In 10: Planning your next step (Live at People Expo)

You don’t need all the answers to start thinking about what comes next.

Recorded live at People Expo, this Talking Dairy In 10 episode puts progression and succession in the spotlight, with Jac McGowan joined by Greg Duncan from Dairy Australia.

Whether you’re thinking about your own next step, the future of your farm business, or the people coming through, this short episode is a good starting point for those important conversations.

Find out more about People Expo 

Listen to 2026 People Expo keynote speaker James Laughlin’s Talking Dairy In 10 episode 

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at talkingdairy@dairynz.co.nz

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Transcript

Introduction

Speaker 1 0:01

Kia ora and welcome to Talking Dairy. I'm your host, Jac McGowan. We're recording today at the People Expo in Te Awamutu, hosted by DairyNZ and Dairy Women's Network. Across the day, farmers have been thinking seriously about some big questions. What's next for me? What's next for the business, and how do I make good decisions about people, progression, and succession? And I'm joined right now by Greg Duncan, who is Dairy Australia's farm business lead. Greg works across Australia with partners and farmers to build stronger, more resilient farm businesses. Greg, it's fabulous to have you here.

Speaker 0:36

Pleasure, Jac.

Speaker 1 0:37

Now, Greg, we're going to get straight into it because this is a short one.

What gets farmers thinking about what’s next

Speaker 1 0:41

When you're working with farmers, what tends to prompt people to really start thinking about what's next?

Speaker 0:46

I'd like to think it was a positive story. Reality is it's all too often adversity or irreconcilable differences. AKA, it's last minute or it's too late, something happens, and all of a sudden there's a change that wasn't expected. Occasionally it comes from age or wisdom, especially if those individuals have experienced a bad experience themselves. And rarely it happens in a planned and methodical manner. So it's been fantastic today to be at people exposed sharing some rich insights.

Speaker 1 1:18

Thank

Why some people move forward and others get stuck

Speaker 1 1:19

you. Some farmers are able to make a clear decision and move forward, while others can feel stuck for a long time. What's the difference between those two groups?

Speaker 1:28

Yeah, that's a really good insight. And I think for me, it's simply about confidence. It's because they've thought about it before. It's not necessarily that I had a plan or that the plan worked. It's more about they've been through the planning process that makes them more confident in their decisions. Whether it's a good decision or a not so good decision, they're confident in the next step.

Where succession and progression can go off track

Speaker 1 1:52

Greg, succession and progression get complicated quickly, or they can do. Where do you often see people get tripped up?

Speaker 1:59

In essence, at its most foundational level, things get off track when there's a lack of trust. Simple as that.

Speaker 1 2:06

We heard a lot about trust today.

Speaker 2:08

We did hear a lot about trust today. And I guess the best outcomes happen when everyone appreciates this value and just tips in a little bit to building and sustaining trust. From there, better outcomes happen.

Speaker 1 2:21

Okay.

Conversations that help build trust

Speaker 1 2:22

What are the conversations that make the biggest difference? So the ones that unlock progress and perhaps build that trust.

Speaker 2:29

Yeah, and again, this was a pretty insightful topic that uh our farmer panel shared today. I think it actually comes down from being curious. You know, lead with curiosity first. As I said, we've heard today a lot from progressing farmers that felt empowered when they were given the time to share their needs and they felt safe and respected when they've done so. So curiosity, lead with that, and I reckon that solves a lot of challenges.

Speaker 1 3:00

And we heard also the sort of a lot of shared values, and even if they didn't know explicitly what the other the other party prioritized, it was it was often similar.

Speaker 3:11

And surprising how easily shared values will float to the surface when you create a space and ask questions that are authentic and open, and all of a sudden someone will share something that you are unexpected, but you'll go, oh, uh-huh. Yeah, that resonates with me. That resonates with the business. And all of a sudden you're a little bit more on the same page. Surprise.

A good first step

Speaker 1 3:38

Okay, for someone who knows they should think about this but hasn't yet, maybe because it's a bit uncomfortable. What's a good first step aside from coming to People's Expo?

unknown 3:48

Yeah.

