Mini: How AgRi-Silience is helping SA farmers, with Jeanette Long

It's not often you get the chance to hit the pause button, zoom out and look at the bigger picture of your farming business.

Farmers are often great at being operational - getting the crop in, or managing livestock cycles - but perhaps not as well practiced at thinking through a strategic plan: where you want your business to go and how you want to go about it.

Many of us tend to simply let things unfold and that's why Jeanette Long's pearls of wisdom are so helpful - she's a director, trainer and coach for Ag Consulting Co, which delivers the LivestockSA AgRi-Silience program. 

She takes a strategic planning approach to help farmers reflect on their business decision processes and build not just business resilience, but personal resilience too. 

We hope this chat with Jeanette helps you make some of those big (and small!) decisions in your farming and family lives, no matter what seasonal conditions are thrown at you.

Key takeaways:

• aim to have a plan in place with prior thought-out 'trigger points', so decisions are made when you're in a good headspace, rather than during stress
• there's always value in networking and keeping connected with others in the industry
• understanding your core purpose and values, noticing triggers of stress, and building tools to manage it is crucial for long-term success
• external support can aid in decision-making during crises and times of overwhelm

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the AgRi-Silience program

02:11 Building resilience in agriculture, both in business and personal worlds

09:07 Decision-making in challenging times

11:51 The value of networking and learning from others

Learn more about the work Jeanette does with Ag Consulting Co here.

About AgRi-silience:
Today's episode is part of our partnership with Livestock SA's AgRi-Silience program, designed to improve strategic planning and long-term resilience for forward-looking South Australian livestock and broadacre enterprises.
Participants of the program get one-on-one coaching, tailored advice from a consultant and get the chance to meet a network of other farmers enabling long term strategic planning to sustain your business into the future.

Funded by the Australian Government and the Government of South Australia as part of the Future Drought Fund’s Farm Business Resilience Program, AgRi-Silience has already helped over 1000 South Australian farmers build financial literacy, confidence in decision-making, and essential resilience skills.

You can secure your place and take the next step towards a more resilient future by visiting the AgRi-Silience page on the Livestock SA website www.livestocksa.com.au.

Cut out dinner
It's a challenging time for many. The AgRi-Silience Cut Out dinner is a great opportunity to pause, reset and come together to gain collective strength from shared stories and ideas. Book your seat at the AgRi-silience Cut Out Dinner at Sunnybrae Estate in Adelaide on June 20th.  Tickets are just $65 for alumni and $80 for industry participants.

Rabobank Grad Program: If you're on the lookout for a graduate role, head over to Rabobank.com.au to apply for their 2026 Graduate program before the 18th of August!