#33: Paving your own way and continuing a legacy with Callan Solari from Tropical Vets

Welcome to Episode 33 of A Place To Call Home Podcast.

G'day and welcome to another episode of A Place to Call Home podcast, on today's episode we chat to Callan Solari from Tropical Vets. We cover a range of topics in this conversation.

Throughout this Episode we chat about.
- His connection to Brahmans
- Continuing a family legacy
- Becoming a Vet
- Becoming a partner in his vet practice at an early stage in his career
- Teaming up with his brother and friends to create Tripple E Brahmans

You can find out more about Callan and Tropical Vets below
Exceptional care for all kinds of pets - Tropical Vets
Tropical Vets (@tropicalvets) • Instagram photos and videos
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This episode is brought to you by,
Australian Brahman Breeders Association
Australian Brahman Breeders Association
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Transcript

Sam Fryer: , [00:00:00] Calum, thank you very much for jumping on A Place To Call Home podcast.

Look, for those who don't know you, Can you give a brief introduction of yourself? Where do you live? What do you do? And you can throw in some family stats too. I know you're a proud dad. 

Callan Solari: Yeah, uh, Sam, thanks for inviting me onto the podcast. Big fan. Yeah, for those who don't know me, I'm Callan Solari.

I, my house is in Ingham. Uh, it's probably debatable where I live, I might spend 50 percent of my time at home at this point in time. But yeah, definitely, uh, home blocks in Ingham and by day I'm a veterinarian, uh, working with Tropical Vet Services, of which I'm a shareholder or part owner. And I suppose Tropical Vets encompasses three specific businesses being Tropical Vets, uh, where we're a mixed practice dotted along the North Tropical Coast from, from Ayr up to Atherton.

We then have Generate Reproduction of which Tropical [00:01:00] Vets is a major shareholder and I'm a founding shareholder of Generate which is a, a reproductive, bovine reproduction or large animal reproduction company based in Charters Towers, and I know you've had Chris on the podcast previously and then Tropical Vets Properties, which is essentially a commercial entity that's yeah, it's probably something that's the most recent.

So that's, yeah, that's what I do by day. And on the side, I'm a, Passionate ramen breeder. Uh, we've got our stud at home, XMS Ramens and, uh, and also a part owner, uh, with another stud, Triple E based out here at Prairie. 

Sam Fryer: Mate, you, you're a busy man. And yes, yes, that's right. We are, we are at Prairie.

We're at the Prairie Pub, the famous Prairie Pub. It's it's, it's, if you haven't been here before, you might have to pull in if you ever come past, but look You come from one of the wettest parts in the country. I must say, Ingham. And you've come out here to dry yourself out, I think. Because it hasn't stopped raining there since the start of the year.

But, I want [00:02:00] to take it back a bit. Is that where you grew up? Did you grow up in Ingham? Is that where your family is originally from? 

Callan Solari: Yeah, mate. So, Born and bred in Ingham. Both of my parents were from Ingham. You know, they're, Quite a, quite a cool story. They're, they're high school sweethearts. Got it.

Yeah, I've had me quite young. I'm the oldest of four. And so, spent my, yeah, majority of my primary school, all of my primary school years in and around Dingham. Uh, we, yeah, we had, the family had a Fairly large fertiliser and ag supplies business as well as a, um, farming machinery business, moved across to, to, to charters when I finished primary school back in 2002. So, yeah, Ingham's, Ingham's home and, to be honest, never really, you know, Saw myself going back there permanently once I got, got across to uni and But yeah, it's, it's funny how life, uh, pans out and, [00:03:00] Happy, yeah, happily based in Ingham Kelly and the kids, I really settled there.

So, we've got three, three young kids, seven, five and three and I suppose get this out early. Massive shout out to my wife. There's absolutely no one else in the world that could be married to me, I don't think. And, uh, she's a significant part of what we're achieving as a, as a family. But yeah, so basically a really good place for the kids to grow up and balance a bit of.

The benefits of a rural lifestyle, but also being close to town so we can, you know, those education and opportunities and sporting opportunities, et cetera, as they get older. 

Sam Fryer: Touching on schooling, Colin, where did you go to school? 

Callan Solari: Yeah, so as I said, primary school was, uh, in Ingham and then yeah, we, as a, as a family business we had a, a home base for our, for our Brahman stud and, and leased some various properties, which I think we might chat about later.

