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We're going behind the scenes to see and understand modern agriculture, because no matter whether you're in it or not, you probably don't know all the pieces to just how incredible, diverse and multi-layered agriculture is. We do this by uncovering the real stories, experiences and voices of modern agriculture.
Oli Le Lievre 0:00
Welcome to the humans of agriculture podcast.
Speaker 1 0:02
Hello, I'm one of your biggest fan. It's nice to be on this podcast, I'll be able to listen with my mum afterwards.
Oli Le Lievre 0:11
They are our biggest fans and I can tell you it back in our side up front. mum loves Sandberg a few weeks ago, I think Mum Robin will leave is going to love this episode.
Speaker 1 0:21
Vicki is also going to be up there as big fat as well.
Oli Le Lievre 0:25
So Bryce, I've written a little intro. You're the boy from Ballarat, who utilises creative arts to create an energy that allows people to unlock their brilliance, from intimate small group conversations to rooms of 1000s. Bryce, you've got an uncanny ability to connect with inspire and engage with an incredibly diverse group of people. I'm so excited to find out more about your journey, your background, who you are what drives you, because your pathway, your passions, they're absolutely not linear. They're unique, but they're incredible. And we are so lucky to have you as a human of agriculture. So welcome. And I hope that is an interesting little introduction for you.
Speaker 1 1:01
Look, it's really beautiful to hear. And I'm also like, so interested in what you do in terms of that storytelling piece and how we actually bring the human story of agriculture to life. And so, I mean, in a way, I think we share that like right up front, that thing around, conversations actually do matter. People connecting with one another matters. And actually, in that connection, it's more than just like lip service, or more than just box ticking exercises, that connection often produces innovation. I feel like we share that alley.
Oli Le Lievre 1:34
We do. I'm really curious to learn a little bit more about you. So if I was to get the chance to chat with Vicki Ives, what would she tell me? Who is Bryce, what makes Bryce the character he is?
Speaker 1 1:46
I feel like that line from the life of Ryan. He's just a very naughty boy. Which actually is, you know, somewhat true, because like, if I step right back, firstly, mum and dad, like we're really working class, dad came out as a 10 pound pump to Australia, from Scotland, and he's very Scottish. And we grew up, you know, in Ballarat. And I would say like one of the things that defines the family. Well, there are two things one, the Scottish side. And that sense of migration in the 50s and 60s, and needing to redefine themselves in Australia and in regional Australia. And then from my mum's side, the thing that really defines them is I save a lot of love is intergenerational rural poverty. And so like, actually, for me, one of the things that continues to inspire me provoke me and motivate me is this sense that in rural Australia, there is so much to be proud of. And so much that we can point to that we should just say is exemplary. But there are also narratives that we can't turn our back to. So like the intergenerational poverty piece is like right up there for me like where it there was a cycle between grandparents, parents, and then their children, that you can't escape around literacy and numeracy being underemployed. And so like that is really where my mum's side was coming from, and is mostly still grappling with. And so I guess that from very early on, I was able to see that there's something that's out of whack here that we have to like fight. So something that I've been grappling with is that rural Australians deserve opportunities, they deserve that chance to step into amazing jobs and amazing careers, and also deserve to break that cycle. So as I described my mom's family, that it's very difficult to step out of that intergenerational rural poverty piece. And I also believe holy like this is not a black or white issue. Indigenous Australians and non Indigenous Australians in rural places sometimes share this, you know, so young people who struggled to get to school who struggled to have breakfast in the morning, who struggled to find basic jobs who are struggling with literacy with numeracy that, you know, it was part of my experience of growing up and growing up on the wrong side of the tracks in a place like Ballarat. And so I guess that that motivates me every single day around. What can we do to ensure that every young person in rural and regional Australia has that chance to shine and to flourish? Have pathways for their skills? How do we change the narrative So young people in rural and regional Australia feel like they don't have to leave if they're talented, they can stay? Or they can boomerang in and out rural and regional Australia with their careers and their lives and they can be making rural and regional Australia better because at the core of it, I see across the nation like so much because I say opportunity, but so many long term systemic challenges. Can I work? has always been dealing with that. And so if I jump right back, and that's important to understand when you asked like, who is Bryce Ives because I had to work extremely hard Firstly, to escape that cycle that existed in the family. I was also like, completely an oddball from the beginning, you know, like, had all of these interests that were just not part of the family's narrative, you know, like the sudden interest in performance and in storytelling and Radio Broadcasting. But also, I had undiagnosed ADHD, you know, so I was extremely quick, and tenacious, and from a very young age was just building sort of projects and events and happenings that were kind of way beyond my capacity and understand. And, like, ultimately, I've tried to stay true as well to what I know, which is, in my heart, I want to try and make a better country and a better world. I'm starting from my own patch all of the time. So you're by the age of 13, or 14, I think, you know, I'd been in trouble as many times as I'd been successful. I completely like stumbled my way through the traditional educational system. But people in Ballarat will be able to recall so many examples of moments of brilliance as well, you know, like, I think about the age of 14, I staged a massive production with like, 100 young people of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream for the Ballarat to go in your festival and never rock bands and techno musicians and, you know, that sort of thing. So I was doing this kind of stuff from the age of 12 1314, in and out of the principal's office at the same time, you know, like, running my own radio programmes at the same time, and like concurrently succeeding and failing triumphantly