Hard Ground

Josh and Steph Borowski

Hard Ground is a podcast for farmers and rural operators willing to have the difficult conversations around succession, production, politics, all of it. Join us as we pursue honesty and find​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ the common ground we can all stand on.

  1. 18h ago

    Why Farmers Stay Silent About Suicidal Thoughts

    Why do so many farmers stay silent when they are struggling with depression, hopelessness, or suicidal thoughts? In this episode of Hard Ground, we examine the hidden mental health crisis affecting farmers, rural men, agricultural families, and multigenerational family farms. Farm succession is not simply a financial or legal process. When the future of a farm becomes uncertain, a farmer can feel trapped, powerless, ashamed, or unable to move the family business forward. That pressure can affect his identity, marriage, decision-making, self-worth, and belief that he is providing value to his family. In the darkest moments, he may begin to see himself as a burden and believe the people around him would be better off without him. This conversation explores why pride, public humiliation, family conflict, masculine expectations, and fear of judgment can stop farmers from asking for mental health support. It also examines a unique barrier in rural communities: some farmers fear that admitting they are experiencing suicidal thoughts could result in their firearms being removed. For people who use firearms as everyday farming tools, that fear can create another reason to remain silent. This episode is for farmers, farming families, rural communities, succession planners, agricultural professionals, and anyone concerned about farmer suicide prevention. You’ll learn how unresolved farm succession disputes can create hopelessness and emotional isolation, why some men connect their personal value to leadership and financial performance, how shame and fear of public humiliation discourage honest conversations, and why mental-health campaigns can fail when practical support does not reach people inside rural communities. The discussion also examines how family members absorb the pressure when a farmer is no longer coping, why women may feel forced to carry additional responsibility, how pride allows problems to fester behind closed doors, and why removing barriers to confidential support is essential for farmer mental health and suicide prevention. 00:00 The hidden cost of silence00:49 Introducing the farmer suicide conversation01:25 How farm succession creates hopelessness02:18 Why suicide affects farming men differently03:16 Masculinity, achievement and personal value04:02 Feeling like a burden to your family05:03 Why women step into the leadership gap05:42 Victimhood, faith and emotional isolation06:39 What happens when problems stay hidden07:05 Fear of humiliation and exposure08:09 Why farmers struggle to ask neighbours for help09:14 Firearms and the fear of speaking honestly10:37 Is talking about mental health enough?11:30 Why awareness campaigns often go nowhere12:07 Reaching the farmers who need support12:28 Why pride can become a killer13:22 Pushing through the fire as a family14:01 Closing thoughts #FarmerMentalHealth #FarmSuccession #SuicidePrevention #RuralMentalHealth #FarmingFamilies 2. What You’ll Learn3. ChaptersHashtags

  2. Jul 15

    Relying on One Income Nearly Broke Us: Here’s What Changed

    What would happen to your family’s income if illness, injury, or an unexpected crisis stopped you from working tomorrow?After being diagnosed with stage four endometriosis, Amy faced emergency surgery, weeks away from her literacy clinic, a major medical bill, and the frightening realization that no work meant no income. That moment pushed her to explore online income, affiliate marketing, digital marketing, investing, cryptocurrency, and multiple income streams. Later, while recovering in a hospital bed, one of those income streams generated $1,500 without her being physically present.In this conversation, Amy explains how income diversification transformed her family’s options in just three years. We discuss financial resilience, trading time for money, building backup income, overcoming fear and skepticism, understanding risk, and learning to think beyond traditional jobs and investments.The conversation also explores financial sovereignty, centralized and decentralized finance, alternative education, AI’s impact on future careers, raising entrepreneurial children, and creating a life with greater flexibility. This episode is for parents, business owners, farmers, sole traders, employees, and anyone who wants more control over how they earn, live, and prepare for an uncertain future.You’ll learn:→ Why depending on one income source can leave a family financially vulnerable when illness, injury, business disruption, or another unexpected event occurs.→ How Amy began building online income beside her existing clinic before eventually creating several different income streams.→ Why diversification is not only about earning more money—it can provide breathing room, flexibility, mobility, and the ability to make less emotional decisions during a crisis.→ How open-mindedness, calculated risk, failure, emerging technology, AI, financial education, and alternative ways of learning could shape the next generation.CHAPTERS00:00 Meet Amy02:15 From primary teacher to literacy clinic owner05:35 The health crisis that stopped Amy from working09:20 Making $1,500 while recovering in hospital12:05 Why one income stream is not enough15:30 Spending, investing, and understanding risk20:20 Dyslexia, confidence, and the education system25:25 Preparing children for an AI-powered future30:45 Where beginners can start exploring new options35:30 Skepticism, scams, and conditioned money beliefs41:40 Banks, restrictions, and control over your money48:10 Centralized versus decentralized finance54:15 Travel, alternative education, and family freedom01:01:15 Saying yes, failing, and learning as you go01:06:10 Amy’s final advice: start small and stay openThis conversation reflects personal experiences and opinions and is provided for educational purposes only. It is not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Conduct your own research and consult an appropriately licensed professional before making financial decisions.

