The 2027 pilot program

CourageousFarms

INSPIRING YOUNG PEOPLE TO TAKE ACTION AND UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF TIME, DELIVERED THROUGH REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE AND INVESTMENT LEARNING.

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COURAGEOUS FARMS

THE 2027 PILOT PROGRAM

Courageous Farms is built around a simple idea. Every farm can produce two harvests: food for the table and a future for the next generation.

Young people around the ages of 12 to 14 are at a pivotal stage in life. They're starting to test their independence and imagine what their future might look like. Courageous Farms gives that growing independence somewhere positive to go, helping them take responsibility, build confidence and begin acting on something of their own.

They don't need to have their future figured out. The aim is to help them discover what interests and inspires them, and to give them the confidence to take their first steps towards it.

Through regenerative agriculture and a real livestock investment, young people don't just learn ideas. They live them.

  • 6–8Young people in the pilot
  • 12–14Years old, roughly
  • 8Stages, alongside school

The program

TWO LAYERS, ONE PROGRAM

Layer One — What the young person experiences

They accept the challenge to save, invest their own money, explore different pathways and learn from people who've pursued something meaningful in their lives and succeeded. Through those stories and experiences, they find inspiration, discover what interests them, choose a goal and take real steps forward. Along the way, they build confidence and start to see what's possible for them.

Layer Two — What they learn through the experience

As they earn, save and invest their own money through a real livestock trade, they begin to understand how money works: assets, costs, income, risk and compounding. At the same time, they develop patience, judgement, resilience and an understanding of the consequences of real decisions.

The point isn't to make money the goal. It's about using real experience to build confidence, capability and understanding that can stay with them long after the program.

The 2027 pilot program

THE COURAGEOUS JOURNEY

Courageous Farms inspires young people to build confidence, understand money and discover what’s possible for their future. Designed to fit naturally around school, sport and family life, the program unfolds through eight six-week stages, with something new to discover every fortnight.

Through personal video conversations, check-in emails, inspiring challenges and farm-based Anchor Days, young people turn learning into real experiences.

  1. First Six-Week Block | 1 December to Mid-January

    Earn & Save

    Take on the challenge of earning and saving $300 while discovering the value of money and responsibility.

  2. Second Six-Week Block | Mid-January to End of February

    Stay the Course

    Build discipline, patience and determination to achieve your first financial goal.

  3. Third Six-Week Block | March to Mid - April

    Become an Investor

    Turn savings into a real livestock investment while learning about assets, liabilities, risk and return.

  4. Fourth Six-Week Block | Mid-April to End of May

    Anchor Day 1 | Compounding & The Time Advantage

    Discover how time, small actions and compounding can create extraordinary opportunities

  5. Fifth Six-Week Block | June to Mid-July

    The Two Mountains

    Understand the importance of a time horizon, financial foundations and the freedom to pursue your dreams.

  6. Sixth Six-Week Block | Mid-July to End of August

    Get Inspired, Aim Higher

    Explore inspiring people, their journeys and achievements, and discover what’s possible for you.

  7. Seventh Six-Week Block | September to Mid-October

    Anchor Day 2 | Set Your Goal, Build Your Pathway

    Turn inspiration into action by setting a meaningful goal and creating a pathway to achieve it.

  8. Eighth Block | Mid-October to End of October

    Courageous Table | Giving Thanks

    Recognise those who have supported your journey, culminating in The Courageous Table — a celebration of gratitude and achievement.

MORE THAN A PROGRAM

Courageous Farms isn’t about telling young people what they should become. It’s about inspiring them to discover their own path, recognise their potential and develop the confidence to pursue their dreams.

Because the greatest outcome isn’t simply what they achieve today — it’s what they believe they can achieve tomorrow.

Start early

THE TIME ADVANTAGE

The greatest advantage a young person can have isn't money, it's time. They've got decades ahead of them, and they don't need to know yet exactly what they want to do in life. What matters is starting to understand that small decisions made early and repeated can build into something much bigger.

Saving a little money, developing a skill, finding inspiration, building confidence, practicing discipline. These things may look small today, but over time they compound. Money can compound, but so can knowledge, skills, habits, confidence and experience.

Financial understanding is an important part of that advantage. Learning early how to save, invest, understand risk and put productive assets to work gives young people time to learn while the stakes are still low.

The aim isn't to have everything figured out at this age. It's to start building a foundation early, so that when they do discover something they genuinely want to pursue, they're ready to act with confidence, greater freedom and more choices about the life they want to build.

THE TWO MOUNTAINS

Mountain One — Build Your Base

Mountain One is building your foundation: real skills, confidence and understanding money and how it can work for you. Saving, investing, compounding, learning risk while the stakes are low.

That effort is aimed toward a time horizon where you’ve got enough for basic financial breathing room. That’s where life becomes more about choice than necessity.

Mountain Two — Back Your Dream

From there, when something genuinely calls you, that’s Mountain Two: the freedom and courage to pursue what matters to you.

You don’t need to know your second mountain yet, but you should know there is one.

Two mountains joined by a winding trail. A flag marks financial breathing room on the first summit, and a hiker stands with raised arms on the second summit.

From the founder

Why I created Courageous Farms

My journey started at eight with a small livestock trade. Through my early teens, I worked with livestock, learned to save, took on responsibility and started a contracting business. Around 12, Sidney Kidman’s story became an inspiration: proof that someone could start with very little and build something extraordinary over a lifetime. At sixteen, with my father’s backing, I bought my first farm. Droughts, debt, mistakes, hard work and calculated risks followed, each bringing lessons I could only learn through experience. Starting young gave me time to learn, adjust and let hundreds of small decisions compound. That is the opportunity behind Courageous Farms: someone to see a young person’s potential, believe in them and create space for it to emerge. Farming was my pathway; theirs may be completely different. We are here to walk beside them for part of their journey, helping them discover what matters to them and use their time deliberately to build a future of their own.

Read our story

Growing together

Parents remain central

Growing independence starts with strong connections.

Courageous Farms gives young people space to discover their strengths, explore what matters to them and take responsibility for their next steps. Real experiences, practical challenges and conversations with mentors support that journey, while keeping family connection at its heart.

Parents are kept informed and involved throughout the program. Clear communication at every stage helps families understand what their young person is working towards and how they can support them along the way.

Looking ahead

What success looks like

A young person who begins to see a future they can shape.

They do not need to become a farmer or make the biggest return. We want them to discover what interests them, recognise their own potential and have the confidence to act on it.

Learning to earn, save and invest gives that confidence a practical foundation. They begin to understand how money works, why discipline matters and how starting early can create more freedom to pursue what they care about.

Success might be a goal they chose for themselves, money saved towards it or a conversation about their future they would not have started before. A better understanding of themselves, and a first step of their own.

The 2028 program

Be part of
what comes next.

Register interest for 2028