Ben Simpson is a grazier and RCS coach based in Central Western Queensland. Together with his wife, Kim, Ben operates Thistlebank, a
Richard and his wife, Bernadette, run Stoneridge, a fourth-generation family grazing business near Young in South West NSW, where they raise sheep and cattle.
After leaving school, Richard travelled and worked across Australia before returning home to work alongside his father on the family property. When Richard and Bernadette later took over management of Stoneridge, they initially continued farming much as previous generations had. That began to change when Richard attended RCS GrazingforProfit® in 2007, followed by Graduate Link in 2008.
Since then, Richard has continued to build his knowledge across grazing, business, livestock and regenerative agriculture. His further training has included KLR Marketing, Holistic Management, Biodynamic Agriculture, Ecological Agriculture through Charles Sturt University, Low Stress Stockhandling, Subtle Energy Level 1, RCS Business Fundamentals and training as an Organic Certifier through NASAA.
Richard returned to Grazing for Profit in 2025 and completed Farming & GrazingforProfit in 2026. He and Bernadette also completed RCS ExecutiveLink® in 2026, giving Richard experience of RCS programs from both a producer and advisory perspective.
Through this continued learning and practical application, Richard and Bernadette have progressively transformed Stoneridge into a more regenerative, resilient farming business that supports their family, livestock and landscape. Richard now brings that firsthand experience to his work with RCS clients, combining practical farming knowledge with an understanding of the challenges involved in creating meaningful change within a family business.
Richard’s specialties include:
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Ben Simpson is a grazier and RCS coach based in Central Western Queensland. Together with his wife, Kim, Ben operates Thistlebank, a
Richard and his wife, Bernadette, run Stoneridge, a fourth-generation family grazing business near Young in South West NSW, where they raise sheep
David explains what unpaid labour really means and why it matters when calculating the true profitability of a business. He also explores the implications for cashflow, business continuity and succession when a business cannot afford the true cost of labour.
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Profit doesn’t happen by accident—it comes from making deliberate decisions and regularly checking whether those decisions are delivering the results you want. In this article, RCS explores why quarterly profit planning meetings should be a priority for every farming and grazing business, and how using Cost of Production, benchmarking and focused business discussions can turn financial information into practical decisions that strengthen profitability and resilience.
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