Yeah, so I went to, Yes, small school in a little town called Trebonne until grade three or four and then [00:04:00] into town To a bigger school and when I finished primary school it coincided with us Venturing a little further west out to a place called Lansdowne And so I headed across the boarding school in Charters I'm a proud past student of Colombo Catholic College.

I had a fantastic time there as a boarder. Yeah, I think boarding school really suited my personality and behaviours, I suppose. I think I flourished in that set routine. Which I think a lot of young people do. Men in particular do. Yeah, I think just living with a group of mates and playing sport and yeah, I had a fantastic time at school.

Uh, and so yeah, finished, finished schooling. 2007, I believe. And then across to uni straight away. 

Sam Fryer: Mate, you I know, I think your schooling probably a bit different. I enjoyed school, but I enjoyed the boarding part, not so much the schooling part when boarding school, so I think it sounds like to get into VET you must have done [00:05:00] pretty well at school, uh, to get into VET, cause were you, you would have been one of the first or second to get into VET?

Callan Solari: Yeah, so, yeah, VET school at JCU was, uh, was still in its infancy, I suppose. I was in the third intake. So the graduating class of 2012 we were the third batch of vets to come out of JCU. And a wonderful time in my life as most people who've been to uni would probably agree with. But, um, I think being a part of JCU Vet School in its early days, we had such a sense of unity or family.

We were a really tight knit group, particularly the first three or four cohorts. The class sizes were small enough that we just lived over at Vet School on our own. And you know, you spend five years with these people, it was great. It was a terrific time. Don't get me wrong, there was some, some tough times and studying, studying vet school is, yeah, it's certainly not easy.

But I suppose going back to [00:06:00] those boarding school days I think that study routine Really helped set me up for, you know, to hopefully have some success at tertiary education level. So, yeah, brilliant time. 

Sam Fryer: Mate, I'm going to come back to VET and you've got, and what, what progressed out of there, obviously.

And it's a bloody cracking story how you ended up at Tropical Vets. But you've also got a really interesting family story and family history. And, and I, I just, and especially around the Brahmin breed. And you mentioned just before that your grandad was a, was the one that started the Brahmin stud, and he was, he's a proud Brahmin breeder.

Is, is that correct? Can you tell us a bit more about that? 

Callan Solari: Yeah, so, my family's history in, in the Brahmin breed stretches back to the, to the mid to early 80s. When my dad was in his teenage years, and my grandad Yeah, he's, uh, born in Italy, an Italian migrant, based in Ingham you know, with a, a set of, an ag business, ag supply business, and yeah, they bought the home place, which was called Locklea, [00:07:00] which is you know, the original name of our stud, Locklea Brahmins and yeah, mate, they got into the Brahmins I think it's quite a wonderful story, a man from Italy, getting into the Yaks.

And so they chipped away, you know, like, I suppose like a lot of us are right now, they had a primary business and revenue stream from something other than the stud game, while they built the herd. And continually improving their genetics until we the point where those ag businesses were, were sold off and, and the focus then turned primarily to, to the Brahman, Brahman breeding and Brahman stud game.

And that coincided, you know, with us shifting to some, some bigger places. So as a kid, we had, we had the home home base where my grandparents lived and leased a couple of places around town as, as that herd grew. And then, [00:08:00] um, you know, that transition into a, into a significant lease on Mungala station.

But yeah, just outside of Ingham and then onto the lands down as well. So yeah, all, all lease, Um, as, as we were growing and you know, I was, I was a kid. So, you know, the ins and outs of the business are hard to recollect. But dad and mom and dad were, I suppose, that business structure with my grandparents.

And then my parents were, you know, I remember Sam Spina coming to our house as a kid. I think he's still with Q Rider. Yeah, he's still, 

Sam Fryer: he's a bit of a legend in Q Rider. Yeah, there 

Callan Solari: you go. So yeah, I mean, I remember him. As a really young fella and and that was when mum and dad were buying into the partnership.

Sam Fryer: Yep 

Callan Solari: with my grandparents and obviously That long term plan was to take on that that stud breeding game so yeah, and the move to, the move to Lansdowne was a significant [00:09:00] step for the family, shifting away from the home base and, you know, going from a 2, 000 acre coastal block to, I think it's about 8, 000 acres between Woodstock and Calcium there.

