This week's roundup: New era for AgTech Finder, Lessons from REALM360, REALM Virtual Dealership Network, Some Welcome Relief, and more updates. Plus, fresh listings, auction dates, and more from across Australia's ag sector. Let's get into it →

Established in 2019, AgTech Finder is a leading digital resource connecting Australian farmers with technology solutions. The platform features more than 200 companies, over 280 products, educational resources including the AgTech Finder Podcast, and a community-sourced events calendar. 

In taking ownership of the platform, REALM Group has partnered with the Association of Agricultural Field Days of Australasia (AAFDA) to deliver ‘AgTech Finder’ branded hubs at field days across Australia and New Zealand. 

The three organisations have also established the ‘AgTech Finder Support Fund’, which will provide financial assistance to emerging agtech companies seeking to exhibit within the centres. 

Food Agility CEO Dr Mick Schaefer said REALM Group is best placed to realise AgTech Finder’s full potential. 

“As we wind up as a CRC, our focus is on ensuring the long-term legacy of what we’ve achieved over the last decade,” said Dr Schaefer. “Finding the right home for AgTech Finder has been a priority, and this transition ensures the platform will continue supporting farmers and agtech companies into the future. REALM Group has the capability and vision to take AgTech Finder to the next level,” he added. 

REALM Group CEO, Robbie McKenzie, said the transfer marks a major step forward for AgTech Finder as a practical, farmer-first platform that strengthens connections across the agtech ecosystem. 

“AgTech Finder has already proven its value by making it easier for farmers to discover technology that genuinely fits their operation,” Mr McKenzie said. “This new chapter is about building on that foundation by improving the platform, refreshing listings, and turning it into a year-round connection point between farmers, tech companies, and the industry partners who support adoption.” 

Mr McKenzie said REALM Group’s partnership with AAFDA would bring AgTech Finder to life on the ground, while expanding its digital reach. 

“Field days remain one of the most important places farmers engage with new ideas and new tools,” he said. “By creating AgTech Finder branded hubs across Australia and New Zealand, we’re linking digital discovery with real-world conversations, helping exhibitors get stronger outcomes and farmers get clearer pathways to solutions.” 

Mr McKenzie also welcomed the establishment of the AgTech Finder Support Fund to help emerging companies participate. 

“Australia has no shortage of innovation, but early-stage agtech often needs a platform and a pathway to reach the people who can benefit,” he said. “The Support Fund is a practical way to back that innovation and help more start-ups get in front of farmers, build trust, and grow.” 

AAFDA Chair Bruce Wright welcomed the organisation’s strategic partnership with REALM Group, saying it represents an exciting opportunity for farmers and tech companies that attend field days. 

“Agricultural field days have long been the gateway between innovation and the people who put it into practice,” highlighted Mr Wright. “REALM Group can transform AgTech Finder into the digital platform that connects innovators, exhibitors, and producers across Australia and New Zealand. 

“Together with our member field days, we can build a unified innovation ecosystem that extends the value of field days beyond the event and strengthens the future of regional agriculture. 

“The future of agriculture will be shaped by collaboration, not competition. AAFDA is committed to bringing industry together, and our partnership with REALM provides the opportunity to create a connected Australasian platform that showcases innovation, strengthens regional communities, and accelerates the adoption of practical technologies that improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability on farm. 

“By working together, we can ensure agricultural field days remain at the forefront of innovation for generations to come,” added Mr Wright. 

Visit @ https://www.agtechfinder.com/agtech-info/new-era-for-agtech-finder

In the world of ag-tech, many focus on building platforms first. But I’ve learned from REALM360 that creating a community is the real foundation. It’s like building the bar before the brewery — a place where people want to gather, share stories, and grow.

## The Allure of the Platform

Everyone in tech wants to build the next big platform. It’s tempting, I get it. There’s a sense of grandeur in creating something that seems to solve all problems at once. But here’s the kicker: platforms without people are like pubs with no patrons. They’re empty shells.

When we started REALM360, it wasn’t just about creating a digital space for farmers. It was about cultivating a community where real conversations could happen. A place where every farmer felt heard and valued. That’s what makes the platform thrive — not the tech itself, but the people who use it.

## Lessons from the Saleyards

Take a look at the Roma saleyards or the Toowoomba markets. They’re not just places to trade cattle or produce. They’re social hubs. Farmers don’t just go there to do business; they go there to connect. They swap stories, share advice, and yes, even complain about the weather.