in the traditional educational system. And so, you know, like, that all defines who I am now, like the the connection with agriculture has always been around family and friends, and growing up right on the, like the fringes of Ballarat, and so spending so much time between friends and families farms, and then stepping away from Ballarat, you know, at the age of 18, like I spent the first four or five years of that time setting up the youth radio stations in FM in Melbourne, which, when I took on the role of general manager of Siena, at the age of 19, as a country kid, you know, the person is silly enough to put up their hand and go, Yeah, I think I can do this. We had, like Hamish and Andy, as Dr. Presenters, my dear friend Stella young, from stole is one of the main presenters wildly Arleen, Sam, Ron, like all of these people who were helping to make this radio station, but I always reflect on his early, the leadership team, we were all country kids, we all came from the country. And we were all the backbone of making CFM, get on the air and get them funding that it needed and to build a system that it needed for all of these talented people to thrive. And so I think that you always carry your country values, right. And you always carry that sense of where you come from. And it was when I joined the ABC. So Howard, who was the director of radio. So I've got this great project, I'm not sure what we want to do with it. It's called haywire. But you have a look at it. And at that point, it was really an essay competition, where you'd read an essay on the air, and you were haywire. And what I was able to do with haywire was to take all of the lessons from standing up sin, and all of my, like notions of performance and theatre and storytelling, and was able to build haywire into a very substantial platform, both within the ABC sharing those stories of young people, but also through the haywire Summit, impacting the conversation and the discourse in Canberra. And then later on by building, you know, recover partners, funding and opportunities to take the ideas from haywire back into communities and back into young people. And, like, really, that was a commendation point where I think I can write back to my grass roots, and over about five years, every trip, I'm coming back to agriculture. So if you'd said to me, like at the age of 18, rice by the age of 40, you'll have had a profound connection and partnership with many key parts of Australian farming and agriculture. I would have been like you are drunk, shut up. You know, I'm getting out of country Australia. I'm, you know, like going to trailblaze and do my work elsewhere. That was the whole premise, particularly in starting up sin. That was the whole idea. get as far away from all of that stuff, right? But actually, like through haywire, you know, and through that I Have a storytelling and the summit of gathering people together. So telling the stories of young people in the gathering them together in Canberra, and thinking about change and thinking about community. Ultimately, I had to face a home truth. And the home truth was all of the change that I believed in, all of the things I wanted to see happen to rural Australia, and for young people in rural Australia, basically relied on agriculture, thriving, and for agriculture to thrive, there were some major systemic changes within that had to take place. And so that's really what brought me back into the vault, you know, so I guess always been coming at it, Ali, first and foremost, from the culture perspective, and from the people perspective, you know, like, I want young people to have jobs. And so I want agriculture to thrive, I want there to be a vibrant industry in the future. So I want it to be sustainable. And I want it to be financially successful. I want to see Australian agriculture thrive on a world stage, because that will have an impact in rural Australia and have an impact on health, on economics, on livability. And so again, you know, if you want it to thrive, then it needs to be world class. And so then you need the innovation piece. And so, it was so interesting that I kind of had to come full circle, you know, and that was through haywire to find, like, actually, this was the thing that I cared most about. And this was the thing that was most worth investing in. And that's what I've done ever since.
Oli Le Lievre 11:36
It's remarkable. And we've got so much to unpack, and I've just been sitting here, just completely consumed by what you're saying. But I really want to know, Bryce, before we jump into probably more of the what and House of what you've done. But like, for you, as a kid creating these opportunities for yourself, whether it was the young performance, or whatever it was like, what was it about yourself that you're able to create these opportunities, and not see roadblocks but see opportunity in it?
Speaker 1 12:05
Look, I don't know the exact answer to that anymore. Like, I feel like, if you'd asked me 20 years ago, I had the answer. I'm a real believer, you know, the older I get, the less I know, you know, the Wiser I get, the more I realised, the less I know, one of the narratives that we don't celebrate enough, that is in rural and regional Australia, if you are a young person who is willing to put up their hands, you will often be given the microphone. And you'll often be given the microphone, because firstly, you know, there aren't that many people who want to take hold of the microphone. And secondly, there are people who just believe in sharing the opportunities. And I can see this, like with so many young people I've worked with, like, I just come back from the valley, and I think about Joe Collins, he's a great young person. And there's just nice to see like, and Joe, you know, has got a wonderful story about how he's Mellie town, you know, like, wanted to do a silo art project, but didn't want to do it on a silo. And it was Joe as a young person who kind of got everyone on side, the Men's Shed and that the local Rotary Club and the local town committee, and said, like, we could actually do this on the general store, and it'd be a better tourist attraction for the place. And as a young person, everyone in the community back to, and you know, fast forward now Joe's like building a couple of homes, for elderly people in the town, because there's a lack of retirement homes. That's one example of like many across rural and regional Australia, where I think that if you are able to put up your hand, the opportunities are often there for you to shine. And there is all of that research only around. If you go to a small school or to go come from a rural school, you are actually more likely to take on a CEO role of a major company like in Australia, a lot of our CEOs come from small rural schools, for instance. But the question that you're really asking is, where's the tenacity