of took me under their wing and looked after me that was really nice and, and still great friends with them. I remember when I was there. One day, I was there. George prices and he was raping lentils and, and he said Marty, that had a Boxful that's going to pay for my daughter's car. I was just like, You are kidding. How could he have that worth that much? This is just insane. And this is back in oh, five. And so it was a big part of what they were doing. agronomy was a big part of what they were doing, too, because it was you know, it's reasonably new industry. But it's intense. Like this has to work. It's a lot of a lot of money on the line. So it's pretty, pretty eye opening start to the career of agronomy. And eye opening for the money that was involved in the show. That was exciting. Yeah. And then sort of got the opportunity to the call of the bright lights of Adelaide cover to go back into research in Adelaide. So I left that and packed my bags and went to the big smoke. Oli Le Lievre 12:23 Was it an easy decision after spending all that time, like out in parties to then go back into research? Mentally? Speaker 2 12:28 Oh, I was keen. Yeah. What was that? I don't know. I don't know. It was just a stage of my life. I wish I would have I don't know how old I was probably 20 Oh, held, you know, 23 That's a pretty pretty cool age to be in the city. I suppose. I was just mentally ready. I thought that the job opportunity there. So I worked in the South Australian Research Development Institute. It was a research base it was pretty specific working on the crop barley and working with the barley breeders and and all the staff at Saudi and especially then Saudi was truly science based and the opportunity of that job. I was like, Yeah, I was I was really I was keen, I was just a bit of a fork in the road to go that way. And, and so did that, in that Oli Le Lievre 13:09 research field. How different was it going from being like a graduate agronomist working for the Department out in the paddock to then going on that other side of the fence, Speaker 2 13:17 it was a lot of similarities, you know, you get it you had to get back in front of the computer, which took me back to uni days a bit Oli Le Lievre 13:24 without all the after hours fun things. Speaker 2 13:26 Yeah. Put it this way, I was really enjoying my social life at this time of my career. And work was interesting. It was good, it was good. So I was on the back on the keyboard you know typing away writing up papers and researching and working with some great great minds and getting to make all the intellect sing in the wave Institute at Adelaide Uni and Saudi and and sorrow there that was really interesting, great and interacting and mingling as you didn't in the talk shop and contacts on my day was valuable, really valuable. And you had some great mentorship there with a few blokes and still great mates with the colleagues I had there who are now you know, there's some guys, there's some guys that have gone up the ranks, for sure, that I used to work with there. So that's exciting and good for them. And I enjoyed working there. I got to a point that I'll either I think Mum and Dad recognise that too that I was probably at a bit of another crossroad. I finally got to another crossroad where if I was there for another year, I'll probably use that's probably where I was going to be. And I probably didn't love it in the end but if I was going to stay there it would have meant going on for more education and doing my masters like if I was gonna do it, I was gonna do it properly. So, you know, go on and do a masters and mum dad rang up one day and said, Marty, there's a farm for Saturday on the road. If you're interested in coming home, this is your opportunity and, you know, dragged me out of the woodshed for an hourly straight, you're ready to come on board. And so that's what we did. Oli Le Lievre 14:55 What do you reckon there was a nexus in your career? Like it Was it was either one more year and you kind of stuck? Like why was that? I Speaker 2 15:04 don't know. I think it was, it was becoming home. That's it was just becoming home. You know, when you're sort of you anchor yourself a bit. And when you're there you can you can really, you know, you feel at home, and I did I loved it there. And I like that. Yeah, I've often thought that it was one more you if you live long enough your domain only luckily you look most somewhere and live somewhere long enough. You know, that's what becomes home. And it worked out really, really good that mum and dad made phone call and said, you know, what do you want to do? And I'm a fanboy. I'm a skinny white boy from a very Valley, you know, grew up in the sand hills and wanted to be here. So yeah, that was it. So then brought a dad, let's do it. We bought a farm. We went three ways Mom, Dad, no poor farm hillside in the barren Valley, which is great. And our Mo time. And part of that was that I still had to work off farm as well. Being in the farming