That’s what we wanted for REALM360—a digital extension of this tradition. So we focused on the bar — the community — first. We created spaces for conversation, forums for questions, and events for real-life meet-ups. It’s about building trust and relationships, not just transactions.

## The REALM Approach

Building a community first has taught us a lot. It’s not about having the flashiest tech or the most features. It’s about understanding what your community needs and meeting them there. At REALM Group, we’re constantly adapting our offerings based on what we hear from our members.

For instance, our radar feed is a direct result of listening to what farmers want — timely, relevant information that helps them make decisions. It’s not about pushing products, but providing tools that genuinely help.

## A Living Breathing Space

Communities aren’t static. They’re living, breathing entities that evolve. We’ve seen this firsthand with REALM360. New challenges arise, new technologies emerge, and the community adapts. The key is to remain flexible and responsive.

We’ve built REALM360 to be a space that grows with its members. It’s a place to share successes, learn from failures, and support each other through the ups and downs of farming life.

## Where This Lives

Building the bar before the brewery means creating a space where everyone feels welcome and valued. At REALM Group, our community is our foundation, and it shapes everything we do. Come be a part of it in our Facebook community, where the conversation continues.

At REALM Group, innovation isn't something we wait for—it's something we create.

We're proud to continue leading the agricultural industry with another world-first innovation: the REALM Virtual Dealership Network—a cutting-edge digital solution designed specifically for agricultural equipment dealers.

As the farming industry evolves, dealerships need smarter, faster, and more effective ways to connect with customers. The REALM Virtual Dealership Network empowers dealers to showcase their machinery, generate quality leads, expand their reach, and grow their business through a seamless digital experience.

The Future Isn't Coming—It's NOW!

REALM Group is Australia's trusted agricultural marketplace, connecting farmers, dealers, agents, and buyers across Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, and Fiji.

We make buying and selling:

simple, transparent, and secure.

Whether you're buying, selling, or looking to grow your agricultural business, REALM delivers the digital solutions and marketplace to help you succeed.

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This week has brought a more positive tone across both agriculture and finance, with signs that Australian businesses are beginning to regain confidence after months of uncertainty.

The biggest financial talking point remains the Reserve Bank keeping the cash rate unchanged, giving businesses greater certainty around borrowing costs. While interest rates are still high compared to recent years, the pause has allowed many producers to shift focus away from rising repayments and back toward planning, investment, and operational efficiency.

Across agriculture, confidence in the long-term value of rural assets remains strong, with major grazing and agricultural holdings continuing to attract interest. This shows that despite higher funding costs, quality agricultural land and productive assets remain highly sought after.

For many farmers, the focus is now on positioning for the second half of the year. Machinery replacement, infrastructure upgrades, and working capital are being reviewed carefully, with priority given to investments that improve productivity, reduce downtime, and lower operating costs.

There is also a clear increase in producers reviewing their finance arrangements. Refinancing higher-cost debt, consolidating facilities, and unlocking equity are becoming practical ways to improve cash flow without sacrificing growth opportunities.

At Pay In Time Finance, we’re helping Australian farmers take advantage of this period of greater certainty by restructuring lending, reducing repayment pressure where possible, and tailoring machinery and equipment finance around seasonal income cycles.

The message this week is encouraging: challenges remain, but confidence is returning. Farmers who use this period to strengthen their financial position will be best placed to capitalise as conditions improve.

The sale of Tasmania's biggest farm to the UK's largest forestry investor has been given the green light. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers agreed to the $100 million plus offer from the Tasmanian Natural Asset Trust, which is managed by the UK's Gresham House, to buy Rushy Lagoon.

The sprawling property, near Cape Portland, on the state's far north-eastern tip, has been owned by New Zealand's Pye family since 1996. It comprises two contiguous properties — the 20,523-hectare Rushy Lagoon and 1,221-hectare East Wyambi.

Mr Chalmers declared the sale, which would lead to a huge, new pine tree plantation, was in the national interest after it was vetted by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). The FIRB has been reviewing the Gresham House application for more than six months, pushing back its final decision multiple times.

"This was a very difficult, on balance call and it follows a rigorous process and extensive consultation that took account of all relevant considerations, including economic, environmental and other national interest issues," Mr Chalmers said.