around? Firstly, putting up your hat? I actually don't have the answer to that. And I think that I'm making the sound a little bit rosy, because not everyone is in that position. You know, and so I guess that's the other part of my work constantly, which is with young people. How do we teach young people to get proud in their own skin? So they can take up that opportunity? How do we make them feel confident in their ability to give something a go, and to be able to take up that leadership opportunity or that space that needs to be taken up? Because I think that when they can do it, particularly in rural Australia, there isn't that opportunity to really step up. And that's what happened with me. I think maybe there's one part of the puzzle which, like I always reflect on a lot, and that is my dad. is a bagpiper because he's Scottish, you know. And he wanted me really to play the bagpipes, and I wasn't interested in the bagpipes at all. But I became heavily involved in local theatre from a very, very young age from the age of five or six, Ollie. And it was very hard for my parents because they were like, the least theatrical least stage parents you could ever imagine. Like, we're not in that space at all. But I was driven somehow around, perform. And I think being the kid in adult theatre productions taught me a lot very quickly. So one of the things like Sophia Oliver, you know, all over the musical, you're one of the Von Trapp kids in The Sound of Music, you have to work as hard as the adults, there is no second gear for how the children and those sorts of works work, you have to learn your lines, you have to be present, you've got to be able to perform in front of us 1000 People that do that work. And so I think that in some ways, maybe having that experience where the bar had not been lowered. Because regularly we lower the bar for young people and for children, you know, you are leaders in waiting, you are children, and you are young people. So we will lower the bar. Whereas I think that actually in that environment, the bar is set for everybody. The pressure was on me as much as it was on Captain von Trapp. And Maria, you know, like, we have to hold this work together as equals not as adults as being superior. But actually as equals. And so maybe that's when I'm thinking about it out loud right now, with your question, maybe that gave me a bit of an edge. And actually, perhaps that's why I'm about what I'm on about now. You know, like, say, with all my work with young people in agriculture, I hate the whole idea that they're emerging leaders, your leaders, now you've got something to contribute to industry right now, this moment, there's no time to be emerging. You know, like, you might not have the wisdom of established leaders, but you still have something to offer. So like, maybe that's actually it, Ali? I don't know.
Oli Le Lievre 17:15
You know, I've never ever thought of that. And you being able to articulate it back into the arts as the that were the bar sets and the need to perform at a level like it makes so much sense. And, yeah, I just think, never, ever have even contemplated it. It's just probably been, I've probably just accepted that it's Oh, yet young people coming through the young leaders, emerging leaders, whatever it might be, as opposed to what yeah, what is it that they're providing today, but also then acknowledging will, the leaders of the industry, hopefully, they're always learning and evolving as well. So hopefully, they continue to emerge as well. And there is that
Speaker 1 17:48
Japanese saying around fresh eyes, you know, like, around the value of sight, young leaders having fresh eyes or fresh perspective. And so I don't want to for a second say that I discount the wisdom or the grey heads in the room, actually, they are extremely important. And in fact, we've got to do more to value our elders. And I don't mean that just in an indigenous sense, I mean, that elders of industry, full stop, you know, like people who have Trailblazers have worked hard, because each of them carry with them a library of knowledge. But the real power then, is when you combine that library of knowledge with fresh eyes, yeah, the moment you do those two things, suddenly, you've got fireworks, you know, no industry does it particularly well. But I feel like agriculture could break the cycle and be so much better at doing this than anywhere else. Because actually, we've got a passion in agriculture that no other industry has, like we wear our hearts on our sleeves. And so if we could bring that young energy and put it side by side with that knowledge more often, and really sit in partnership with it, while the world's our oyster them,
Oli Le Lievre 19:02
and I think it was Obama in one of his speeches, and he was channelling the importance of ensuring that young people are part of the conversations because his words were that young people have the energy, they have the enthusiasm, they have the optimism, to dream, like what can be and it's up to exactly what you're saying that the older people to actually go well. This is why it has been like that. And this is what we've tried. And this is the the wisdom we've gathered, but actually let's not hold back that energy and enthusiasm and let's utilise that and channel it in a way which is productive, because I completely agree if you chat to anyone in agriculture, and it comes back to people talking about all the best part of the industry, it's about the people. It's about the people, it's about the communities, it's about the people, it's the passion that's it's always people orientated.
Speaker 1 19:44
I mean, there is that that say the most dangerous words. This is how we've always done it. You know, like, but I do think we are capable of this is how we've always done it, but I'm feeling your enthusiasm I'm ready to work with you to try it again. Like, yeah, I think that understanding, of course, contexts change and ideas evolve as well. And that it might be a different generation that unlocks the answer to a question, or solves a problem. And that's really where the exciting work happens. I feel like with agrifutures, Horizon scholars programme, we've got better and better over time, and sort of encouraging that youthful Japanese fresh eyes approach, but making sure that there is a real grounding in and your job is to partner well, with people with knowledge, you know, your job is to really learn how to sit in conversation with people who have been around for a long time, so we can then forge forward a path together. To me, it's very interesting to think about this and to come back to musical theatre. I've never articulated it quite like that before, I'll lead, but I reckon there is something in it.
Oli Le Lievre 20:58
Absolutely. I'm interested, did you ever have a plan for your career? Or did it just kind of evolve as different opportunities presented itself in front of you?