enterprise wasn't big enough or and growth is expensive and, and that sort of thing. So I came home and to cleave and start working doing agronomy, part time and farming part time, which really, really means that I was full time agronomy and full time farming. Yeah. So we took on the new chapter there. Was Oli Le Lievre 16:19 it, I guess, a less risky way of doing it having the agronomy as well as the farming side of things? Or was it just what was needed to hit repayments and things? Speaker 2 16:26 Oh, no, it was it was financially financially driven, you know, to take another full time YJ on the farm. It was a financial thing. Yeah, basically, I mean, but also probably opportunistic. So in a way, you know, to come home not to go straight into straight into farming full time, you know, it's still utilise some of the experience and knowledge that I've built up over the years. So I was about 25. Then when this happened, and 26. And it was just a, it was a handy way to make some pocket money, I suppose. While starting to dream of filing. Were there any Oli Le Lievre 17:03 moments where full time farming became like a real opportunity? And then something you could appreciate? No, Speaker 2 17:10 no, no. So from that point, agronomy was, was ingrained in what I was doing. I suppose I saw myself as a farmer because I was still farming. And, you know, working flat out in the farm, I guess people would have recognised that perhaps I was a grandmaster, and donor agronomy. That's what I did. But, you know, deep inside me. And I still recognise that I'm a farmer, if anyone else what I do, I'm a farmer. At first and Grameen on the side. But so yeah, it was busy times during that. So worked there for nearly 10 years, I suppose. And then we hit another crossroad. It was a few, a few of me, Maddie, my best. Yeah, I guess, you know, these opportunities are present. And they can be quite life defining moments currently. And I've always sort of taken them up. So then, after been doing gunnery for 10 years, the opposition store down the road, US approached me to buying into their business and coming in so. So that was, that was a pretty big moment. So talk to family wife about this, and undenied and whatever. Interesting thing for mom or dad, not really good advice early in my life, when it came to this dad just said straight out married, this isn't completely up to you. If you want to do this, it's up to you. If you don't look, that's fine, you know, but he still hasn't today told me, you know, whether I'm sure I should have or shouldn't have gone in and purchase the cleaver, which is quite interesting. I think he's saying he was if it didn't work out, I can't blame him. He said to do it or not do it. Anyway, so we went on to purchase several traders, my wife and I. And so that's where we're at today. So I'll paint your picture, Ollie. Well, I Oli Le Lievre 18:55 was just gonna ask you if I could there. So your old man sat on the fence around your decision to it. But like purchasing a business and existing business, I guess you have a bit of an understanding of where they're at. But nonetheless, it's a huge life decision. Did you have mentors or other people that you were leaning on? At that time? Speaker 2 19:11 Yeah, so in another podcast of yours, you spoke to someone and you've listened to a few. I did make I've had 30 hours on the bone throwing was smashed. And if you can't see it, you can't be it. And that stuck with me. Now, I changed my mind because a lot of say things positively. If you can see it, you can be so I had two mines that owned rural outlets and farmed to different degrees. And so I can see what they were doing. And so this opportunity opportunity presented and, and yeah, you know, I spoke to those guys as sounding boards because that's what they do. And, you know, they strongly suggested that I'll be mad not to take up the opportunity because you don't get these opportunities. You know, a lot of these business ownerships will especially these days are handed down through generations and families and, and there was an opportunity for me to buy business, I guess I created my own opportunity to borrow this ball into the business. And I use those couple of banks, and they're in some situations soundboards. And my opinion is, but let's have a go. What's the worst that could happen? Yeah. So Emily and I have bought into cable traders. So apparently, this picture is 2020 COVID. And we've got a small business, right? We're going into the underdog, we bought the underdog, we bought Afghanistan in the World Cup cricket, you know. So we bring in a team, we're bringing it, we're pumped up and say 2020, COVID. She's all on, everything is blowing up and expense blowing up on Friday, you can't get anything because there's no sheets moving, because everyone's locked down 2020 2021. And growth is expensive and hard work. So we probably couldn't have picked a harder time to do what we were doing. I said to him, it was like, we would duck some