  3. Jul 8

    The Hard Conversation That Could Save Your Family Farm with Katie Godden

    Family farm succession is not just about land, money, wills, or who gets what. It is about communication, trust, family dynamics, hard conversations, emotional safety, and whether the people around the table feel heard. In this episode of Hard Ground, we sit down with Katie Godden to talk about why farming families avoid the conversations that matter most, and what happens when those conversations are left too long. If you are part of a family farm, rural business, or agricultural family trying to navigate succession planning, conflict, resentment, generational pressure, or difficult family communication, this conversation is for you. Katie brings years of experience in communication, behavioural profiling, NLP, teaching, and family farm facilitation to help unpack why people shut down, blow up, avoid, defend, or misread each other when the stakes are high. This episode matters because the cost of silence is rarely immediate. It builds slowly. Trust erodes. Resentment grows. Families drift. And by the time succession arrives, the real issue is often not the farm plan, but the years of conversations nobody knew how to have. You’ll learn why different people receive communication differently, and how understanding someone’s “map of the world” can change the way a conversation lands. You’ll hear why trust needs to be built before the hard conversation, not during the crisis, especially in family farm succession and rural family businesses. Katie explains how to prepare yourself before a difficult conversation by knowing the outcome you need, without trying to control the other person’s response. You’ll also learn practical ways to regulate your body, pause, listen, repair, and help others feel heard when emotions run high. -- As a former teacher with 16 years of classroom experience and someone living with Type 1 Diabetes for over three decades, l've experienced firsthand how words can either build trust or break it. I was also raised on a family farm, so I know what it's like to work alongside people you care about. When family and business overlap, communication takes on a different weight. You care deeply about getting it right; about being honest without hurting people, about protecting relationships while making big decisions, about keeping things moving forward without losing what matters most. Through my extensive research in communication, behavioral profiling, and NLP, l've dedicated myself to helping leaders, agribusiness families and professionals create meaningful conversations that truly land. I work with clients to refine their communication skills, overcome resistance, and create lasting transformation. Chapters00:00 Intro01:20 Welcome to Hard Ground01:32 Why is communication so hard?03:24 We are wired for connection04:09 Everyone has a different map of the world06:49 Conversational agility and personality styles10:38 The consequences of not communicating11:41 Filling the trust bucket13:02 Why people need to feel heard15:07 Preparing for hard conversations16:23 Outcome vs expectation18:21 What do I need to feel complete?19:01 What if you are the only communicator?20:34 Leading the way in hard conversations21:53 The cost of silence in family farms25:04 Katie’s background and why this matters28:30 Can broken communication be repaired?32:59 Willingness, patience, and acceptance35:03 Why Katie works before succession37:31 The Art of Hard Talk40:02 How Katie helps families communicate43:25 Creating safety before honesty46:41 Moving through emotion in hard conversations48:42 Simple body cues that calm conflict51:20 Helping kids move through emotion55:22 Why this matters in family farming58:33 Farmers, resilience, and being heard01:00:00 The biggest communication skill01:03:07 Staying connected over a lifetime01:06:13 Men, women, and feeling heard #FamilyFarm#FarmSuccession#HardConversations#RuralFamilies#AustralianAgriculture

