Chopper pilot shares insights with croppers

That was the message from Natalee Johnston, an ex-Royal Australian Navy helicopter pilot, who addressed the Grains Research and Development Corporation Farm Business Update in Yarrawonga on March 21.

With 70 people in attendance at the Sebel, Ms Johnston’s keynote address focused on human performance and how to “get out of the mud” and be ready for new opportunities.

“I grew up on a farm in the WA wheat belt and I understand the persistence and hard work required to farm,” she said.

“But you need to acknowledge, in farming like in the Navy, there are things you can control, things you can influence and things you can only be concerned about.

“Don’t spend too much time on the latter, you’ll just expend energy and create stress.”

As a qualified helicopter instructor and operations and safety leader with the Royal Australian Navy, she knows the ins and outs of risk management and sees a need for improvement in how farmers approach on-farm risks.

“It’s not enough to acknowledge a risk or a hazard, you need to create a good risk management plan and aim to eliminate that risk for you and your staff,” Ms Johnston said.

As part of her training she has undertaken human factors study which analyses mental and physical performance, risk and resilience in people.

“Resilience is when you bounce back and move forward. We need to consider failures as an opportunity to learn and not be consumed by the fear of failure.”

Her message resonated with the farmers, bankers, agronomists and farm advisers in the room who are in the business of risk management.

GRDC Southern Panel chair Andrew Russell hosted the day that was organised by agri-business and communications consultancy ORM’s Belinda Cowburn and Jane Foster.

“Farm business updates are held annually in every grain growing region in Australia,” Ms Cowburn said.

“The purpose is to help growers to look at their business, consider market prices and opportunities for grain growers.”

John Francis, a farm business consultant from Agrista, had the audience laughing and calculating as he discussed the importance of making good decisions under pressure — such as when the family cat requires veterinary attention — do the economics stack up if you take the emotion out of the equation?

Mr Francis emphasised that good financial literacy was imperative for farmers to understand their farm investment.

“Operating profit divided by asset value equals operating return. We need to focus on operating profit, this is where we can make cost efficiencies and increase profits,” Mr Francis said.

“This is where you need to consider scale of economies and how it looks for you.“

Keeping with the theme of the day, Cam Nicholson from Nicon Rural Services broke down the three main influences on decision making: head (logic), heart (emotion) and gut (intuitive).

“There are more nerve endings in your gut than your brain, which is why the term ‘gut feel’ is often referred to,” Mr Nicholson said.

“Most of our risk appetite comes from our gut, but it’s important that we consider all three influences when making complex decisions.”

Mr Nicholson believes people need to slow down when deciding on something, recommending farmers write a list of critical factors as part of the decision-making process.

The day finished up with Sam Trattles, commercial deals negotiator, explaining the importance of how we communicate and consider each other’s perspectives.

As the owner of Other Side of the Table, she wants to see people be fair and pragmatic in their negotiations, whether that’s in a corporate environment or within the family business.

GRDC took the panel of speakers to Elmore on Wednesday, March 22 for a follow-up session.