water, swimming uphill, you know, cool. On top, everything sweet. We're growing the business, the business growth is going great. Working really underneath, we'll just flat out pump. And it was hard. It was really hard. One, growth is expensive. And any business owner knows that. And so when it's expensive, and then you put the COVID premiums on everything, he was super expensive. Supplier been hard, you know, and I was loving agronomy and driving that type of few new technologies. And the one that you know, an example of, of this is it was canola. And so we bought a business has got no sales history, really. And all of a sudden we're ordering tonnes and tonnes of canola and the company is a lot more debased in this off. And so we really desperately needed couple of these different varieties. And the guys in the store, so the guy that does the same procurement wasn't getting anywhere, I don't know, I'd rang this guy's mind on a more tans Like, I literally need more times. And he's like, Marty, I'll give you I'll give you this. And it was slow, a little bit more. But he said, Man, I'll let you know. I'm doing my best Boy, you've got the most in South Australia. That's not much more we can do about that. But then that's cool. And then, you know, there's another situation there where there was this new new herbicide coming out from another company and, and, you know, it's gonna be good, you know, so lots of acres, and we just couldn't get enough we could not get enough was a first year was out. And it was huge. And, you know, gross. And Marty, we need this stuff. And I just I was like, Yes, I know. We're working on it working on it. And it's the same thing and manager, we got a manager and stuff. And you said Marty, were top 10 in Australia. I was like, We're trying our best to you guys. And but you know, when you're trying to relay that you don't tell that to the clients, they know you, your Dark Knight your code you can live with don't have. So this is what's going on it's new product. But you know, we were keeping some pretty big goals. And it was tough. It was really, really tough. It was a lot of work. And I guess in a way, this is where our relationship with Syngenta started as a business. They recognised straightaway out of all, all of our suppliers. You know, some of the really good tours for Syngenta recognise that we're onto something good? Yeah, we weren't, you know, talking rubbish. We had some serious growth about us. And there was two guys in Syngenta sat down with us and said right, how can we help? You know growth is expensive, you know that? They had some, some new products coming out? And yeah, they were really good support to us at Klaver. Especially those first couple years, for instance. Yeah, but especially those first couple of years. I Oli Le Lievre 23:32 want to ask you a question about how do I've met you? And you were to be completely honest, at that, that point in time in those first couple of years? You say there was what's happening in business was growing, like, what was actually going on? And how were you coping and managing this kind of new experience. And Unknown Speaker 23:49 we had our first child Oli Le Lievre 23:53 a man loves chaos doesn't. Speaker 2 23:58 Only Yeah, a lot being busy. But to be honest, you keep everything into yourself, for sure. Because, you know, you're going to look like you know, you don't and, and be calm and whatever. And I mean, I wasn't the only one in store we we had two other economists and a manager and myself and Merchandise Manager and a franchise, like and we're all the same. We're all gone. It was really busy times and we shed a lot of it together. And a manager was a newly appointed manager on us purchasing the business and she did a brilliant job and what did it look like? All right. You probably didn't say me because I was in the corner crying. Oli Le Lievre 24:36 I would ask this question. I think it was outstanding, and it completely rattled me. And someone said like, what do you do for fun? Like to get away from the business and say you can cope. What do you do for fun? Speaker 2 24:46 That's interesting, isn't it? So well mean by cricket really poorly. I do enjoy cricket. I'm a good village cricketer. I'll eat I'll paint it like this. If John Howard was bowling, and he saw me and he saw me walk Get to the wicket eat Recommended Charts. Yeah. But yeah, I enjoy cricket. That is good. That is a good pastime. That was good relief. Swimming. Yeah. Always been a swimmer. Yeah, just go through and punch out laps. Yeah. The lots of time to think. Yeah, too much longer time. We think he probably but you counting laps and. And breathing. Yeah. Swimming for me. What are you doing? Oli Le Lievre 25:23 Because it's still rattles me. I started going to the gym. I go there in the mornings. I find that helps. Yeah, I think the thinking thing. Yeah, I have got into swimming a little bit, did a triathlon recently. So that was pretty good. That occupied a bit of time. Yeah, right. Yeah. Pretty