Yeah, there was two reasons for that. One was to expand that bull breeding enterprise. And dad had a pretty interesting idea about having a bull supermarket. So we had a fair amount of paddock bulls and, but they weren't, they weren't all from, you know, they weren't all bred at home. Had some bulls from other locations or from other studs.

Fair to, fair to, uh, what we feed in paddock and molasses based supplement so grass raised herd bulls to give bulk buyers the opportunity to look at, you know, 200 bulls from a variety of places all in one place. This was a pretty unique and cool idea. And the other reason we moved to across to Lansdowne as, you know, the early 2000s, uh, yeah, early 2000s and that LiveX game was starting to pick up in and around Townsville, and [00:10:00] so we, yeah, we went there to build a LiveXport facility as well.

So we did a couple of boats, we did a, we did a goat boat, I vividly remember that and a dairy boat as well, so, yeah. 

Sam Fryer: Callum, sadly, you lost your father at a young age. And, like, I'm grateful for you mentioning and talking about this. I know it can be a tough topic to talk about. But, how did that affect the family business?

And what was the outcome of the family business following on from that devastating event? 

Callan Solari: Yeah, mate. Yeah, not ideal to talk about. Lose your, your hero at uh, 14. Yeah. It was as you could imagine, a pretty, yeah, pretty shit time. And as I said before, I'm the oldest of four, so, you know, my baby sister was five.

Jesus. Dad was 36, mum was, mum had just turned 36. And as I get closer to that age the significance of, of that and, and how they were just getting started you know, now that I realize, at the time I thought, shit, 30, geez, that's old, [00:11:00] and now I'm past that, it's in the revision mirror, and it's not that old at all.

But yeah, I suppose. Just a frustrating time, I'd imagine, for that to happen. You sort of got the world at your feet and worked pretty hard to get where they were and for that to happen. Yeah. 

Sam Fryer: It sounded like he was having a crack. Like it sounded like your family, like it sounds like what he did with the the supermarket, bull supermarket almost, and live export stuff, like he wasn't afraid of taking on something and having a crack and, and the business was obviously growing.

Callan Solari: Yeah, yeah. At that stage. Absolutely. Yeah, as I said, just a really frustrating time for, for that, and it was, yeah, untimely, I mean there's never a good time for that. But yeah, when I look back on it, it's certainly frustrating, and for me as a, you know, yes I'm a veterinarian, but it's, you know, it's what's the word, it's, it's no surprise or you know, it wouldn't be a surprise to anyone for [00:12:00] me to say that you know, breeding brown bulls is probably still my primary passion in life, 

so, yeah, it would have been nice to go back and continue that on with that. But yeah, unfortunately with his farm accident and, you know, it's something that I suppose happens all too often in our rural industries. And I think yeah, I suppose you can't say enough about farm safety and just thinking about things before.

You know, before doing them but unfortunately he had a concrete wall collapse on him and squashed him and no one was home. Uh, fortunately, I had stayed at boarding school that weekend, which is something that I didn't often do. I was, you know, I was only 80km from home, so I used to pop back home on most weekends and Yeah, I stayed at school that weekend.

And mum and my siblings were in Townsville playing soccer. So, yeah, look mate, it obviously had a profound impact on our family, and our family unit, and the family business. [00:13:00] Um, Grief certainly impacts each individual differently and, and, and can, you know, can have, can have, you know, people can react to grief in, in different ways and, and look, unfortunately as a result of, of that that family operation was dissolved.

Yep. And so, basically out of that Dad had just, we used to AI our maiden heifers every year. Uh, and Dad had just AI'd our maidens and, uh, I was fortunate to retain 30, 30 pregnant P tick baby heifers, or young heifers, maiden heifers. And, and so, that obviously helped. That formed the basis of my stud herd now, I suppose.

So that, that You know, those 20 so years of breeding is still coming through my herd now. You know, there's still, there are only a couple of generations back and and some of those better cattle that [00:14:00] we're breeding certainly go back to, to that original mob of heifers. So, yeah, that, that's, that's the start of XMS Brahmans, I suppose, that mob of 30 heifers.

Sam Fryer: Thank you for sharing that. And it's tough talking about these topics and tough talking about, but I think it's important to one, remember the person and to like, talk about things like farm safety, talk about things like enduring a legacy, like with the stud, what you're doing is important to talk about.

