The AgriCoach Podcast by The Financial Bloke

Markets are behaving in ways that don't seem to match the headlines. Conflict in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz under threat, oil briefly pushing $120 a barrel, inflation creeping back, interest rates moving the wrong way — and yet equity markets keep printing fresh all-time highs. If you've been watching your superannuation balance climb while quietly wondering what on earth is actually holding the whole thing together, you are not alone. In Episode 126 of The AgriCoach Wealth & Wisdom Podcast, Ben Law sits down with David Berthon-Jones, Chief Investment Officer and Founding Partner at Aequitas Investment Partners, for a candid conversation about what's really driving global markets right now — and what intergenerational farming families need to be paying close attention to as they think about long-term wealth, off-farm investments, and succession planning across decades, not quarters.
David manages and advises on roughly eight billion dollars of client capital, and he brings a refreshingly honest perspective to a moment that most commentators are either talking up or shouting down. He and Ben get into the AI capital expenditure wave fuelling the so-called Magnificent Seven, the quiet accounting questions underneath those valuations, and why the panic that used to follow geopolitical shocks seems to have evaporated at the index level — even as individual stocks get punished savagely. They also turn the lens home to Australia: rising fuel prices, stubborn inflation, a Reserve Bank with fewer levers than it had six months ago, the housing affordability question that other comparable countries have already started answering, and the productivity backdrop that every primary producer is feeling on the ground.
For farming families thinking decades ahead, the conversation moves into the territory that really matters. How should off-farm wealth be structured when valuations are rich and the macro picture is murky? Where does cash, fixed income, and genuine diversification fit when growth assets have done all the heavy lifting? And what's the single most common mistake David sees in self-directed portfolios that quietly undermines a family's succession plan before the next generation even gets a look at the books? Ben and David also touch on the lessons from the dot-com era, why Warren Buffett is sitting on an extraordinary cash position right now, and what that signals to patient capital with a multi-generational horizon.
If your family balance sheet stretches across the farm gate and the share market, and you want a clear-eyed read on what's worth worrying about — and what's worth ignoring — this is an episode worth your time. Tune in for a grounded, thoughtful conversation about protecting and growing family wealth in a market that's quietly daring everyone to look away. 
If this podcast has ever added value to your farming business, we'd love for you to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
https://pod.link/1598835360
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Ben Law is a coach to some of Australia's most successful farming families. He was raised on the land — three generations of farming in his blood — and has spent almost 30 years and more than 40,000 hours alongside farming families, first as their financial adviser and now as their coach. Along the way he learned the truth nobody talks about: what makes or breaks a family legacy isn't the money — it's whether the family can communicate, get aligned, and prepare the next generation before succession arrives.
That's what this podcast is about. Each fortnight Ben sits down with farming families, trusted advisers and industry experts to unpack how to build a family that thrives across generations — strong in business, strong in relationships, and set up to hand over the farm without losing each other.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and for education purposes only. It is not financial advice. It is not legal advice. No one should act on the information without appropriate specific advice for your particular circumstances. Ben Law is a former financial advisor but is no longer licensed and cannot and will not give you specific or personal advice in this podcast. The Financial Bloke Group Pty Ltd accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of reliance on the information in this podcast.

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Most farming families don’t fall apart because of one bad decision.
They fall apart because of a conversation that kept getting put off.
In this short, straight-shooting mini episode, Ben Law tackles a habit that quietly drains momentum, trust, and future options in family businesses — not through drama, but through delay. The kind that feels sensible at the time. The kind that buys comfort today and creates pain later.
If you’ve ever thought “now’s not the right time”, “we’ll deal with it after this season”, or “things are travelling okay for now” — this episode will stop you in your tracks.
It speaks to parents watching the next generation circle closer to the business… to sons and daughters wondering where they actually fit… and to families who sense a drift forming but can’t quite name it.
This isn’t about scare tactics or worst-case scenarios.
It’s about recognising the small warning signs early — while the fix is still manageable and the future still flexible.
Short. Practical. Uncomfortable in the right way.
One idea. One metaphor you won’t forget. And one quiet question that might change what you choose to address next. 
If this podcast has ever added value to your farming business, we'd love for you to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
https://pod.link/1598835360
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Ben Law is a coach to some of Australia's most successful farming families. He was raised on the land — three generations of farming in his blood — and has spent almost 30 years and more than 40,000 hours alongside farming families, first as their financial adviser and now as their coach. Along the way he learned the truth nobody talks about: what makes or breaks a family legacy isn't the money — it's whether the family can communicate, get aligned, and prepare the next generation before succession arrives.
That's what this podcast is about. Each fortnight Ben sits down with farming families, trusted advisers and industry experts to unpack how to build a family that thrives across generations — strong in business, strong in relationships, and set up to hand over the farm without losing each other.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and for education purposes only. It is not financial advice. It is not legal advice. No one should act on the information without appropriate specific advice for your particular circumstances. Ben Law is a former financial advisor but is no longer licensed and cannot and will not give you specific or personal advice in this podcast. The Financial Bloke Group Pty Ltd accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of reliance on the information in this podcast.