fit. Yes. No. But yeah, it's interesting, because I think it's the challenge with small businesses and you just get becomes totally consuming in the sense of, and the part that I'm like, it's what another? No, does it ever become easy? Because it's like, if things are going well, it's like, oh, well, let's, let's grow the business. Let's bring more people in. And then it's like, well, actually, by bringing that person in, you've created more stress for yourself, because now there's more that you need to actually do to deliver. And someone only said it to me recently. They're like, Oh, if you're a team of three, you bring another person in, you've actually grown your business 25% overnight. And I've never even thought about that. And now I do a lot. Yeah. Speaker 2 26:13 And that's exactly right. You do and your payroll goes up by the same amount. But so it's interesting, because mentally I thought, this last year, I wasn't the duck on water wasn't swimming so hard. I thought things were getting easier. I said that to em. And she's like, Mary, you're still paddling, you still play a paddle. And I was like, here feels like I'm not. So it feels like I've been better at letting people do their jobs. So the business was originally a big part about me, the growth in the business. So the business going forward isn't about me. It's about, you know, the guys I work with, you know, it's about the other agronomists in the store and their growth. And so I think they'll recognise that this year, the start of this season started 23. I recognise that I think, and I've been working with these guys for a few years now. And I think that's taken a bit of the mental, the mental load off of me. Yeah, it's not about me anymore. It's about those guys. That's really cool. And the graduates coming through, you know, it's about them. Oli Le Lievre 27:07 So how do you manage that with the team? And when I say that, I mean, like, so in the sense of what you're going through of growing the business, it is me seeking advice now, with the different moving pieces within the business that you've got happening, plus you actually needing to do the admin business management, whatever else sits kind of behind that? How do you show up with your team, so it's still like, Marty's here as the leader manager of the business. And he's got the direction of where we're going. But he's also kind of unsure and paddling in the background. Speaker 2 27:43 I mean, for me radio, so it's routine, it's routine with the shop, I'm probably not always a visual presence in store, given that I'm farming a lot as well. But it's rotating. So you know, every week we have a Monday morning meeting, that's what it looks like every week. So everyone knows that. It's what happened last week, what happens is happening this week, it's all about communicating that. And it's just about having good honest discussions with the guys. You know, how you go on there. What's happening here? I don't often ask me, that's quite sad, isn't it? Oli Le Lievre 28:13 But maybe it's a good thing? Speaker 2 28:14 Yeah, maybe I'm looking looking gone, right. Yeah, I know. You're saying not all superheroes wear capes Do they really don't know, you just do your best and you're worried about. So for me, in our business staff happiness is number one. above anything else, it's making sure that the guys I work with are happy with the fly happy, doing a good job. And that for me, if a customer customer satisfactions, pivot or business success, but if the staff aren't happy, you know, they're not gonna re lay that on, then I'm gonna do a little extra mile thing that makes them one so far happy, I'm happy. And, you know, if the business doesn't go as well as last couple of years? Well, that's life. You know, as long as these guys are happy and doing their best. That's all you can ask us. So let's change Oli Le Lievre 29:00 tack a little bit, but not a huge amount. We challenge you because of the Syngenta growth awards and your 2023 winner in the productivity category as an advisor. You're gonna be heading overseas and joining a group of some really interesting people from right across Australia. Is there something you're leaning into that with or something that you're kind of curious about that you hope you can maybe thrash around with the crew when you get the chance to sit down? Yeah, Speaker 2 29:27 I mean, so the Syngenta growth awards, like that's really the process. You know, it started 12 months ago with the nomination, and which is great. And I thought well be nominated for this. That's exciting. Thank you very much. I thought that was that's it. That's That's good. That's it, and then you don't hear anything for a while and then all of a sudden, you know, right, we've got a Zoom meeting and I said to him, I sort of disclosed these zoom meetings as though they're almost like interviews in a way you know, like I try to sound out and this and that. I did a couple of these throughout the year. You know the modelling couple months