Episode 183 - Scaling from Scratch: The Rise Behind Nala Agribusiness and Red Dirt Lamb with Lachlan & Anna Sutton

There comes a point when the late nights, the mental load, and the constant pressure make you wonder... how much longer can we keep doing this? 

Lachlan and Anna Sutton hit that point. Burnt out. Leasing land. Bucketing grain by hand while raising three young kids. 

Then something shifted. 

In this episode, their FOA Accountability Coach, Hayley Grosser speaks with Lachie and Anna, a couple who, in just 18 months, scaled from those long, heavy days to owning their first property, finishing over 20,000 lambs a year, launching a vertically integrated meat brand, Red Dirt Lamb, and holding a bold vision to build a $100M agribusiness that revitalises rural communities. 

But this story isn’t just about scale. It’s about identity, grit, and the price of transformation. 

We dive into:  

• how they scaled from $200K turnover to multi-million dollar growth in less than two years; 

• Anna’s leap from night shifts and nappies to launching a thriving farm-to-fork brand; 

• the cashflow squeezes, mental burnout, and mindset shifts they had to overcome with the FOA community in their corner; and 

• why their next chapter is about more than lambs on grain - it’s about building a team, backing people, and reigniting regional towns. 

This is for anyone who’s been told it’s too hard to start from scratch. For the couple feeling the strain of burning both ends. For the farmer who lies awake wondering, “Is this all there is?”.  

Lachie and Anna show us that it’s not just about working harder. It’s about changing the game, letting go of the rules, and building a farm that works for your life, not against it. 

To learn more about their story or to order their pasture-raised lamb direct from the farm, head to reddirtlamb.com.au. 

Thank you Lachie and Anna for reminding us that the strongest farms aren’t built on perfect conditions, but on heart, hard conversations, and a refusal to give up. And to Hayley, for not just guiding the story, but offering the right challenge and believing in them before the results were visible. 

Until next time, all the very best! 

 
Jeremy Hutchings and the Farm Owners Academy Team  

P.S. This is exactly where Lachie and Anna’s breakthrough began. The February 2026 TOP Producers Workshop was the circuit breaker that helped them shift from burnout and uncertainty to clarity, growth, and momentum.  

If you’re craving that same reset, time off the tools, a clear business direction, and a room full of farmers who get it, now’s the moment. 

👉 Early bird pricing is about to end, grab your ticket here before it’s gone.