Speaker 1 21:07
Ah, I think that it's evolved. I think having undiagnosed ADHD has helped me immensely over the years. Because, like, what it has meant is, as long as I am learning and feeling energised from my learning, I'm actually a very happy human being. And so, the twists and turns actually, my biography makes almost no sense by any career coach or success coach measure, right? You know, so I'd actually want to zoom out, I've had a really successful run directing major theatre festival, and events around the world, I've had a very long run as a facilitator of events around the world, a large chunk of that work has been in agriculture, and in rural industries, and in rural communities. I've read radio stations and TV stations. And I've kind of worked in all sorts of different places and lived in all different sorts of contexts. And so like, yeah, I've read in university, I've done all sorts of things, you know, in the last 25 years. So like, I think being curious, and just being willing to learn, has kept me extremely fulfilled, and has led to all sorts of places I could never have imagined. And so like, that's kind of replace any notion of a plan, there's been no plan at all. It's just been pure curiosity, and a willingness to sort of step outside of my comfort zone regularly and just sort of stepping into places that I could not possibly have imagined. From there, I'm able to also add value to my work. So like, when I come back, and I work in very traditional broadcasting, theatre, you know, festivals and that sort of space, I am so much stronger for my long term work in agriculture, I come back into those spaces, and I have a perspective that no one else has in the room. And likewise, you know, like when I'm working with agri futures, or if I'm working with the NFL, or if I'm working with the rural youth Tasmania movement, or whoever it is, my my practice in my work as an artist, and as a creator brings a whole X factor into the conversation as well. And so I think that being curious has helped me a lot. And there's been no plan at all. If anyone has like a really good approach to how to manage a plan, I would love to know, because I just can't, I don't have have that sort of mindset I'm always more interested in. Well, I'm making it sound like I don't have a plan, I have three rules that I always ask myself. So the rules are, if you come to me and say like, let's do something like let's do this project, in my head, I'll be asking myself three things. Is this worthwhile? is propositional this project worthwhile? worth my time? worth the time of others? Is it a worthwhile endeavour? The second question I ask is, Is it doable? You know, like, am I actually going to be able to deliver this? And that's not me being afraid of size and scale, but I always have that, in my mind, is this doable? And the third thing I asked myself, is, will this give me joy? Like, will I take joy out of this? And if I can't say yes, on all three questions, I just don't do it. So I can't even describe the amount of joy I have, sitting across conversations in Australian agriculture. Like I get so much joy in seeing how the different commodity groups and sectors work, how they interact, how they don't interact. Like how innovation comes about. Like I get so much joy in watching, like how people on the ground To like, absolutely dry, significant change just from their own sphere, or from their own kind of work, all of that stuff, like gives me so much joy. So again and again, like, I'm often saying yes, into those questions for agriculture, because like, the joy thing is ticked off straightaway, right? And then these are worthwhile. One is almost always ticked off. These are doable questions. You know, like, we're constantly trying to shift large paradigms, I mean, to get to $100 billion by 2030. We're constantly trying to shift large paradigms, try and change the face of workforce, try and get more young people engaged in agriculture. But trying to shift paradigms, and so that isn't doable question is often the hardest one to answer. Because like, it can be sort of doable, but it could also miss the mark. You know, that's to me, I want to be impactful, I think these are doable is also doable and impactful, the more I get older, the more I think about my work,
Oli Le Lievre 26:00
and my thinking there as well as because it's what's the level of influence and involvement that you can actually have versus what's needed from other people as well. And so that would be really an interesting conundrum for you to debate in terms of it might be doable for you to do it. But it's actually the group of people that you're chatting to. And they actually ready to the level of transformation or whatever it might be the the level of change that's required, the challenge that comes out of that I can imagine would be quite interesting.
Speaker 1 26:28
I sat down. And I did like a little bit of an exercise recently where I thought about your number of buckets of work, like so for instance, the horizons scholarship programme, I have facilitated every year since 2010. So I tried to work through that means there are about 600 Horizon scholars that I've I've worked with, over that time haywire, over a year from 2007 to 2020. There will be about, you know, that 700 800 young people that I've worked through the summit part of haywire with, and then more in other parts of the highway project, but just, you know, run that summit and facilitating something. And, you know, like then other projects, similar as well, Rural Women's Awards, I've had a lot to do with over the years and some FF projects as well, and other projects around leadership. And I think that what I realised in that desktop exercise was that I was always being very cheeky, around making sure that most of the investment of my time is in young people, not with a sense of solving today's problems, but preparing them to solve tomorrow's problems. And yeah, like playing a long game around change and evolution. And so it's great now to see like, young people who are stepping up into leadership roles, different types of mindsets and approaches. And I don't think that I was conscious that that was what I was doing at the time. But actually, now I can look into going, this is like the way you see, like you just build over time. I always think like, back around, actually, like people were coming from very traditional farming backgrounds, young people like that, kind of looking at me with this, who was this odd, colourful, strange person, you know? And then often there's a reckoning point where they go, alright, this person actually has something to offer me. And we usually then have like, an amazing jab together, you know, like, something comes from that that kind of aha moment that actually like with the idea that in my brain, I think, yeah, well, we've got to get beyond 2030, as well, don't wait, you know, like, these are going to be the people who are there being the critical roles in 2031, and 2032, and 2040. And mindset, and storytelling, and culture and collaboration and being able to think inside the box and being able to radically redesign the box, are all the things that agriculture is going to need at this critical point on Planet Earth. You know, like, we're all of these things are happening at one climate, water supply chains, drought, extremes, questions of workforce technology, or what all of these things are happening at once. What we really need is tenacious leaders who are going to be able to think inside the box and radically redesign it. And so I think I've been sneaky over time around just planting those seeds in people. And really, I don't have a curriculum or I don't have an outcome in terms of what I hope when I'm working with people, there's no like magic formula. What I'm really interested in is who are you? What are your value? And then how are you going to be the best version of yourself? How are you going to succeed? You know, that's actually the core of my facilitation work. What are your strengths? So we can build on. Because like, when you start working in that way, you will then ultimately become curious. And I think successful and impactful. It's like once you really know what you're on about, and you will find your place, you'll find what you're really good at doing. And then that's what you'll do. It's kind of like almost the opposite of what schools and universities actually like, you know, like, we're going to try and fit you into a box, know, what you need to do as five where you sit as a leader. And as a human being where you add value. Once you know that, then you can be an incredible player,