Speaker 3:49

Look, I think a good step, and James nailed this today, is about getting clear, and you can do that by yourself. Carve a bit of time out in your busy schedule to just sit down or lean against a post, or it might be sitting on the bike following the cows in. Get clear about what it is you want. The next step after that is actually uh write it down or share it with someone because we know that that enhances the likelihood of it actually coming to fruition. They'll often offer feedback. They might offer some advice, support, who knows, mentorship or part of the process.

What comes next after big goals are reached

Speaker 1 4:23

I was at a table today with some people who, you know, they had achieved their major goals of farm ownership and now actually have gone through the succession process and retired not that long ago. Thinking about what was next was quite challenging. Have you worked with people like that and how would you approach it with them?

Speaker 4:43

Yeah, sure. I mean, they're in a slightly different space, right? Reality is we all think we're a bit special. I can tell you we're often not unique. So there is often someone else out there that's walked in short your shoes that have been on your journey. So I reckon uh find those people and um they will have had the same thoughts and challenges. So find them, start a conversation, and out of that will become a pretty clear next step. I often find.

Speaker 1 5:11

Yeah, I don't feel like I was very helpful yet because I was nowhere near retirement.

Speaker 5:16

Just as well.

Speaker 1 5:17

Yeah.

What good support looks like

Speaker 1 5:18

All right. What does good support look like through this process and who should farmers be bringing around the table?

Speaker 5:24

Yeah, I think good support again comes back to knowing who it is you need on your team. And I don't necessarily mean that from a really formal perspective, like your agribusiness banker or your accountant. It could actually be a farmer that you look up to that's down the road. It could be an agronomist or the vet that's taken a particular interest in your development. As I say, it could be just about anyone that has your genuine interests at heart. So I'd suggest look for those individuals. It might be within a network that you might need to find their number or you've seen them on social media somewhere. I'd really suggest you go looking to build a bit of a team because that's again, they've walked this journey, they can see different perspectives and they'll have insights that are often just out of your own scope.

Speaker 1 6:18

Thank you, Greg.

Are farmers in New Zealand and Australia different?

Speaker 1 6:20

All right, finally, clearly you work mostly in Australia, but you're here today in New Zealand working with New Zealand farmers. Are there any differences in how farmers approach these decisions?

Speaker 6:32

Look, to be brutally honest, the similarities are more real than the differences, unfortunately. I've had a busy few weeks. Uh been in West Australia two weeks ago, South Australia last week. And it surprises me, or doesn't surprise me, just how similar the challenges and opportunities are for dairy farmers uh across our respective continents. And I reckon it also comes down to human nature, you know, I'll do that another day, I'll kick the can down the road, I'll think about that later. And all of a sudden, uh five years has gone by. So, you know, I often find that making start today, that's the key. The dairy industry reality is that uh we're all quite time poor and uh we're often all just a little bit exhausted as well. So those combined together often just mean, you know, it's easier to do it another day. So that's the similarities I see between uh our two industries. Reality is making a start, reach out to someone, even if it's just a shared conversation about what do you think about, and you might be surprised what you get in return.

Speaker 1 7:38

Okay. Thank you very much, Greg. Really practical insights, useful advice.

Episode summary

Speaker 1 7:43

Thank you. It's clear this doesn't move forward without some deliberate conversations. Sure. Good support team around you, and a willingness to make decisions and not put it off until the next day. Appreciate your time, Greg.

Speaker 7:56

Thanks, Jac.

Speaker 1 7:56

Mā te wā. If you'd like to get connected with DairyNZ's latest advice, research, tools, and resources, whether it's reading, scrolling, listening, or in person, you can visit dairynz.co.nz/ get- connected, and don't forget to hit follow to keep up to date with our latest episodes. As always, if you have any feedback on this podcast or have some ideas for future topics or guests, please email us at talkingdairy @ dairynz.co.nz. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time on Talking Dairy.