between them and kept doing that and then got announced as the zone winner, which I guess is the southern zone to Australia. Whatever. That was great. And you know, we were going to Sydney. Yeah. Your beauty. I love Sydney early. And you're in Sydney. Oli Le Lievre 30:16 Not too long. Too long. Sorry, Unknown Speaker 30:18 your audio. But that means much to you then. Oli Le Lievre 30:21 I was in Sydney last week, so I can't I can't. Yeah, it's Speaker 2 30:23 good, isn't it? So yeah. Now we went to go on to Sydney. And then we had another Zoom meeting. And I remember this day, particularly because I've just had a bad day. And I was in. I was in the ground. And anyway, just did a Zoom meeting. And I could have said it to him after dinner that afternoon. I was like, that just felt like it was sort of like, it did feel it now sounded. Yeah. Anyway, that was the last of that. And we're off to Sydney. So we went to Sydney and had the award ceremony, which I put on really, really well. I will say this because I don't think the agriculture industry celebrates successes or good efforts that well, there's something about us farmers and people in agriculture that we just don't seem to recognise people that well for doing good things or anything. So it's really good to Syngenta to do this story, I think I'm worthy winner. But anyway, we got to Sydney. Thanks, Syngenta. We had a great time meeting the people that were nominated for ozone winners at Sydney. It was just great. There are some guys that are new by reputation from Western Australia. And I was just like, because this is just insane because Great One God met before from Western Australia and yeah, at the awards was Philip the Brown Line. Very exciting. So I said to him, it was really well done. And by Coburn I met and that was great. And so we're a winner. Thank you Syngenta. And so that means that we've gone on a trip to Switzerland, which is really exciting. I've done a bit of travelling early and I never tend to do too much homework before I go I don't know why but I like the shock a lot the shock over a bit and I suppose Switzerland I don't know huge amounts usually be at what do you know that Roger Federer is from basil and that's a gallon that's the homie Syngenta. So perhaps I'll take my tennis racket tennis racket I'm Oli Le Lievre 32:15 walking around now done Tiguan. Just borrow one off him. Yeah, exactly. Speaker 2 32:18 Yeah, yeah, I'm fair. I'm a year or two younger than him so but we'll see how we go. Yeah, so what do I look to see there the homeless Syngenta you seem to enter a very, very important company in agriculture very important company what we do day to day, I really look forward to seeing the Homer, Syngenta and what they produce and how things work, you know, to get an understanding of the starting point of a product to into how we use it in the field, and be very exciting. I'm sure it'll be beautiful. Oli Le Lievre 32:49 How do you hope that that's going to impact your career moving forward? Speaker 2 32:52 Ah, it's just recognition early, I don't think it will impact my career going for too much. Yes, just recognition, I think, you know, nearly 20 years work and, and the growth and the people that have influenced me over those years, and, and hopefully the influence for the better I've had on than the guys I've worked with, and it's just recognition. So it's nice, you know, I know, previous winners, and it's just it's really humbling to be put my name against this or next to theirs. And I don't think we've changed anything too much. But it's pretty cool. Really cool. And Oli Le Lievre 33:26 am I right in thinking that one of your mentors is a previous winner as well? Speaker 2 33:30 Yeah. So yeah, yeah. When I first moved the time in 2010, make broad was well and asked to rate him as the godfather of agronomy on a half an inch lawn, the way he thought about agronomy was truly inspiring. And then I spent quite a few hours talking to him and working with him. Oh, I've said to him over the years that he was introduced him as my mentor, and he's, like, piss off, lovey, are never meant to hurt you. But, you know, in a way, I guess that's what mentorship is, isn't it? It's someone that you just you just have conversations within and you're just, you're drawn to their way of thinking and, and you like the way they go about it, you know, you learn some key principles from the way they've gone about their career and Brody's truly, very good Grantham is now retired. But that's Yeah, it's pretty cool. For Oli Le Lievre 34:19 sure. Now, I think mental is really like another form of friendship, isn't it? In some ways, there's real, genuine care and kind of interest in the other person's kind of success as part of it. And it's Speaker 2 34:31 just about having conversations. And a lot of that. I mean, my chief, I suppose, isn't they common goals and common interests and and just picking someone's brain over opinion that you respect and, yeah, it's just organic, for Oli Le