Pulling the future towards you with Gus Balbontin

Head Shepherd

Head Shepherd
Pulling the future towards you with Gus Balbontin
Sep 27, 2026 Season 2026 Episode 300
Mark Ferguson

Join us to celebrate our 300th episode! 

For anyone lucky enough to attend LambEx this year, Gus Balbontin was one of our favourite speakers. So, when he agreed to come on for our special 300th episode, we were beyond excited.

The messages Gus shared during his talk have stuck with many. He challenged (and succeeded) in getting us to think differently and to question any long-standing assumptions we'd had. 

Gus grew up in sheep country in Patagonia before leaving Argentina at the age of 17 because of "a healthy disregard for the status quo". By 22, he'd dropped out of university, hitchhiked across South America, started his first business and landed his dream job at Lonely Planet, giving him a front-row seat to the disruption that came alongside the internet and ensuing technology boom. 

These days, Gus is an investor, founder, advisor, and speaker, working across startups, AI, robotics, 3D-printed wheelchairs, and climate technology. Gus doesn’t claim to know exactly what the future will look like. Instead, he argues that we should be getting better at adapting to whatever comes next. 

He talks about why successful businesses and farms can become comfortable with systems that have worked for years, which is why disruption often looks ridiculous before it becomes obvious. 

His advice is to stop waiting for the future to become clear and start playing with it now. Try something unfamiliar. Follow a new idea down a rabbit hole. Make a small experiment. See what happens.

We couldn't have asked for a better guest for our 300th episode. We hope this gives you a chance to think about staying relevant, challenging assumptions and being willing to rethink things that have worked well for a long time. 

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. 

We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: info@nextgenagri.com.

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out the MSD range HERE

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Episode Artwork Pulling the future towards you with Gus Balbontin 39:41 Episode Artwork The changing role of breed societies with John Yates 48:52 Episode Artwork From the shearing shed to sheep genetics with Reece Michelle 23:59 Episode Artwork Maximising eating quality and profitability in sheep with David Packer 37:31 Episode Artwork Redefining the Corriedale with Peter Blackwood 34:58 Episode Artwork Questioning tradition in Merino breeding with Dom Hallam 40:51 Episode Artwork Ferg’s thoughts on putting a dollar value on genetic change 25:32 Episode Artwork Data driven sheep breeding at Hannaton with Jonno Hicks 40:37 Episode Artwork How hoof overgrowth impacts bone structure and long-term lameness with Laura Deeming 35:21 Episode Artwork Adding more value to every wool clip with Willy McSkimming 41:53 Episode Artwork Using genomics to pick better replacement heifers with Geoff Hayes 28:03 Episode Artwork The science of farming with Pete Fennessy 40:06 Episode Artwork The process of precision sheep farming with Joshua Barton 46:11 Episode Artwork Building resilient farming businesses to keep up with global demand, with Richard Green 46:56 Episode Artwork Growing grass for sheep, stadiums and everything in between with George Fell 45:54 Episode Artwork Turning grass into money - this time with cattle, with Joe Kerin 47:00 Episode Artwork Forty years at Wairere Romneys with Simon Buckley 1:00:17 Episode Artwork Refugia, resistance testing, and the future of worm management with Chloe Frank 29:52 Episode Artwork Data driven sheep breeding with James Trowbridge 17:03 Episode Artwork Genomic data management and the future of breeding values with Dan Garrick 55:59 Episode Artwork Lessons learned from LambEx with Jane Kellock 26:22 Episode Artwork How to run a farm business your bank trusts, with Matt Hood 1:01:53 Episode Artwork Feet, finances and faster genetic gain with Chad Taylor from Mumblebone 43:25 Episode Artwork Turning lamb data into profit with Will Barton 47:46 Episode Artwork What practical mental health support looks like in the shearing industry with Carol Mudford 44:36