Sam Fryer

Finding a place to call home for the next generation of farmers

Queensland farmer Sam Fryer has lived experience building a future in agriculture, and is happy to talk about it.

Sam knows how difficult it can be to get a foothold on the land. Succession gave his family an opportunity to get started, and they have since built their cattle business near Hughenden.

His podcast, A Place to Call Home, was born from Sam’s desire to learn how he could become a primary producer. By sharing stories of people who have taken different pathways into agriculture, he began exploring the challenges facing the next generation.

Those conversations have grown into something bigger. Sam wants to understand how agriculture can create realistic pathways for the next generation, whether taking over the family farm, starting from scratch, leasing land, building equity or finding another way into the industry.

His research, “Thinking outside the box: New pathways for the next generation”, will explore how other countries are tackling the same challenge.

For Sam, succession remains critical to agriculture’s future, but is only part of the conversation. He wants to investigate innovative ownership, finance, leasing, partnership and succession models supporting both first-start producers and those coming through family farming businesses.

Through research in Canada, Ireland and France, Sam hopes to identify practical ideas that could create more pathways for Australia’s next generation of primary producers.