Lievre 34:45 sure. But I've got a couple of questions. I want to finish on one. I've got to ask you, though. You've done a little bit of travel, you say you didn't do a whole lot of kind of prep work before you travel and whatnot. But tell me like agriculture, what you're seeing kind of globally in terms of money. Morocco. And when you travelled there, what does that taught you? And I guess one thing. And whilst that is, I'm super fascinated about the role ag plays kind of globally, because I think as we kind of chatted about at the very beginning, I say I sit more on it like bigger picture thinking space, but I think agriculture fundamentally everyone relies on it every day to eat. But also, we can do a lot of good for people, communities and the environment. And yeah, and that's achieved Canada through doing agriculture better. So tell me about Morocco. And even off the back of that, what you've learned about Ag in a global sense. Speaker 2 35:32 So it's interesting. This is just such a big conversations point isn't so yeah, travelled when or so growing up and clave? When we did, and I use this comment earlier about if you can't see it, you can't be it. And so when I was a kid, no one went overseas. You know, it was I had a drama teacher in about year six, who had been to Rome and France and actually saw the Colosseum and I was like, this is like, this is mind blowing. I nearly just didn't believe it. You know, this is this is insane. If you can't see it, you can't believe it. And so we never experienced it. We never witnessed it. It wasn't until I went to uni, and some really good back to mine now. And then they'd had a gap year, and travelled through Europe for a year. And I was like, This is insane. And one minute especially is like, lovey, I've been through countries I didn't need don't even think I was awake. Oh my god, this, this is just unreal. These guys are doing this. And, and so for me, I've got I can say that this is what you could do. You could you can actually do this. So. And partly I want to put that on to my children. So with the travel but and so that's what I saw. And so I never travelled much because I was so focused on my career there earlier on. And once I started, so I've never travelled overseas for work. So I was just saying for recreation, that being a fanboy. You're always taking interest in how the landscape is happening around you. We've gone through Morocco, a place called McNair's, and I just saw the biggest wheat crops I've ever seen, you know, the crops in Northern Africa. I was like, wow, this is huge. You know, you don't want to be Australia feeding the world, right? Africa is going to feed the world don't remember that. That's what I was saying to myself, those go off roading and mu, and he was spraying his crop with a hand backpack sprayer Ryan is Mu metal, the auto steer on that this valley gun wherever the mule takes Yeah. And here we are, today, you know, spraying 3000 acres a day. And he's Oh, my company's back sick. And he's probably grown five times the crop them were grown. That was pretty impressive. In Morocco, that was definitely impressive. And that whenever I go travel, and I like to go somewhere a little bit different. So Mexico and and Cuba, Cuba was really interesting with the communism going on there. You know, there's farmers harvesting sugarcane with brush and machinery. That's just insane. And you know, they're probably getting paid a wage and it's all just for the government? Well, it would have been no doubt it would have been, that was interesting, I just wonder whether they might have been happier and what they're doing to sometimes I wonder that the less money you have, the less things you have. And the people seem to be happier, or just more contented with what they're doing in Cuba was interesting, because there seem to be a generation of people just seem to be so determined to get into the real world, like the the Western world, the open communications and, you know, get onto Facebook and listen, and when you're in Havana, that there's a real volume of that they're trying to do that. I mean, you're still in communist Cuba, the further you got away from that. It just like, you can't tell them, it's probably pretty unpopular opinion. But you all thought that, you know, they're probably better off. No, they're just happy. Just happy people. You know, it was simple. They didn't get paid much, but nothing cost anything to do you know, on Cuba, the biggest export I've got is doctors, that's insane. Cuba, because education is free. And so all the doctors just go off into other South American countries. That's insane. Free education. Beautiful. Where else in the world in a slightly nickel Registan. Anyone travelled to India has been to register. But we went off into a regional area. And we stayed at this princes palace. Oh, man. So they're on power rations, and Registan. It's like cricket in on TV in India. It's hot. And this was seriously hot. And then the pack cardio, and M and I just