"My decision is entirely consistent with the advice of the Foreign Investment Review Board that the proposal is not contrary to the national interest.

"This decision was not taken lightly, and I respect and take seriously the community concerns expressed about the sale of this property."

But farmers and Liberal senator Richard Colbeck were cynical of the process, as the often-delayed FIRB decision was released during federal parliament's six-week winter break.

"The Albanese government has used the cover of the winter parliamentary recess to approve the sale of Rushy Lagoon after months of delay, stonewalling and a complete refusal to be transparent with the Australian public," Senator Colbeck said.

"My concern has never been foreign investment in itself. My concern has been that the proposed purchaser was reportedly able to benefit from support associated with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, creating market distortion that disadvantaged other potential buyers and undermined confidence in Tasmania's agricultural land market."

Advocacy body TasFarmers said the sale meant "22,000 hectares of prime dairy and beef country" would be "locked up under a pine plantation".

TasFarmers president Nathan Cox said Mr Chalmers' decision was a "betrayal of Tasmanian agriculture and a breaking of the social contract between government and the Australian people by green-lighting the use of taxpayer money against Australian farmers".

"This is a disgraceful outcome for Tasmania and for Australian food security," he said.

"Rushy Lagoon has fed Australian families for generations.

"Today, the federal government has broken its covenant with the Australian people by agreeing to turn productive farmland into a monoculture pine plantation so a foreign investment fund can tick a carbon abatement box."

"Treasurer Jim Chalmers has allowed the use of taxpayer funds in this deal, and kept quiet on it for months, on a decision which has been delayed through FIRB no fewer than seven times, and then dropped it the moment parliament rose for a six-week winter break.

Acting Tasmanian Premier Bridget Archer said, "backing a project, and then going through a process to decide if it's fair or not, does not pass the pub test".

"We recognise the value of investment in regional Tasmania, but we hold serious concerns about the way this process has played out," she said.

"Rushy Lagoon is one of Tasmania's most significant farming assets and has made a major contribution to our dairy, beef, and cropping sectors for decades.

"This decision will have a significant impact on Tasmanian farmers, the north-east community and Tasmania's agricultural capacity."

In a statement, Gresham House and partners CEFC and Aviva Investors said their "pioneering project will combine commercial softwood plantations on low-productive land with large-scale conservation and ecological restoration and sustainable grazing".

"This is expected to provide a major boost to Tasmania's forestry industry."

The radiata pine trees produced by the project are expected to be processed locally by Tasmanian-based sawmills and supplied into the Australian market. This will alleviate some of Tasmania's wood supply pressures and help divert harvesting away from native forests.

"It is expected to stimulate the local economy, creating jobs for contractors, sawmill operators, field surveyors, and planting crews."

Part of the company's long-term strategy is to broaden its international footprint. This includes tapping into Australia's Nature Repair Market, earning biodiversity credits for carbon projects, and drawing an income from growing pines for timber.

The massive irrigated livestock and cropping farm was put on the market in October 2024. It was a drawn-out campaign, with expressions of interest closing in November 2025. Rushy Lagoon's two remaining dairies were closed in the middle of June, in anticipation of the sale going through.

It was supplying Fonterra and, more recently, Lactalis-Mainland Dairy with roughly six million litres of milk annually. The last of the property's 1,000 dairy cows were shipped to Gippsland in Victoria in June. Its 3,500 head of beef herd remains on the farm; however, the property has been significantly understocked.

LAWD and RMS advisory, the firms handling the sale, promoted that Rushy Lagoon had the capacity to run 85,000 sheep. Historically, it has run 8,500 beef breeders and 4,000 dairy cows across its three dairies. Agents also advertised that Rushy Lagoon could generate additional income from proposed wind farm developments, sand mining royalties, and carbon offset payments.

They suggested further investment in pasture improvement, irrigation, and stock water would significantly increase its capacity to run more livestock.

Foreign investment in Tasmanian farmland is not new, but it is growing. According to the 2024-25 Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets report, 24 per cent of Tasmania's agricultural land is foreign-owned, covering 362,000 hectares. The report shows the United Kingdom owns the most agricultural land in Australia at 7.6 million hectares, followed by China and Canada.

