Small Business Secrets

Pip Courtney hosts Australia's pre-eminent regional and rural television program, covering farming, weather, food, innovation, mining, fisheries, agribusiness, commodity prices and other issues affecting regional communities.

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. 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. 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. A food technology entrepreneur has found success with a chicken substitute and is working on beef and bacon options. 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? Ninety-five per-cent 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.