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She walked Valentino runways at $10,000 a day, built a media career that spanned some of Australia's biggest brands, and was awarded Gold in Fashion & Textiles and Silver in Agriculture & Farming at the Women Changing the World Global Awards in London, 2025. And then she moved to a sheep station in Walcha, New South Wales.
But here's what makes Vanessa Bell's story genuinely worth your time: this isn't a fish-out-of-water tale about a city woman finding herself on the land. It's a masterclass in what happens when someone with serious commercial firepower looks out across a paddock and asks, what is actually possible here?
Vanessa is the Founder and CEO of her eponymous Australian luxury knitwear brand — crafted from Merino wool grown on her own property and produced with leading Italian mills. A Woolmark Licensee and RWS-certified wool grower, she works at the intersection of fashion, agriculture and sustainability, and champions natural fibres as the future of luxury. She also hosts the Fashion to Farmer podcast and speaks internationally on traceability, regenerative agriculture, and the global value of Australian Merino wool.
In this conversation with Ben Law, she gets into the real thinking behind building a business that operates at both ends of the value chain — from what happens in the shearing shed all the way to the global consumer.
What made her walk away from a career that had taken her from the runways of Tokyo and Vienna to the boardrooms of Sydney? What does it actually look like to grow wool fit for purpose — and then partner with one of Italy's most exclusive production houses to turn it into a globally recognised luxury knitwear label? How do you build a brand that refuses to discount, holds its value over time, and is designed to last a decade? And what does Vanessa believe is the real difference between farming families who talk about diversifying and those who actually do it?
There's also a pointed conversation about what farming families might be leaving on the table — not because they lack opportunity, but because of the way they think about what they produce and where their role in it ends. Vanessa challenges that thinking directly. And if you're part of the next generation on the land, or a farming family wondering whether an off-farm idea is worth the leap, what she has to say about solving real problems with real intention might be the reframe you didn't know you needed.
This is the kind of episode that sits with you after you've finished listening.
If this podcast has ever added value to your farming business, we'd love for you to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
https://pod.link/1598835360
-----------------------

Ben Law is a coach to some of Australia's most successful farming families. He was raised on the land — three generations of farming in his blood — and has spent almost 30 years and more than 40,000 hours alongside farming families, first as their financial adviser and now as their coach. Along the way he learned the truth nobody talks about: what makes or breaks a family legacy isn't the money — it's whether the family can communicate, get aligned, and prepare the next generation before succession arrives.
That's what this podcast is about. Each fortnight Ben sits down with farming families, trusted advisers and industry experts to unpack how to build a family that thrives across generations — strong in business, strong in relationships, and set up to hand over the farm without losing each other.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and for education purposes only. It is not financial advice. It is not legal advice. No one should act on the information without appropriate specific advice for your particular circumstances. Ben Law is a former financial advisor but is no longer licensed and cannot and will not give you specific or personal advice in this podcast. The Financial Bloke Group Pty Ltd accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of reliance on the information in this podcast.

