A tree doesn’t grow strong overnight—it takes time, care, and the right conditions to flourish.

The same is true for your farm business.

Without the right foundation, strategy, and investments, growth can stall, leaving you feeling stuck.

But when you nurture the roots—focusing on what truly drives profitability, efficiency, and sustainability—you build a business that thrives for generations.

Are you planting the right seeds for success, or just hoping for a good harvest?

Let’s break down the three essential layers of growing a resilient, profitable farm business—step by step.

As a Farm Owner, you understand the natural order of things.

You understand that great things take time.

You completely get that you only reap what you sow (don’t plant wheat and expect to reap canola…)

You observe every day that the magnitude of the results you get are dependent on the care and investments you make into the crop or livestock that you care for.

When there isn’t enough care or there’s too little or too much of a particular input, the results you get are drastically reduced.

And, the same is true for growing your Farm Business…

How much time are you investing thinking about, and then working on the things that help you build a great farm business that will be around for many generations to come?

Sometimes it can just be really confusing knowing where to focus first or what the next right thing to do might be.

Do you need to buy more plant and equipment or infrastructure, or purchase another farm or lease more country?

What if that investment locked up your cash for a long period of time and kept you stuck?

Are there other things you should be focused on that have an even higher return on investment?

The image below gives you a roadmap of how to grow your business.

We want to “feed the roots and manage the shoots”.

The savvy farm business owner invests in the things that give them the highest return on their investment first before moving to the next level.

They know that by doing this their money and/or time invested will be returned to them quickly allowing them to focus on the next priority in their business.

As part of the 3-year Platinum Mastermind Program, our members work through nine areas that help them create a great farm business that’s designed to generate more profit, more control & more freedom with the support of an experienced farm business coach.

STEP 1 - Transform Your Farm Business

Starting with focusing on the Transform Layer (shown in red on the diagram) of their business. This is the low-hanging fruit and the jam on the ground that is often neglected in the race to focus on the higher levels. Implementing the Transform layer is often free or just takes a little bit of time and a little bit of money, however, it is the platform that everything else is built on and it amplifies the performance of the higher levels and takes out the stress and drama that can exist as a business owner. Neglecting this layer often has farm owners feeling trapped in the busyness of their farm, unable to take time off, or often, neglecting things that matter in their life.

Transforming your farm business includes:

• Tune In: Tapping into the mindset of a winning entrepreneur. Do you have complete belief in yourself and are you taking 100% responsibility for everything that happens in your life and business? Do you believe that no matter what, things happen FOR you? Do you know what is important to you and spend most of your time doing those things?

• Take Stock: You confront the brutal facts of your current reality and know exactly what you have to work with. Do you have 100% confidence in your business model, and does it deliver a 30%+ Net Profit Ratio? Do you know this because you benchmark your performance annually?

• Take Control: Do you have a clear vision and goals for the future? Are they written down, and is everyone in your family and team aligned with them? Do you take action every week that moves you towards your goals?

Our free Ultimate 2025 Planning Guide is here to help you refocus, set meaningful goals, and build a clear plan for a more profitable, sustainable farm business. To start the year with clarity and purpose, click here to download your free guide and turn your hard work into real progress.

It doesn’t matter if you are just starting out, or you have an established business, you are always working on Transform.

As Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Don’t Judge Each Day by The Harvest You Reap but by The Seeds That You Plant”.

STEP 2 - Optimise Your Farm Business

At the Optimise layer, the things that you will work on and invest in often require more cash and have a lower return on investment, so they need more thought and analysis.

This is also where you create a highly profitable farm business that is systemised, efficient and fun to be part of.

Optimising your farm business includes:

• Objectively Measure: You make fast and confident decisions in your business that are backed up by the numbers. You know you make wise investments in your business.

• Organise Infrastructure: Your physical infrastructure on the farm is efficient and fit for purpose. Your management calendar is as simple as it can be and avoids conflict for resources. You have systems documented for the key processes in your business that deliver consistent results.

• Open Up: Your land and business are optimised and ready to be run by a team. You know where you – as the Entrepreneur – add the most value and spend your time focussed there.

For many farm businesses running a highly optimised farm business is enough and very satisfying.

STEP 3 - Propel Your Farm Business 

At the Propel layer, the investments you make often take a lot of money or time and if you don’t already have an optimised business, this can lead to you scaling an unprofitable business model.

Rather than expanding a system that increases your wealth and free cash flow, you end up with less cash and more challenges. The decisions you make in the Propel layer are also often harder to reverse.

The advantage of nailing the propel layer is that this is where you get to focus on doing the things you love most. This means growing a business that has value and can be transitioned as well as building wealth beyond your farm business so that you can retire with the lifestyle you deserve without putting pressure on the business to support you.

Propel your farm business includes:

• Promote Team: All the people in your team are the right people. You are a confident leader and your team runs your farm business. You have no trouble attracting and retaining great people. You grow your team and they grow your business.

• Pump Up Scale: All enterprises you farm are run at a scale that allows them to be highly profitable and have a low cost of production. You have a clear system that can scale and are confident in managing the cash, people and processes required.

• Procure Assets: You have a clear plan to build wealth outside your farm business. Your investments are high performing and you make monthly contributions. They are setting you up for retirement and succession.

So, remember that you reap what you sow…



Are you spending time each week planting seeds that will help you grow an incredible farm business as well as your great produce or is there a little room for improvement?

This month we have opened a small number of coaching sessions to help farm owners find opportunities in their business. To book your session, click here and register to take advantage of this limited time offer.

Regards,

Sam Johnsson

CEO - Farm Owners Academy

P.S. Join us at the Top Producers Workshop on June 23-24, 2025, in Melbourne or online to master the nine key areas of farm business success. Our February event is sold out, but early bird registration is now open!

• Save big—get 1 ticket for $795 (normally $1,990) and a 2^nd ticket free
• Create a clear action plan for 1, 3, 5 & 10 years
• Discover strategies used by Australia’s top 20% of farmers
• Reduce stress with the FOA Farm Operating System

Secure your spot today and take control of your farm! Register now.