And so following on from your father's death, you guys dissolved the partnership. And did you, did your family move back to Innisfail or did you, and did you, is that where the herd ended up? 

Callan Solari: Yeah, so, so mum eventually mum stayed on property for, oh mate, I think it was about 18 months. We had, uh, one guy that was working for us but eventually, uh, yeah, she returned home to Ingham.

So both my grandparents are based back there and three, yeah, with still three young kids and myself at [00:15:00] boarding school. So, yeah. Yeah, I think heading home to some family support and, and structure was, makes a lot of sense to me when I look back on it. And yeah, I suppose at mid thirties and a widow and, and four kids.

Yeah, I mean, that's someone else that I would need to publicly acknowledge that. Yeah. How. She did an amazing job. Yeah, Mum absolutely did the absolute best she could, given the circumstances and Yeah, I, you know, I never felt like I missed out on any opportunities or I don't think any, you know, any of the four of us siblings did and Yeah, I don't know how I'd handle that myself.

And, so yeah, massive shout out to Mum, absolutely. 

Sam Fryer: Following on from that.

You actually finished school, and like you said, you went into vet school. And, you're the third cohort, like you said, coming out of JCU, which is awesome. We've given that a big rap for four, I think we had Oh, we've had several.

Regan. Regan, yep, Regan came on. I'm trying to think of who else, but Regan came [00:16:00] on. And she was part of one of those early ones as well. So it's so cool to see the influence that that happened. That, you know, and it's continuing in the legacy of that program. But following on from finishing up as a vet student, where did you first get stationed?

Or where did you first go? 

Callan Solari: Yeah, so, probably, One of the more difficult times was getting towards the end of fifth year and trying to work out where we were going to go. There were a few options available at that time and, um, you know, I had the stud herd still that I'd been chipping away with through, you know, those last few years of school.

Yeah, finding adjustment paddocks here, there and everywhere, like out the back of Black River while I was at uni. Yeah, some pretty wild places, but they were still really important to me. And so I didn't want to be miles and miles away from, from my herd of cows. Kelly and I had also been dating for, I think about four years by that time.

And, and we agreed to my wife, for those of you don't know, is also a veterinarian classic vet [00:17:00] school. Yeah, we're in the same class. Uh, and so. We made a, I suppose a bit of a deal, um, that we were just going to take jobs where we thought we were going to, you know, progress, uh, as professionals and try to work out the rest once that's sorted itself.

And yeah, tossing a few ideas up. And, Kelly, Kelly actually got a job first and she took a new grad job in Ingham. 

Sam Fryer: Yep. 

Callan Solari: Kelly's family's from Cairns, so it was nice and close, mixed practice and yeah. And I didn't know where I was gonna end up. I probably always thought I'd end up backing around the towers or Somewhere similar.

Uh, And, mate, I took my mum's dog into the vet clinic as a fifth year vet student after I was on the Ingham show night. Yeah. My uncle, my uncle's a paramedic, and, uh, mum's dog was crookin we saved a life.

We 

Sam Fryer: saved a life. That's all that matters. That's all that matters. And, uh, 

Callan Solari: eventually got to the point where the [00:18:00] dog needed genuine veterinary attention that I couldn't provide. And so, yeah. We went into the Ingham Clinic after hours and, and the vet who was on call happened to be one of the business owners of Tropical Vets.

As I said, Kelly had applied for the job and it was like a job interview at 10. 30 at night. He'd shown Kelly around the clinic and eventually after we, we treated the, the patient he asked what I was doing and, and that had a position open up in Tully literally that week. And he, we jumped in the car the next day and went up and met the rest of the directors of, of Tropical Vets.

And yeah, I took a job at Tully, Tropical Vets Tully. Uh, and that was my new grad position for the first, uh, first two or three years. 

Sam Fryer: So mate, you, progressing on, you've you were already there for, what, a year or so before you were offered partner in that business, is that right? 

Callan Solari: Yeah, how did 

Sam Fryer: that come about at such an early stage in your career?

Callan Solari: Yeah, I, [00:19:00] I suppose it was I made it pretty clear to, to my, you know, my bosses I suppose at that time that, um, you know, I was pretty keen to, to get into business eventually at some stage and I had been offered another job at the end of my first year. Uh, and I knew what that package or deal was. And so I went to the owners of Tropical Vets and said, look guys, I've been offered another job.