wanted to lay down the rest of the day. And the power's out as arc right. Then. So we went off for a walk through the village. And that was, you know, it's a tiny village for straights, basically, and would have had 15,000 People living it was just insane. But the best experience we probably had in India too, because they saw us as like, Wow, they're so excited to see us and made us and, and we love that. So Oh my. It was the prince of the region. His father had been some minister for agricultural. Whether it was true or not, I don't know. I had no reason to not believe him. And he owned all the land of this village and the workers work for him and this and that, which was interesting. And so this is the driest poorest area of India. And we're talking farming, which is good. Because everything relates back to farming in one world and probably yours too narrowly. And he said, we have 700 Mm. Ryan, as an arrow. He said, he actually has like, Oh, my, hopefully 350 millimetres of you. And you know, some years late last year, I was lucky to get 180. And here we are the driest area in India. And that's 700 millimetres of rain. I was up there. It makes sense. What did they got a billion people there. And you can't do that without water. And so the rains, and that was pretty impressive. perspective, travelling, seeing these guys farming around the world and, and doing stuff. It's all about perspective, isn't it? You know, you come home with some sperm at the minute. And you know, it's about 2000 acres yesterday. And we're gonna rock at Creative training last night, and Mike said that he had a big down the boom, yesterday, a sprayed What do you say 2600 hectares. Oli Le Lievre 41:10 I thought this is just insane. That's insane. Speaker 2 41:13 It is insane. It is. And that's where we're at. So it gives you perspective and saying what these other people do in other countries and Switzerland will be probably the same in a way to what we're doing here. And while these other countries, maybe the workforce has been easy to acquire, but where we are workforces is getting pretty skinny and not going to improve. And so you know, the scale of machinery and, and efficiencies just have to get bigger. And that's what we're doing. Yeah, so that'll be really interesting to see, Oli Le Lievre 41:39 Matt. It's fascinating. I was chatting to Nigel recently who's part of the growth awards as well. And I said to him, I think we're gonna have to stay in touch and loop back in with you guys. Because I think it's gonna be so interesting to see what one as a group that tops conversations that coming out of it, but to what that it's exactly that perspective, and seeing what others do, and what works in their kind of pockets, and how different ideas, practices or even just literally just other ways of thinking, and maybe it's gratefulness or an appreciation that comes back to kind of what we've got all the way we do things will be so interesting to see through what you guys do. It Speaker 2 42:15 makes you appreciate what you got, doesn't say in different parts of the world and how things work. Something obviously interesting in Europe is going to be the government regulations and restrictions on farming. We're probably not immune to that man. Like, who knows what's gonna happen here in the next few years with carbon and pesticide usage and that sort of stuff. So it'd be quite insightful to hear and see what those guys are dealing with over there for sure, Oli Le Lievre 42:36 buddy. So I've got one final question for you. Knowing what you know now, and where you're right in your career, if you were starting over again, what would you do? What pathway would you pursue? Speaker 2 42:50 I suppose to ask me about or listen to your podcasts, I suppose to ask me about telling you 10 school kids or something. So that's interesting. Oli Le Lievre 42:57 I've changed it up a bit. Here is the second time I've asked this question. Speaker 2 43:01 Yeah. All right. You can tell I've listened to a lot of your podcasts and, and, Oli Le Lievre 43:05 and you can tell it um, it's not just a script here. We change things up every now and then. Yeah, Speaker 2 43:10 yeah. There's a boss let you do that. I don't know. What would I do photo sharing or not? There you go. You start at the start, don't you? The road would have looked a lot different. I think. All right, think would have changed. And they might have no doubt pick the most stressful law I could have picked. There's no doubt about that. But you know, without stresses, there's not great reward. And nothing is worth fighting for. And nothing fighting for is ever easy. Yeah, do it again. Man. Oli Le Lievre 43:43 I love that. Well, Marty, thank you so much for coming on and having a chat. I hope you have an amazing Christmas and Happy New Year, and we'll chat to you soon and follow your travels very closely. Thanks, Speaker 2 43:54 Ellie. I appreciate it. Saying that I'm really in love your show. Thank you Transcribed by https://otter.ai