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What if the most underutilised tool in your family business isn't a piece of machinery, a management software, or a new hire — but a structured room full of the right people, asking the right questions?
In this episode of the Agricoach Wealth & Wisdom Podcast, Ben Law sits down with Mike Logan AM — farmer, business coach, and one of Australia's most respected advisory board chairmen — to unpack why some of the most successful family businesses in agriculture have quietly adopted a structure that most farming families have never even considered: the family advisory board.
Mike brings rare credentials to this conversation. He didn't come from a boardroom — he came from the paddock. A cotton and beef farmer who once stretched his balance sheet to breaking point to build something bigger, Mike knows what it means to make high-stakes decisions with no-one in the room but yourself. That hard-won experience eventually led him from farming to chairing advisory boards across Australia and internationally, and it gives him a perspective on family business that few advisors can match.
This conversation goes well beyond the concept and into the mechanics — how these boards are structured, why they work, and what stops most families from ever getting the benefit of one. Mike shares the framework he uses to run every board meeting, why he's obsessed with cash over profit, and what the single biggest trap is for any family that tries to run a strategic conversation without the right structure in place.
There's also a moment in this episode that farming families with the next generation coming through will want to pause and replay — a candid exchange between Ben and Mike about what it actually takes to transfer wisdom from one generation to the next, and why leaving it to chance — or to osmosis — could be one of the most costly assumptions a family ever makes.
Whether you're running a multi-generational enterprise across thousands of hectares or a tightly held family operation just starting to think about succession, this episode asks a question worth sitting with: Are the right people in the room when the decisions that matter most get made? 
If this podcast has ever added value to your farming business, we'd love for you to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
https://pod.link/1598835360
-----------------------

Ben Law is a coach to some of Australia's most successful farming families. He was raised on the land — three generations of farming in his blood — and has spent almost 30 years and more than 40,000 hours alongside farming families, first as their financial adviser and now as their coach. Along the way he learned the truth nobody talks about: what makes or breaks a family legacy isn't the money — it's whether the family can communicate, get aligned, and prepare the next generation before succession arrives.
That's what this podcast is about. Each fortnight Ben sits down with farming families, trusted advisers and industry experts to unpack how to build a family that thrives across generations — strong in business, strong in relationships, and set up to hand over the farm without losing each other.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and for education purposes only. It is not financial advice. It is not legal advice. No one should act on the information without appropriate specific advice for your particular circumstances. Ben Law is a former financial advisor but is no longer licensed and cannot and will not give you specific or personal advice in this podcast. The Financial Bloke Group Pty Ltd accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of reliance on the information in this podcast.

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There’s a message young men are hearing… and reacting to. But what if they’re reacting to the wrong part of it?

In this mini episode, Ben Law steps straight into a phrase that stirred up outrage across the world — and reframes it in a way farming families need to hear. Not as chest-thumping bravado. Not as “suffer in silence.” But as a call to responsibility, grit, and discernment.

Because there’s a moment every young bloke faces. The gate swings open. The paddock is bigger than he thought. The map is unclear. The pressure feels real.

Do you stand there and bellow about it? Or do you walk?

This episode speaks directly to young men in their late teens, twenties and thirties — especially those stepping into a farm, a business, or the weight of expectation. It challenges the quiet habits that stall progress — comparison, envy, complaint — and contrasts them with something far more powerful: decision, direction, and surrounding yourself with the right tribe.

But it also draws an important line — one many miss. There is a difference between discomfort and genuine struggle. Knowing the difference is maturity. Acting on it is strength.

If you’re raising sons. If you’re mentoring young staff. If you’re a young bloke trying to work out whether what you’re feeling is weakness or growth — this episode will land.

No lectures. No theatrics.

Just a grounded reminder of what built the country — and what will build your future.
If this podcast has ever added value to your farming business, we'd love for you to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
https://pod.link/1598835360
-----------------------

Ben Law is a coach to some of Australia's most successful farming families. He was raised on the land — three generations of farming in his blood — and has spent almost 30 years and more than 40,000 hours alongside farming families, first as their financial adviser and now as their coach. Along the way he learned the truth nobody talks about: what makes or breaks a family legacy isn't the money — it's whether the family can communicate, get aligned, and prepare the next generation before succession arrives.
That's what this podcast is about. Each fortnight Ben sits down with farming families, trusted advisers and industry experts to unpack how to build a family that thrives across generations — strong in business, strong in relationships, and set up to hand over the farm without losing each other.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast is general in nature and for education purposes only. It is not financial advice. It is not legal advice. No one should act on the information without appropriate specific advice for your particular circumstances. Ben Law is a former financial advisor but is no longer licensed and cannot and will not give you specific or personal advice in this podcast. The Financial Bloke Group Pty Ltd accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of reliance on the information in this podcast.

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