Oli Le Lievre 30:36
you find unlock the brilliance. And I think what's so interesting, and I'd say you probably have maybe little recollection of it. But back in 2018, I was up at beef, Australia's working for a business. We're a small startup, and we had a phone up for farmers to use to help manage their farm. And then the real goal was how do we help prove provenance and traceability in the supply chain, but I was at beef Australia, and Sophie Anna Simpson talk about the road show was going to begin soon for the industry consultation around well, what does that roadmap look like? And I'd never heard of Fiona Simpson, to be honest, I don't think I'd ever heard of the National Farmers Federation or anything like that. And I went down to Borrego, and was part of the day down there. And you were the facilitator. And I actually think like, I can put it down to a day, at a point in time, because it was off the back of this. On that day, specifically, you've facilitated it and gave everyone the opportunity to speak and be part of it. But then at the end of the day, you gave myself and someone called Ashley the chance to kind of do the wrap. And it was a small video went on Facebook, to be honest, probably only 100 people have ever seen it. But like, you gave me an opportunity, which then gave me the confidence to apply for the 2030 leaders programme. And to be honest, I was applying for that thinking there's not a chance I'm going to get into this, I'm kind of just going through the motions. But it was, I guess, it really was the beginning of I think for me what has put the wheels in motion and created that initial you were the peak of the hill, I just got over and then the momentum has kind of been able to develop from there and validation of, well, if you are willing to put your hand up if you are willing to get involved and utilise your passions, which for me have been so much shaped from how I grew up and just my exposure and interest in different areas of the industry. But then, underlying all of that is well how do we talk about ourselves? And how do we communicate to a much bigger audience about the role that agriculture plays in the world? And so I think, firstly, I'll just show you a thank you. But I'm sure you don't remember the day that like imagine how many different people's lives you've had this impact on bras,
Speaker 1 32:35
I can actually now remember, like, vividly beforehand, I couldn't remember. But I can now remember being embargo. And I can remember, I can absolutely remember the whole shape of that day. And I can remember that room and I can I've got quite a big connection to Gippsland you know, so like being in Gippsland constantly for me. I love Gippsland so much. And I'm also constantly feeling like there is so much more work to do and Gippsland. So like, now you're painting that picture. I'm like, Yeah, I've ever been to Margo, because like any time I've been Gippsland I feel this immense love and this immense pressure about being in Gippsland. Right. Let me reflect for a moment that I'm what I think that means in terms of my work, right? So one of the things I think I'm really odd about is that the knowledge is always in the room or in the circle. And so like, I believe in making gatherings matter, I believe in not just doing a conference or a day or a meeting as a sort of box ticking exercise, but making sure that people's time is properly maximised and conversations have happened that are substantial, but also that the knowledge is in the room. Like there would have been in that room. A number of really heavy hitters, people who have been job titles. Yeah, I can absolutely recall Tony being in the room that day. I can't remember how Tony MADI NFF CEO, I can't remember if Fiona was there or not, I
Oli Le Lievre 34:01
don't think she doesn't she wasn't mountain linear.
Speaker 1 34:04
Who knows? Yeah, but there was, you know, the BFF. I can remember Emma was there as well. Like, there were lots of people, there were lots of emerging talent leaders as well in that room. But actually, just not worrying about people's job title for a moment. And going, the knowledge is here in the room for the conversation we're going to have. And we're going to have a great conversation because actually that matters, right? And that everybody has knowledge beyond their job titles beyond their current role or their current title on their LinkedIn bio, but also think that sitting in a circle really does matter. And I often do that a lot as a facilitator, obviously, like in First Nations culture yarning circles are a big concept. But this is not exclusive to First Nations culture. You know, I'm Scottish as well and you'll find in Scottish culture Are there are gatherings where you do sit together, and in other cultures very similar as well. And so sitting in a circle, having that sense that everyone has knowledge making these moments matter, like so I think what I've learned from haywire is because everyone has a story to tell everyone has so much voice that needs to be amplified. And so like, actually, when you're facilitating providing that space for it to happen, and what was great about that NFF talking 2030 process, and why I think it has been so successful is that the NFF embody that sort of leadership that I was talking to at that point. And that was a big leap, I think, you know, for like Tony, and for Fiona, and for Telstra, and for others to kind of go, you're not going to do PowerPoint presentations, you're not going to speak at everybody for two or three hours, generally, we're going to sit together, and you're going to listen and learn as much as you're contributing. And what I think came out of that process, because we did, you know, 25 or 30 of those sessions around Australia, where people like yourself, Ali, I think a whole movement of people suddenly became engaged with the NFF engaged with these broader conversations around industry and leadership, and have sparked projects and ideas that I mean, now, you can't see how humans of Agriculture had come from that talking 2030 piece. But there was a spark, there was a moment. And I think there are a number of those sparks. And so like, I mean, it's lovely to hear that because that's really what my ultimate work is about, you know, like, I have no agenda, really I mean, that in the sense of no agenda, that's political. I'm not left and I'm not right, I sit in the middle, I've got no agenda in terms of a particular industry or a commodity group, I want everyone to succeed. I want everyone to throw, I've got no agenda around, you know, technologies or policy. Again, I want to I want to find the point, every time where people can collaborate and work together at their best ability. That's where I'm always coming from. And that requires everyone to sit well in a circle together and to learn from one another. And it's lovely to hear that I can just Yeah, I can see myself back in Warragul. Right now. At that strange hotel in town where we were.
