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Good People to Know

Good People to Know

by WFI

News Society & Culture

Season 3

Setting the standard on safety, with Katie Saul

In this special National Farm Safety Week episode of Good People to Know, Damien speaks with FarmSafe Ambassador Katie Saul about what it takes to build a safer culture on Australian farms. Katie grew up in Kempsey, NSW, and now works as a Work Health, Safety and Compliance professional within the livestock and saleyards sector. Drawing on her own experience on farm and in safety leadership, Katie shares how everyday behaviours, practical conversations and visible role modelling can help farmers, families and workers reduce risk. With the 2026 National Farm Safety Week campaign themed Set the Standard – Show ’em how it’s done, this episode explores why safety is more than a checklist, how pressure and routine can lead to shortcuts, and why leading by example matters when someone is always watching and learning. To learn more, read the 2026 Safer Farms Report.

Cyber Risk on the Farm: Digital Threats Facing Australian Agriculture 

In the last episode, Damien Gallagher spoke with Dr Kyle Mulrooney, co-Director of The Centre for Rural Criminology at the University of New England. The two spoke about rural crime impacts on farmers, their families and their communities. During the conversation they touched on one of the emerging threats to farms, cyber-crime. With ABS data showing that one in five agricultural businesses have experienced a cyber incident, this is a real and growing threat. To find out more, Dr Kyle Mulrooney shares his insights into what cyber-crime looks like for agricultural businesses, how increased on-farm digitisation and automation are elevating risk levels and how farmers should be thinking about protecting their business.

Rural crime - the silent epidemic

In this episode of Good People To Know, WFI Executive General Manager Damien Gallagher shakes hands with Dr Kyle Mulrooney from the University of New England’s Centre for Rural Criminology to chat about rural crime and its impact on farmers. Dr Mulrooney’s recent major national farm crime survey, reveals just how common rural crimes—such as trespass, illegal hunting, and livestock theft are, with more than 90% of New South Wales farmers affected and around 30% victimised 7 or more times. The conversation touches on the emotional and financial toll these crimes take on farmers, their families, and entire communities, and why so many incidents go unreported. Listeners will walk away with practical tips, including why it’s so important to report every incident (no matter how small), and how community and police partnerships can make a real difference. Check out the WFI Rural Crime fact sheet for a summary, as well as a checklist of ways to help protect your farm. You can also find out more about the Centre for Rural Criminology here.

Learning from the near misses - 2025 Safer Farms Report

National Farm Safety Week is a time to reflect on how we can make Australian farms safer. Tragically, 2024 was a devastating year for Australian farming communities. The industry suffered its highest year of fatalities in over two decades, with 72 lives lost. Last year on the podcast, FarmSafe Australia Chair and Tasmanian farmer, Felicity Richards, shared insights from the 2024 Safer Farms Report about how farmers can make their world a safer place. Felicity now returns to discuss Farmsafe Australia’s 2025 Safer Farms Report, proudly sponsored by WFI, with new podcast host Damien Gallagher. Conversation centres around the alarming number of fatalities and accidents still occurring on farms, what can be done to raise awareness of the risks and how to improve safety on farms. Felicity also reflects on stories of near misses, and the learnings from what could have been. As you’ll hear - a momentary lapse in concentration can change a life forever. To access the Report and other important Farmsafe Australia resources, please visit: Safer Farms Report 2025 - Farmsafe.

Season 2

Farm Innovation with Brad Egan

Today on National Ag Day themed ‘Grow you Good Thing’, we celebrate farmers and the incredible contribution they make to the lives of all Australians. Farmers are central to the future of this country and serve as an incredible example of resilience and ingenuity, adapting to the harsh Australian climate to feed the country and the world. One of those farmers is Brad Egan, who was awarded ‘Young Farmer of the Year’ in 2022 for his utilisation of technologies to help decision-making and lift productivity on farms. During the series, many of our Good People to Know have discussed the role and potential of technology to revolutionise the sector and Brad is the perfect example of how it can be put into practice. Brad joined Andrew Beer in person to talk about his family farm in Scaddan WA, the technology systems they’ve adopted and the benefits they’ve seen, as well as discussing sustainability and how technology can help the industry meet its goals.