I just want to know what my conditions of employment are going to be next year, so I can just, you know, compare apples with apples. Uh, and, and immediately they, you know, yeah, we'll, we'll match it, whatever, hang around. And then A half an hour earlier, half an hour later, they called me and said, Oh, can you come back?

And I think, you know, timing is often everything in life. And one of the original shareholders of Tropical Vets, it was, Tropical Vets was founded in Innisfail. It was called the East Innisfail Vet Clinic. Yeah. And Tom [00:20:00] Goff, Dr. Tom Goff was one of the founding shareholders and founding veterinarians.

Yeah. And he was at the point in his career where he was looking to pack it up. And I suppose I was a keen young vet that hopefully they obviously saw enough to warrant offering me his share in the business. So that's, Quite literally at the end of my first year Now that, Those processes don't happen really quickly, and it wasn't until the 1st of July the following year that the transaction occurred, or was effective, but Yeah.

Obviously it, Big decision for, for myself and, and for Kelly. You know, end of our first year, I never, again, never saw myself as a one clinic man. I thought that I'd, you know, that most new grads will do a couple of years in their first job and then spread their wings and, and see some, see something different.

But. I suppose that opportunity, uh, that presented itself [00:21:00] was so great that, yeah, we, I couldn't pass it up. Uh, and so the next challenge was trying to find some cash to, uh, to buy into a vet clinic. So at that stage, Tropical Vets had, had three vet clinics. So they had Innisfail, they had Tully, and they'd been in Ingham for about 12 or 18 months.

So, yeah. Big, big step it. Oh shit, 22, 

Sam Fryer: 23. How did you go about getting the funds? With like, I'm guessing, I don't know. Me at 22 years old, I didn't have much cash in the bank. I didn't, I think I had a car that's about all I had. Yeah, and 

Callan Solari: I was the same. I'd just bought my first car. Which I didn't own, obviously.

Uh, look. Pre banking Royal Commission. So, again, timing is everything. And, and I suppose, look, I was very fortunate to, I got a 100 percent loan. No security, no guarantors. I wasn't in a position to come up with any form of deposit. And I [00:22:00] suppose based on the strength of the business. Yeah. And there are a few financial institutions that, that specifically deal with vets, dentists, and doctors mainly.

And, you know, on the strength of, on the back of tropical vets I suppose. They, they saw that it was probably a good opportunity as well. That bank manager I'm still with today so he's, you know, he obviously got me in and that was both into the veterinary business and also the commercial property entity.

And at that time we just had, we just owned the buildings in Innisfail and Tully. And, yeah mate, it was That sort of the capital growth on that asset over the last decade again, timing, I was just very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. And I suppose showing off interest and hopefully some skills that warranted that decision.

And yeah, Very lucky and it was, I definitely felt like a, you know, from a professional development [00:23:00] perspective, it's, I mean, it's not something that I'd ever recommend but I was fortunate, and, and one of the reasons why I did it was that I knew that I had the support of Shareholders in the business.

So then I was going into a, into a business that had three other shareholders. And I was currently based at Tully where one of the senior shareholders was based. He was, he was my mentor as a new grad. And so I felt that I had the appropriate support and structure in place to jump into that business venture.

And, you know, for the first couple of years, I was absolutely a junior shareholder. I just sat and listened and learned. You know, I'm still trying to work out what I am as a veterinarian at the same time. And so that was a bit of a tricky period. And to go from, to also stepping up into that shareholder role, director role, at that age with.

You know, a number of staff more mature than I, much older than me. [00:24:00] Yeah, that that had its challenges as well and and I certainly had a lot of learning and development to do both as a veterinarian and as a business owner and it's been It's been a very interesting decade, I suppose. And I've, I've learnt heaps, but yeah, absolutely not something that I'd ever do stand alone.

I would never suggest any aspiring young veterinarian steps out into their own business at the end of their first year, unless they have some, some really solid support around them. And, and yeah, and for that I'm obviously eternally grateful for the opportunity and the support that those shareholders at that point in time of Tropical Vets provided me.

Sam Fryer: So, what is the last one? Seven years has it been since you've been a partner, been like, and where's the business at now? 