Offshore companies have long been drawn to Tasmania for its high rainfall, irrigation capacity, and fertile soils. And it is not surprising that big deals have attracted plenty of political and public scrutiny. In 2016, Chinese-backed Moon Lake Investments outbid two Australian companies, paying $280 million for the Van Diemen's Land Company.

At the time of the sale, it was Australia's biggest dairy, with 25 farms milking about 18,000 cows in Tasmania's far north-west corner. But the business was troubled from the outset. Financial difficulties, mass resignations, animal welfare allegations, and the loss of a major milk contract led Moon Lake, rebranded as Van Dairy Limited, to carve up and sell the property.

Your reputation still gets people talking. It just doesn't get them calling as often as it used to. 

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is that word of mouth is dying. For the record, it isn't.

Farmers still ask neighbours who they'd use. And business owners still ask their accountant, their supplier, or someone they trust. Recommendations are still one of the strongest ways to earn new work.

What's changed is what happens immediately afterwards. People don't usually pick up the phone anymore. They pick up their phone... and they spend sixty seconds looking you up, and make a decision you'd never know they made. 

They're not trying to catch you out. They're simply doing what all of us do before spending money. They want to know whether the business looks legitimate, active, and professional.

This is where a lot of good businesses come unstuck.

You might have built a reputation over thirty years. Then a prospective customer searches for you and finds a website that hasn't been updated in years, a Facebook page that stopped posting during COVID, no Google reviews, and contact details that take longer to find than they should.

None of that means you're bad at what you do. It just means you've created enough uncertainty for someone to keep looking.

If you want to understand where referrals are really won or lost, here’s a little exercise to map the journey instead of guessing. 

Start with your business name in the centre. Then write down every place a prospective customer could end up after someone recommends you.

Now look at the map as if you're seeing your business for the first time.

Does every touchpoint tell the same story? Do they all reinforce that you're credible, active, and easy to work with? Or are there gaps? An outdated website. Old photos. Missing reviews. Conflicting information. A dead Facebook page that suggests the business closed years ago.

The recommendation gets people interested. Every touchpoint after that either strengthens that confidence or slowly chips away at it.

Not sure where the weak link is? If you'd like a second set of eyes, we'd be happy to review your digital presence and identify the places where confidence is being built, and where it's quietly leaking away. 📧 [email protected] 

G’day REALM Readers,

For more than a century, the A.B.C. Amateur Race Club, better known today as the Brunette Races, has brought together the people who live and work across Australia's vast cattle country. What began in 1910 as a race meeting between neighbouring stations Alexandria, Brunette Downs, and Creswell Downs has become one of the Northern Territory's most iconic bush gatherings.

While the horses thunder around the track and the campdraft keeps the crowd entertained, 17-year-old photographer Annie-Maree Martin was drawn to something else, capturing on camera the blokes whose resilience, character, and mateship define life on Australia's remote cattle stations.

Growing up on the NSW South Coast, Annie-Maree had no agricultural background. But over the past two years, she's immersed herself in station life across the Northern Territory, documenting some of the men who call it home.

"There's an authenticity that's hard to describe. They don't pose or try to be someone they're not. Every face tells a story through the sun, the dust, the smiles, the tired eyes, and the hats that have clearly seen plenty of miles."

To Annie-Maree, these portraits tell a story far beyond the faces in front of the camera.

"I think they show resilience, humility, and mateship. They work incredibly hard, but there's also a genuine sense of community and pride in what they do. I hope they also show the hints of mischief and the larrikin nature that seems consistent in the guys who work on the land."

So what continues to draw young men to life on a cattle station?

"It's the sense of purpose, adventure, and community. It's challenging, but you're part of something bigger than yourself, and the friendships formed out there are unlike anywhere else. It's also a bit of a step back in time, working and playing like generations before us did."

Annie-Maree hopes her photographs encourage more young Australians to see what life on a cattle station is really like, and perhaps inspire some to consider a career in agriculture.

"A photograph can't tell the whole story, but it can challenge assumptions and start conversations. If someone sees these images and begins to look beyond the stereotypes of station life, then I think that's a really positive outcome."

Meet the blokes under the brim. Read our exclusive interview with Annie-Maree Martin and explore her stunning gallery from the iconic Brunette Races held in June.

Hooroo for now,

Hooroo for now,
Simon Cheatham
Founder RFTTE - The Online Campfire
0417 277 488 | [email protected]

Robbie is definitely 'that guy!' He's even got his own cartoon character.