Oli Le Lievre 37:29
It's funny, like it's, well, I'll say it's only five years ago, but it's also five years is quite a significant amount of time as well.
Speaker 1 37:36
Well, no, I mean, if I jump to that, you know, at that point, if you'd said to me that, in five years time, you'd have a two year old and a three year old, I would have been like, Absolutely not in 1000 years, and he's serious. I'm not even in a relationship. And, you know, my gender and sexuality are very fluid ideas. I can't imagine this for a second. And actually, like, the same time that I was on that road show. I met my partner, cats. Yeah, on a date one night actually do what? Oh, yeah, I think just straight up that Warragul night. I think I might have met cat, maybe that next night in Melbourne, between there and Bendigo. Right. And so like, I mean, five years is not a long time, but it is. But also that openness, like, as I was saying before, like I had no plans to have kids, I got a two year old and a three year old, who I love. I had no plans to be in a relationship. Here. Here I am in that relationship. Now. I think that that openness, that curiosity, of course, goes in all parts of life. But also like, when you're doing these journeys, it's not just about, you know, me asking everyone else to sit in a circle and be curious, I'm always doing it myself. As I'm moving around and watching things. That's the gift of the work.
Oli Le Lievre 38:58
You've opened up an area which I kind of had on the on the cards that I thought I might want to ask now. You've got me very curious. So how have kids shaped you and your work? And how have you benefited from that?
Speaker 1 39:12
Well, firstly, I think growing up like where I did, and in that context, of Ballarat, of intergenerational rural poverty, all of that stuff. I think that I really struggled for a long time, firstly, around sexuality, and life, particularly around very masculine notions, and black and white notions as well. It's like really, I think, in Ballarat, there was basically you're either gay or you're straight, you know, and if you're gay, you're puffed up. And if you're a pollster, there was something you didn't want to be, you know, like it was a very brutal time in a brutal space. And I think a lot of people from rural and regional Australia look back at those times now, and don't recognise themselves, you know, and that's something which I am very proud that I think that rural and regional Australia has shifted so much in the space of 20 or 30 years on that narrative. And that makes you feel so confident about the future. Because if you could sort of shift that narrative in a generation, imagine what you can do as human beings, right. But of course, like the whole notion that there was something else, like, for instance, being bi, was completely non existent. In my mind, it was because, you know, the whole thing about being a game was, like, really fearful, you know, I was being fooled around that idea. And around that idea of being distinct, that was just horrible, which was a poofter. So, yeah, like, I think, firstly, it took me a long time to really grapple with that, and with my own reality, right, and my own sense of who I was in the world. And then when I started to become much more comfortable with it, it probably coincided with when I was really starting to work within agriculture, as well. And so like, how, how could we? Could I be in a circle of farmers? Or is that going to be something that would be accepted and would be encouraged and welcomed. And I think that what I learned over time, and particularly during the talking 2030 work was the more truthful I became, and the more myself I became, and the more willing to just walk in my true skin, my true sense of being, the more willing other people were to work with me. And to be part of that conversation. Right? You know, so like, I can remember having this kind of fear in the talking 2030 work that was deep down. Oh, golly, gosh, Long Reach Alice Springs, I places I've worked in before, but going, like, how colourful, should I be like, What should I do? And I think I stuck to my guns, and Fiona Simpson kind of advice, you be yourself, you always have to be yourself. And actually, what I found was people met me, you know, with, with love and with collaboration, and with willingness in the way that you describe tomorrow, or that happened everywhere. And so like, it's been a huge journey to get to that point of like, loving oneself, right? And then, like falling in love when you don't expect to, and then sort of having the conversation around? Well, what about children? Like, is this something we should do? What I have found in this process is becoming a dad has literally been the best, and the worst thing I have ever done in equal measure. And I think that the truth about parenting? Yeah, and I've talked with Stephen motherland about this as well, and others, the truth about parenting is that it's actually the best and the worst thing you can ever do as a human being, you know, like, by best, I mean, in an extreme way, the most affirming the most love, you'll ever feel the most joy you'll ever feel. And by worst, I mean, you know, you are down in the mud at times, you know, you have to sacrifice so much of yourself, you have to really work hard in terms of being present and being you know, there for what is needed to be a good parent to be a present parent to be an engaged parent. And so, probably that's been multiplied by the fact that just after a voc 2020, nyan will do it was born, actually a week or two before evoke 2020. So that was in January 2020. And of course, it evoked 2020 We were on that stage at the Melbourne exhibition, centre 1000 of us there. And within two weeks, Melbourne was locked down for, you know, the best part of the next two years on and off. And so like raising babies, in that kind of extremity was absolutely the hardest thing I've ever done, you know, like trying to stay optimistic about the world and having a, you know, a newborn who's seven or eight weeks old. And if you jump back to March 2020, Ollie, like that real sense that there of the impending doom that was there at that particular time. I think we forget now, that in that kind of window of March 2020, we were texting and calling one another with the sense that a lot of us were going to die, you know, overlook and many people did as well. But that sense that yeah, this was just catastrophic while we were entering into, so I think that like becoming apparent at this time, has completely altered and shaped who I am and how I think about the world. It's shaped how I facilitate I find now I am so much more emotional as a facilitator Did I have a voice, it used to be a job that I do with love and joy and presence, I basically at the end of every thing that I facilitate now, like, go out and try afterwards. Like, it is like a set of conversations around sustainability and circular economy, with all the RDC 16 of them in the room around some projects they want to invest in, you know, that afterwards, I just step outside and I have a cry, because I can't not think about my three year old and my two year old. And also can't not take joy out in watching people work well together in those conversations in a very different way to when I was single nonparent. It's, I mean, I don't do it in front of people all day, like I do it, you know,
Oli Le Lievre 45:52
when you get off to the side?