Callan Solari: Yeah, uh, we've been in a, I suppose what you'd call a fairly significant growth phase for the last, yeah, probably seven years is probably a reasonable time period. So we've gone from, from three vet [00:25:00] clinics to currently, as I said earlier, having six.

So we, we expanded, uh, we bought, we built a new clinic, uh, in the Burdell or North Shore region, in the north, northern beaches of Townsville, sorry. That was our first step and that was a, a huge learning curve in itself. You know, traditionally we'd, we had, if we'd ever expanded, we'd purchased existing veterinary businesses.

And I think there's a lot to be said for buying, you know, irrespective of whatever industry you're in. I think buying a business with a, with a client list is absolutely worth its weight in gold. So, you know, going to a greenfield site and building from the ground up in a, you know, in a relatively. New part of town was, was definitely had some challenges with it.

And we're fortunate to have, you know, the strength and support of the other three clinics at that time. And we selected a really good spot, you know, North shore. It's now one of that clinic is now, you know, in our top [00:26:00] two best performing clinics of the six. But it certainly took some time to get up and going.

And then we, Yeah, and then we expanded further into, down into the Burdekin. That, uh, Yeah, fortunate to have purchased a pre existing business as I said. Also come with its, with its challenges given it had been shut down for a couple of years. Yep. So I suppose revitalize that and get that up and going again.

And then finally, uh, a couple of years ago, we, an opportunity popped up, up in Atherton to, to purchase a clinic up there. So, but I think through the whole. The whole period we've always had someone waiting in the wings to step into that, that new new location or we've been developing those people up.

You know, I stayed in Tully for, yeah, two and a half or three years and then relocated to Ingham. Kelly and I were obviously, [00:27:00] yeah, I moved home when Kelly and I got engaged. And, and once we were, yeah, looking to start a family but that then allowed the director that was in Ingham to go to, go to North Shore and I suppose that's how the businesses continue to grow.

In more recent times so we've had some shareholder transactions. Of the original three shareholders when I bought in, there's, there's only one remaining and that's just time, um, and circumstance, I suppose. And so that, yeah, I suppose we've transitioned to a much younger group of shareholders.

So, I don't, I'm the second most mature shareholder at Tropical Vets. 

Sam Fryer: That's a young, that's a young, 

Callan Solari: team. So, You know, we're, we're all, the vast majority of us are early 30s and, and our senior leader is, uh, early 50s. 

Sam Fryer: Yeah, 

Callan Solari: and so I suppose that's what drove that expansion and growth, because we were, yeah, young and keen, I suppose, and at a different end of our career to, I suppose, [00:28:00] those that have, have gone before us. Yeah. So yeah, that that change was important to drive the growth. And I suppose of more recent times we've had some really significant structural change in the background of the business. You know, the business has always grown and I always felt like we were playing catch up. As far as our structures and, and, and staffing and, and policies and, and all of those things.

And so over the last A couple of years. 

Sam Fryer: So, Colin, since you've been through this process, and we, we had to change spots. It's gotten a bit busy in the pub, which we, which is, was expected this time of day, but what have been your key learnings since coming into this role, since coming into Tropical Vets, and becoming a partner?

What would be that bit of advice for someone that would be following in your footsteps a bit? 

Callan Solari: That's a huge question. I know it's a huge question, 

Sam Fryer: I apologize. 

Callan Solari: Mate my learnings have certainly been[00:29:00] I think first and foremost, the importance of having and building, you know if you want to have a successful business, irrespective of, as I said, your industry, your profession you know your business is nothing without your team.

Yep. And that's, you know, core at what, you know, core to what we do at Tropical Vets is, is, is our team and our unity and, uh, you know, first, first and foremost, we, we want to, we want good people to work for us. The rest can come later. You can teach most things but you can't teach attitude. And I think Tropical Vets would, would never be where it is today.

And I suppose that growth period that we've seen wouldn't be achievable without, um, having a team full of really good humans who are really good at what they do. And for any business to go from, I suppose, a sole trader operation to having a little bit of size [00:30:00] you need, you need good people. So that's, number one for me.