  4. Jul 1

    The Farm Succession Mistake That Can Destroy Families with Theresa Dowling

    Farm succession can either protect your family legacy or tear it apart. In this episode, succession lawyer Theresa Dowling explains what really happens when farming families avoid the hard conversations about ownership, inheritance, wills, unpaid labour, in-laws, family trusts, debt, retirement, and who gets control of the farm. If you are part of a family farming business, planning to return to the farm, married into a farming family, or trying to work out what happens when Mum and Dad step back, this conversation is for you. Thersa shares real stories of farm succession disputes, court cases, broken family relationships, and the massive legal costs that can come when families do not put clear plans in place. We talk about why farms are not just normal businesses, why emotions run so high, how communication breaks down, and why promises like “this will all be yours” can become dangerous when nothing is written down. This episode is a must-watch for anyone wanting to avoid a family farm succession disaster, protect the next generation, and keep both the farm and the family intact. You’ll learn: → Why family farm succession disputes often start years before anyone goes to court. → How informal promises can create major legal and financial risk. → Why daughter-in-laws and son-in-laws should often be included in succession conversations. → How early planning with lawyers, accountants, financial planners, and mediators can help farming families avoid devastating conflict. → How succession disputes can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. → Why communication breaks down between generations. → What proprietary estoppel means in plain English. → When legal action may become necessary. → How asking better questions can help families move from resentment and fear toward clarity, structure, and protection. 00:00 Intro: Why succession plans need to handle things going wrong 00:45 Meet Theresa Dowling, succession lawyer 01:12 Why farming families end up in legal disputes 03:04 Informal farm arrangements and misaligned expectations 04:44 Why family farms are not like other businesses 06:12 Debt, trusts, unpaid labour, gender roles, and sibling rivalry 10:38 What happens when families avoid succession conversations 11:27 Lifetime disputes vs after-death disputes 12:23 The “this will all be yours” promise gone wrong 14:16 When farm succession ends up in the Supreme Court 17:43 The real legal cost of farm succession disputes 19:26 How court can freeze the whole farming enterprise 21:14 The mental health cost of family farm disputes 23:21 Proprietary estoppel explained in plain language 25:42 Why succession plans must prepare for accidents, illness, and death 27:35 When families usually call a succession lawyer 29:30 Why in-laws need a seat at the table 33:22 Teresa’s background in rural Australia and succession law 38:10 When the family hits a communication roadblock 40:31 How mediators help farming families talk again 43:12 How to start the conversation with a resistant parent 50:11 Ask Mum and Dad what they actually want 52:18 When going to court may be necessary 54:04 Elder abuse and inheritance impatience 56:01 What happens after 20 years of unpaid farm work 01:00:20 How families can avoid catastrophic outcomes 01:02:50 Teresa’s final advice for older and younger generations