Speaker 1 45:55
Yeah, so that's kind of very strange as well. I mean, I guess it's also that thing around humility and learning, I think being a parent, you really learn, you can't, you can't do everything all the time. And so I'm constantly adjusting in my presence, and in my way of facilitating as a result. And then I just have this three year old who is like, literally 100% me, like she is so mean. And I kind of thought when we're going into this, that we would get a nice mixture of me and my partner, I was like, okay, you know, that'd be lovely, like a mixture of us would be nice, but the three year old is like 100% meat. So that means for anyone who knows me really well, we've got our council got our hands full. But yeah, I mean, I wouldn't change any of this for the world. And I'm so happy that I kind of got to that point in life, where I learned to love myself. And I learned to be my truth, because like that actually allowed me then to then be open to this next moment where I found my person. And that was, you know, again, I think if we'd had this conversation 10 years ago, I didn't see it happening. I didn't see it as being possible,
Oli Le Lievre 47:15
was amazing. What can happen in five years. Brian, thank you so much for sharing everything, your whole story, I guess, the story up into this part with us? I do have one question. I think your answer will be really interesting because you live in Brave this stuff, and you would have done it 10 times over. But for our audience who haven't had the chance to be in the room, when you might have talked to it. If you had the chance to head down the road and chat to your 10 students in a metropolitan school? What would you tell them about the opportunities in agriculture and why they should consider it as a career?
Speaker 1 47:47
I mean, the first argument I would make is, are you interested in a better tomorrow? Are you interested in climate change, and you're interested in sustainability? Are you interested in making a better world, and if you are interested in those things, the place where you could have the most impact would be in agriculture. And then in agriculture, the key responsibility is around feeding every single person and clothing every single person and supporting life. That's the key responsibility of agriculture. But agriculture also holds the keys to the doors that open up so many other conversations, particularly around, what does the sustainable future look like? What are we going to do to best look after this planet, and that this is the opportunity for young people to be part of shaping the future? And so that would be my first argument, right? But you know, like, if I then started getting into conversations with them at a deeper level, every single bright spark that I work with for an agriculture when they graduate with a degree, these are inundated with really good job offer, you know, like with job offers that don't look like what you expect them to look like. So it is about also, what do you think the narrative of agriculture is? If you're a YouTube person in Footscray, do you think the agriculture or the narrative of agriculture is, you know, dry Paddick, an old farmer, a drought? Is that what you think the narrative is? No, there are jobs like that you can't even imagine or like, fully, like, comprehend right now. So you can be flying drones, you can be working in labs, you could be working in agriculture, you could be working in precision ag, you could be a food scientist, you could be working in vertical farming in the city. You're flying drones, you're designing aquaponics. You could be working as an agricultural economist, or you could be working in forestry, fisheries or supply chain or you could be working in genetics, the lists go on and on and on. And so I think that actually that, that big picture. This is an industry that's worth being part of, because actually, it is about the future of the planet. Secondly, this is an industry that you could help shape right now. And then thirdly, there are jobs for everyone in this industry, you know, like storytellers like you and I design it the list goes on and on accountant, IT specialist data specialists, engineers, you know, like, all the one of the horizon spellers. Last year was the only agricultural engineer graduates in the whole of Australia, we only had one last year, you know, but we need people who can design and develop machinery, equipment, who can work hand in hand with farmers around specifically tailored, agricultural, you know, platforms and systems that are going to work in our in our unique context. So there was only one last year because like,
Oli Le Lievre 51:04
Is that pretty much Sorry, that was an agricultural engineer. There's only one graduate in Australia
Speaker 1 51:07
one last year, only one last year horizon, Scotland? You know, so like, for me, the possibilities are endless. The challenge that we have, is that the you 10 students, and when you use the analogy before around in a metropolitan location, let's not kid ourselves for a moment, this is not just a metropolitan conversation, the where does the peri urban fringe sit in this conversation? And what about the big regional centres, because if you're injured longer if you're willing, or if you're in Ballarat, or if you're on the Gold Coast, or if you're in Newcastle, or if you're in Cannes or MCI or wherever, chances are, you are probably not connected with agriculture at all, as well. And there is a whole barrel of potential workforce potential for your possibilities in those places. So this is not just a city versus country thing. It's really getting to the core of a whole lot of people who are not seeing the possibilities and a narrative that's not connecting with them. And we also know that we need our best and brightest in this space. So, you know, get me out to those attempts, let me have them place like, like, let's get on the road and have those conversations because everything that I'm saying, I fundamentally believe to be true. And I also believe will for these your turn, be game changers, if they can enter into industry, if they can see a pathway in, it's going to be an industry that they love. We just need to find that door or that gateway to get them in in the first place.
