Small Business Secrets

Cricket Farmer A cropping family has diversified in an unusual way - they’re producing crickets for the pet market. Footy Culture The most remote league in Aussie rules is back after a year off for bad behaviour. Competitors in the SANFL travel hundreds of kilometres for weekly fixtures and with 80 percent of young men on the APY Lands playing football, being part of a team is more than just sport. Rainforest Rescue A conservation group has planted over 42,000 trees to help transform a derelict farm on the edge of the Daintree into rainforest. Dingo Drones The battle against wild dogs has taken to the skies with a West Australian pastoralist using military grade hardware to construct a drone to target the pest.

Climate Chaos Changes in long range forecasts and weather patterns mean innovating and adapting is the new normal for many farmers. Rethinking current practices could be the key to surviving changing climate behaviour. Future Soil There’s an old saying about soil ‘they’re not making any more of it’ - but some farmers are. They’re drawing on the excess carbon that’s warming the atmosphere and putting it in their soil – building fertility and holding precious water. Future in Cloud From solar powered ear-tags for remotely managing cattle, to precision weed-spraying drones, technology is helping solve everyday problems in agriculture. But 50% of farmers rely on mobile networks for their internet connectivity, and data access and speed in the bush are not keeping up. Chicken Free Chicken A food technology entrepreneur has found success with a chicken substitute and is working on beef and bacon options. Corporate Farming Growing food represents a red-hot opportunity to big investors and corporates have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on agriculture in Australia - from cattle stations to almond groves. It can mean development for farmland, infrastructure for regions and more trade opportunities but does it signal the demise of the family farm? Family Farms Ninety-five percent of farms in Australia are run by families. It’s more expensive now to become a farmer, but a new generation is changing conventional farming models and finding other ways to get into the food production business.

This program brings together five superstars of business willing to put their own money on the line to invest in new products and ideas.