Succession planning in a family business is a complex dance, a delicate balancing act between familial bonds and commercial imperatives. It's a journey often fraught with emotion, yet absolutely crucial for the long-term health and survival of the enterprise.

In this story, RCS graduate Ben Simpson of Thistlebank, QLD shares his journey of transformation. It begins when taking over a 22,830 HA cattle enterprise in 2014.

Dennis Donohoe, farm manager with Aminya Pastoral, is a seasoned producer with decades of experience, and his story is a testament to how even minor changes in farming practices can lead to significant improvements in productivity and land health.

Once you have ownership as to why planning is important, the next ingredient is to work out where and how you will do your planning. When you write something down you change your relationship with the content. I cannot emphasise enough the power of getting your thoughts and plans out of your head onto paper or the computer.

The season in SA and Tassie is particularly tight right now with little or no useful rain since early January and a generally failed 2023 spring prior to that. Right now, across southern Australia and much of the eastern NSW, you won’t need to drive far out into the countryside to see cattle and sheep grazing (and lying on) hay and silage trails lined across paddocks.