Oli Le Lievre 52:51
So a follow up question on that, Bryce, it doesn't have to be hugely wordy or anything. is the gateway to that through education in the curriculum? Or is it literally just awareness and exposure? You think by showing them and chatting and conversing about what's possible?
Speaker 1 53:09
And you ask them, like a novel already answered. So probably the thing that I lose sleep over at night, this is the question, I lose sleep over at night. You've got two sides of that coin. So firstly, the side of schools and education after working, and leading, probably in in in an executive role in an international university for five years, the challenges around curriculum being relevant and industry engaged in keeping up with the innovation I just emits right before you build into it. The challenges of the school system, the secondary school system, resourcing allocation, and in rural and regional Australia, like basically schools struggling to keep on with just the basic job of running a school, right. So like, firstly, I think we don't have anywhere near the kind of footprint that we need good agriculture, to be properly infiltrating the school system well, and the curriculum, of course, struggles to keep up with the reality, you know, like the reality of the innovations that are happening, and the reality of industry. And so like, there are so many good people who are working in this space, but they're doing the best job they can do in a set of broken system. The school system is a broken system. The education system is not working for young people, and it's not working for industry. And it's not working for society. So we're frustrated in agriculture. That not enough is happening in this space. But these are a set of broken systems. And we haven't yet come up with a solution to work within these broken systems better, right. On the flip side, you can't be what you can't see. I absolutely agree with that. And do dominant narratives are hard to kill off. And so like, there is a narrative that has existed for a long time around. Farming is hard work, the struggling farmer, dying farms die in rural communities. And that narrative, like, echoes throughout society and Australian society in major ways. And at times, we dial up that narrative as well, because like, it's important politically, to dial it up. And it's important, a critical moment, what we haven't landed at all, is the notion that that narrative can be true. And it exists from time to time, or it exists a lot of the time alongside another narrative, which is true, which is that agriculture is also an industry that's full of possibilities and full of jobs. And so like, how do we get to a point where we have those two things sitting side by side? Well, because I don't want to like for a moment, pretend that there is not harsh and hard realities that exist in agriculture and in rural industries, because that would be doing a huge disservice to so many people who are facing hardship at critical moments of crisis, or needed assistance, right? That when that narrative becomes dominant, and that young people don't see anything else, we have a problem. And so like, I think that the two sides here, one around the system itself, one of the questions that I've asked you constantly my mind, is, are there ways that we could just work so much more efficiently, to get all the people who are interested in agriculture and education, just working smarter, not harder together? In a broken system? You know, like, are there ways that we can just create better connections between our own people just to make the education offerings, so much more solid? Because I think there's a lot of reinventing the wheel and replicating that space? So, you know, we need to have a gathering of just ask the question, can we work smarter, not harder on the education tract? Because we're not going to be able to reinvent the system, because it's a broken system. On the other side, it's really, how do we have a complex narrative that, you know, doesn't do a disservice to some of the realities, but can also like dial up some of the possibilities. And that would require all of us to also give a little bit away as well. Like, we have to all be willing to sort of shift in our language and our approach to be able to open up that sense that, uh, you tend to get excited about agriculture. And it's so much more Ollie than just, like, Let's bust them out to a far, let's get them to do a week of work experience, there's so much more than that. It has to be, do young people feel excited about STEM and learning their science really well. So they feel excited about design and engineering and seeing that that fits in with agriculture, it has to be, as I was saying, Before, understanding there are so many other career paths that intersect with this industry. And then at the moment, the narrative in our minds, of course, is far. And that is important, but it's just one part of the future of agriculture. So how do we see that whole story? That's what I lose sleep over at night. Because of course, I feel like if we don't win this battle, then I can't be optimistic about the future. And I just see it as a battle right now, because we are competing against very well resourced industries, who are data driven, and are really good at attracting the best and the brightest talent. So we've got to somehow find the narrative that's going to start to build agriculture up as that possibility that place where you need to be.
Oli Le Lievre 58:56
Well, Bryce, we're very lucky to have you as as part of that, and involved in so many of the conversations. But I just want to say thank you so much for taking the time to sit down for a chat, because I've really enjoyed it, I've got a lot out of it. And you've now sent my brain into thinking. So now I know where my afternoons go.
Speaker 1 59:17
Look, I want to say thank you for you. This podcast regulators gives me so much joy in hearing stories of people. And like reminding myself as well, again and again and again and again, that actually, like the biggest change happens by someone just putting their hand up to do something. Yeah. And I hear it again and again on this podcast, you know, like this problem happened, or I then met this kind of fork in the road and I chose to go this way or go that way. And from that my business emerged or, you know, like I learned this valuable lesson and I feel like from the stories from the humans of agriculture, We are we learned so much we learned so much resilience about life, but also we get to see strategy in action. You know, like actually people getting on and doing things and thank you so much for it. I love it so much.
Oli Le Lievre 1:00:16
Thank you Bryce.
Unknown Speaker 1:00:18
You
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