  5. Jun 24

    How to Start the Farm Succession Talk Without a Fight

    Farm succession planning can feel impossible when family conflict, old wounds, fear, resentment, and unspoken expectations are sitting under the surface. In this conversation, Josh and Steph talk honestly about what happens when the family farm, marriage, parenting, in-laws, succession planners, and father-son relationships all collide. This episode is for farming families who know they need to talk about succession, farm transition, inheritance, business structure, communication, and the future of the farm, but feel stuck, overwhelmed, or afraid to rock the boat. If you have ever come home carrying the stress of the farm into your marriage, felt alone in the fight with your parents, or wondered whether outside help could actually make things worse or better, this conversation is for you. Josh and Steph unpack the emotional reality behind succession planning: why good intentions can still hurt, why the first attempt might not work, why a husband and wife need to become a team, and why healing the relationships often matters before solving the business structure. Why farm succession planning is rarely just about land, money, inheritance, or business structure, and why communication, fear, loyalty, and family history often drive the conflict. How unresolved farm stress can follow a farmer home and quietly affect marriage, parenting, emotional health, and the feeling of safety inside the family. Why bringing in a third party, succession planner, mediator, coach, or trusted outside voice can help families stop the cycle of frustration and start clearer conversations. How Josh’s journey from anger, resentment, and pressure toward faith, peace, and responsibility changed the way he carried the weight of the family farm. 00:00 Intro and why this conversation matters01:40 Stories from farming families behind the scenes02:16 Why succession planning can tear families apart04:33 Reflecting on their own family farm situation05:01 Values, communication, fear, and rocking the boat07:10 The first step toward getting help08:13 Seeing the farm stress from a spouse’s perspective10:16 Carrying the pressure home into marriage11:13 Finding outside help for the first time12:42 Why succession can take many small steps13:29 The tension between loyalty, change, and family pain15:24 Why staying silent can do long-term damage17:06 When your spouse feels scared to add more pressure18:41 Realising the cost of being emotionally absent20:00 Why husbands and wives need to become a team22:03 Progress, not perfection23:05 You are not alone in farm family conflict24:33 Why we can get addicted to our own story26:05 When it is time to look beyond the family27:12 Why choosing the right succession help matters28:31 How getting help changed their marriage29:05 Healing the father-son relationship29:43 The role faith played in Josh’s transformation34:32 What Fireside is and who it is for37:10 How to connect and share your story #FarmSuccession#FamilyFarm#SuccessionPlanning#FarmLife#FarmingFamilies

  6. Jun 17

    The Farm Succession Talk Your Family Keeps Avoiding with Jess Cavanagh

    Farm succession planning is one of the hardest conversations a farming family will ever have — but avoiding it can cost more than money. It can cost relationships, clarity, trust, and the future of the family farm. In this episode of Hard Ground, Jess Cavanagh from Proactive Succession joins the conversation to unpack why farm succession, family business transition, inheritance, estate planning, and generational change are so emotionally loaded in agriculture. This is for farming families, next-generation farmers, parents on the land, sons and daughters waiting for clarity, off-farm siblings, daughter-in-laws, son-in-laws, and anyone trying to protect both the farm business and the family table. Jess shares why many farmers see outside help as weakness, why “it’ll all be yours one day” is not a real plan, why starting early gives families more options, and why legacy is about more than who gets the land. If your family has avoided the succession conversation, struggled with control, fairness, entitlement, in-laws, or the fear of conflict, this episode gives language, perspective, and hope for a better way forward.  You’ll learn why farming families often avoid succession planning, and how the culture of independence in agriculture can make asking for help feel like failure. Jess explains why the patriarch is often the hardest person to bring into the succession process, especially when control, vulnerability, retirement, and responsibility all feel tied together.  The episode explores why “fair” and “equal” are not always the same thing when it comes to farm inheritance, off-farm children, business viability, and keeping the farm in the family. You’ll also hear why in-laws should not be shut out of succession conversations, and how including daughter-in-laws and son-in-laws can reveal either valuable insight or real risk early enough to plan properly.  00:00 Legacy, transparency, and family decisions00:18 Welcome to Hard Ground00:35 Introducing Jess Cavanagh from Proactive Succession01:30 Why succession is one of the hardest family conversations02:07 Why farmers avoid working on the business03:06 Why asking for help can feel like weakness06:05 Control, exposure, and the realities of farming08:17 Why succession requires business strategy10:29 The family business puzzle13:34 Why Jess works in farm succession15:18 Choose the feast, not the fight15:54 What happens when succession goes unresolved17:38 The loneliness of being stuck in the family farm22:11 Where succession resistance usually comes from23:36 When Dad says he’ll die with his boots on28:29 How long should the next generation wait?33:41 Entitlement, humility, and changing perspective36:26 Seeing the family business from another person’s shoes39:38 Succession is training, not just handover40:28 Why a clear plan helps during drought and crisis44:32 Ask questions instead of forcing opinions47:43 How young families can start succession early52:18 When all the wealth is tied up in the farm57:06 Why siblings are not really “paying out” siblings59:07 Why 50% equity can be an uncreative solution1:04:38 Early planning versus years of resentment1:05:56 Are daughter-in-laws really the problem?1:07:34 Why in-laws can be an asset to succession1:12:45 Why Proactive includes in-laws in the process1:17:40 Final reflections with Jess1:18:29 Proactive Succession event in Tamworth1:20:32 Closing thoughts #FarmSuccession#FamilyFarm#SuccessionPlanning#AustralianAgriculture#FarmBusiness