Building bushfire resilience and capturing carbon credits

With spring upon us, many regional communities’ thoughts are turning to preparation for bushfire season. With climate change causing an increase in the frequency and severity of bushfires in Australia, there is a pressing need to reduce emissions and find new ways to make communities resilient. In this episode Andrew Beer speaks with Sean Appoo from the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation, an organisation who use traditional burning methods to reduce the impact of bushfires and the emissions they cause. Working with traditional owners and organisations like the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation, landowners can not only make their farms more resilient to fire, but also earn carbon credits that they can invest back into their business. Disclaimer: WFI’s parent company, IAG, partners with the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation as part of their Reconciliation Action Plan.

Harvesting Knowledge from the 2024 Safer Farms Report

1820 people have died on Australian farms since 2001. It’s a sobering statistic made worse by the fact that nearly 15% of those deaths were children under 15. This is just one of the statistics raised in the 2024 Safer Farms Report which was released today to mark National Farm Safety Week. The report is an important resource for farmers and their families, with the purpose of promoting safer work practices that save life and limbs. This National Farm Safety Week, Tasmanian beef farmer and Farmsafe Australia Chair, Felicity Richards is asking farmers and the industry to join Farmsafe Australia in driving change. In this episode, Felicity speaks to Andrew from her farm in Tasmania about the 2024 Safer Farms Report and shares what farmers can do to make our world a safer place for farmers and their families. Felicity Richards and Farmsafe are good people to know and WFI Insurance is proud to be an ambassador of Farmsafe Australia and sponsor of this year’s Safer Farms Report, which can be accessed alongside a raft of other important resources at https://farmsafe.org.

The Journey to Sustainable Farming

Last month over 120,000 people from around Australia and the world descended on Rockhampton for Beef Week - a wonderful reflection of the strength and scale of agriculture in Australia. With red meat production accounting for just under 11% of Australia’s emissions, it was a big focus of conversation at the event. In this special episode recorded on the ground at Beef Australia 2024, Andrew shakes hands with Agforce President, Georgie Somerset, and Agforce CEO, Michael Guerin, about the role the beef industry plays in addressing climate change. Andrew, Georgie and Michael chat about the importance of sustainability, how emissions are measured and how farmers can improve their sustainability and take advantage of new opportunities through AgForce’s scientifically backed AgCare program. Georgie even took the time to explain how the AgCare program has helped improve both her family’s land and her business. As you’ll hear, Georgie, Michael and AgForce really are good people to know. For more information about AgCare head to www.agcare.org.au. AgForce is an alliance partner of WFI and does not make any recommendation or provide an opinion about WFI’s products. If you take out an eligible policy with WFI, AgForce receives a commission from WFI of between 5% and 10% of the value of the premium payment (excluding taxes and charges).

Traditional knowledge, modern methods

Whether it’s macadamia nuts, kakadu plums, bush tomatoes or lemon myrtle, native Australian ingredients are having a real moment. But did you know that Australia is also home to a variety of traditional grains used in what is thought to be the world’s oldest bread? In Narrabri, NSW, the University of Sydney is working with the local Gomeroi people to research the use of these grains using modern agricultural techniques. More suited to our harsh climate and more resilient to the effects of climate change, native grains could well be a way for farmers to improve sustainability, resilience and develop stronger ties with their local traditional owners. To discuss the research and its potential applications, Andrew Beer shakes hands with two good people to know: Gomeroi woman, Kerrie Saunders from the University of Sydney, and George Truman from NSW Local Land Services. You can find out more information about the University of Sydney’s research by visiting the research homepage or checking out the Native Grains video series on YouTube.

Diversity in Agriculture

With women officially representing 33% of the workforce according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), Australian Agriculture is an industry that has historically had a significant gender imbalance. In today’s special International Women’s Day episode of Good People to Know, Andrew finds out more about this gap in diversity by shaking hands with President of Australian Women in Agriculture and National Farmer Federation’s Independent Board member, Nat Somerville. Nat is a farmer of Torres Strait Islander descent that lives and works on Ngadjuri Country in South Australia’s Mid North. Her own participation in the National Farmer’s Federation (NFF) Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program in 2018 has led to some amazing next steps in her career and she is a passionate advocate for greater diversity and representation in all its forms. Make sure you listen in to hear Nat talk about the gap in diversity, how the industry will benefit from being more inclusive and how the National Farmer’s Federation aim to address this through their Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program. Registrations open for the Program today! You can find out more information and register at https://nff.org.au/programs/diversity-in-agriculture-leadership/.

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