GRDC in Conversation: James Hillcoat

James Hillcoat didn’t grow up on a farm. His journey began cycling five miles to a Lincolnshire farm in England, evolved through painting houses and teaching sailing in France, and eventually led him to Australian grain consulting via Marcus Oldham. Today, as a Partner at Pinion Advisory, his work sits at the intersection of profit, people and perspective. In this conversation, James shares what truly drives high-performing farm businesses, why communication is the hidden lever in family enterprises, and how emotion, succession and robotics will shape the next era of Australian grain. This episode explores: ● What separates the top 20% of grain businesses ● Why technical skill is only 30% of modern consulting ● Emotion in family farming – and how to harness it productively ● Lessons from the Country Fire Service on leadership under pressure ● The succession challenge facing Australian agriculture ● What “Consultant 3.0” looks like Listen to more episodes on the GRDC website: https://grdc.com.au/news-and-media/audio GRDC Project Code: HAG2507-001SAX More information: James Hillocat, Pinion Advisory: https://www.pinionadvisory.com/ https://grdc.com.au/events/past-events/2025/03/grdc-farm-business-update,-online-should-i-own-trucks-assessing-the-commercial-benefit GRDC in Conversation is a limited series GRDC Podcast. It features in-depth interviews with growers and other experts in the grains industry who share their expertise, knowledge and experiences by exploring their personal stories, history, influences and motivations. The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of GRDC, the interviewees’ employer, institution or other associated parties. More info: https://grdc.com.au Subscribe: https://grdc.com.au/grdc-subscriptions For LIVE Events go to https://grdc.com.au/events/list Get the latest from GroundCover: https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/ --- Grains Research and Development Corporation https://grdc.com.au Subscribe to GRDC communications: https://grdc.com.au/grdc-subscriptions GRDC events https://grdc.com.au/events/list GroundCover - GRDC's news publication https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/ GRDC podcast https://grdc.com.au/news-and-media/podcasts GRDC socials https://www.facebook.com/theGRDC https://www.instagram.com/thegrdc/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/thegrdc/ https://x.com/theGRDC