  7. Jun 10

    When Farmers Hit Breaking Point, Mates Show Up

    Mick is an accomplished poet, author and song writer. He writes for and has been published many times in National magazines including R M Williams “Outback” magazine. He frequently presents his poetry on ABC radio. His poem “Mates at the gate” has been picked up by Country singer, Ashley Cook and is looking like a good chance for a Golden Guitar in Tamworth. Mick has been either a compere or feature poet at Monagaribli Care flight charity show, Boondooma Spirit of the bush, The Queensland outback Golf spectacular in Winton, NQ’s Rockin Queensland in Mackay, a series of Brisbane shows with “The Vixens of Fall”, the RNA (Brisbane Ekka) as a judge and as a feature performer. Mick runs workshops for adults and students. He judges poetry competitions all around the Country. Mick is a harmonica player in a small musical group called “Three legged onion” He is a busy, busy chap and says “If you’re not living life on the edge you are probably taking up too much room” Mick started and runs a rural family support charity called Mates at the Gate Mick says “I have written and memorised many poems based on my time in the bush, on our farm as well as in fire service. He loves the dry humour and gutsy determination of people who work the land. Poems like “mates at the gate” and “All but Barton” come from real life experience. His shows are often described as comedy shows but they are much more than that. Chapters 00:00 Intro00:42 Meet Mick Martin01:03 What Is Mates at the Gate?02:23 How the Charity Started During the Drought04:39 The First Farmer Trip to Fraser Island06:57 The Generosity of Everyday Australians08:15 Volunteer Tradies Helping Rural Families10:26 Why Retreats Matter for Farmers12:14 Ladies Retreats and Mental Health Support13:01 The Media, Hope, and Aussie Culture16:45 Why People Still Want to Help19:28 Community, Assimilation, and Australian Identity25:16 One Flag, One Nation, One Direction28:22 The Mission Statement for Mates at the Gate31:01 How to Nominate or Contact Mates at the Gate33:25 Why Farming Wives Carry So Much37:19 Building Support After the Retreats38:32 A Classic Bush Pub Story40:01 What Happens on the Men’s Retreats42:52 Are You Bogged Mate and Rural Mental Health44:20 How Retreat Spots Are Chosen47:10 On-Farm Projects and Rebuilding Homes52:19 Mick’s Classic Toilet Story54:15 Mates at the Gate Poem58:08 Closing

  8. Jun 5

    Part 2: The Jackson Brothers' Farm: A Testament to Faith and Family Unity

    Matt and Brad are brothers who farm in North West NSW with their brother Phil and father Peter. They run a YouTube channel “The Jackson Brothers” where they showcase day to day farming life as well as some earthmoving content with two D11 bulldozers. They recently worked through the hard task of succession planning and offer a different insight into how faith, family and farming all come together. -- This insightful interview explores the values of family, faith, and humility in farming life. The brothers share their journey, challenges, and the importance of a biblical worldview in maintaining unity and purpose. -- Key Topics * Family and faith in farming * Succession planning and family unity * The role of humility and biblical values in leadership

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Hard Ground is a podcast for farmers and rural operators willing to have the difficult conversations around succession, production, politics, all of it. Join us as we pursue honesty and find​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ the common ground we can all stand on.

Information

  • Creator
    Josh and Steph Borowski
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Josh and Steph Borowski
  • Show Website
    Hard Ground

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