Uh, and you know, we're as a business, we're super focused on, on our team, uh, and trying to provide the very best that we can for them to supposed to empower them and for them to flourish and succeed. Because if, you know, if they're happy and having a good time and having success, then obviously the businesses, um, and I suppose further to that point it's important to have a positive attitude.

the appropriate structures in place to allow for growth and expansion. And that's been a really key learning for myself over the last two to three years in particular. As I was saying earlier, I've business continued to grow and I felt like we were always playing catch up and finally, you know, as I sit here today, can confidently say that I finally feel like our businesses kind of structurally is ahead of.

ahead of the game. You know, we were [00:31:00] four veterinarians trying to be full time clinicians you know, bring in some revenue for the business, but also try and run the business, and eventually that just, you can't spread yourself you know, any further than we were, and so we stepped out and Hired a general manager slash CEO, uh, who started, you know, two and a bit years ago.

And, and that has, that process has set a whole course of things into action, I suppose. Uh, having someone, uh, You know, we always had these fantastic ideas as business owners, but never had the time to implement them. And now having someone employed within the business solely to drive the business and implement all of those ideas has been revolutionary, to be honest.

And then I suppose from that, bringing someone with fresh eyes, from a completely different [00:32:00] industry and completely different background to our profession to come into our business and critically analyse what we do and how we run our business and make suggestions and recommendations and drive some change, has also been Yeah, it's been a breath of fresh air.

It's been difficult at times, you know, change management's not the easiest thing when you're trying to influence, you know, 110 people. But yeah, we needed some structure. And, we needed to inherit some, some elements of a corporate structure in the background to make our business more effective and efficient.

And that, it's kind of a bit of a dirty word in our profession. You know, the, our industry is, is becoming more and more corporatized every day. Uh, and following, you know, how the pharmacies went and, and how I suppose the, the dental industry has gone with, with the rise of the corporates. We're [00:33:00] certainly seeing that in, in the veterinary profession.

Uh, and, you know, for us, you know, We're still, well we were four, we've just brought on a new shareholder just literally happening right now. So there's now five of us in the business. And we're all North Queensland locals, we're all, you know, I grew up in Ingham. Tobin, who's based in Eyre, grew up in Eyre.

Zane's in Innisfail, that's where he grew up. We're all from North Queensland. Uh, we're all mainly in our hometowns or close by. I think that's really important and kind of sets us apart a little bit. But we needed that corporate, we needed to, we needed some elements of that corporate world to make our business better.

And having someone like our CEO come along and be able to say, Oh, shit guys, you need a bit of structure. Yeah. It's, it's been really good and it's provided some, uh, I suppose some career development opportunities for our staff and they can see that there's progression possible within our business and, you know, from that we've, we've now also got, you know, we've, we've got a marketing manager, [00:34:00] we've got a finance manager who's, who's an accountant we've got a HR manager and we've got an operations manager.

Just building that team. Yeah. And that's. Now, without those, that team, we couldn't do what we do at the moment, so, that's been a really big learning curve, and, I suppose, it's, that whole corporate world is, is, it's a very, it's very foreign to us as veterinarians, you know, we go to vet school to, honestly, to save as many animals as we can, that is, that is the reason why the vast majority of us go to vet school and we love what we do.

But there's certainly no business course at, at vet school or, you know, for our vet nurses. There's, it's not part of their their cert four. So, yeah, I think, and it goes back to that team. You need the right people in the right position within your team. So yeah, they're, they're probably the biggest learnings of most recent times in the business and I've got a hell of a lot more to learn.

Absolutely. Have 

Sam Fryer: to do a part two. Yeah. Calvin, I'm going to, I'm going to switch [00:35:00] tracks. And I want to talk about your land ownership journey and also talking about your stud and what you guys are up to there. But mate, you've been able to step into a bit of a starter block as you, as you previously said around Innisfail.

Is that right? Can you talk about how you got into that? What was the process of stepping into that one? You 

Callan Solari: keep trying to put me in Innisfail. I mean, Oh, sorry, Ingham. The reason 

Sam Fryer: why I keep thinking Innisfail, Sam's Feet is basically Innisfail. So mate, it's all the same place, 

Callan Solari: isn't it? All your North Queenslanders.

That may or may not be offensive. Yeah, so Yeah, Callie and I stepped into our first block. Mate, I think if, if I learnt anything from my, my family's business and their land ownership journey or challenges or, you know, how they went about things is, mate, if we just had a sunk our teeth into a block and bought it rather than We were bridesmaids at a couple of tenders or auctions, you know, that's how we wound up at Mungulla as, as leasees.

We'd run second, run second at Lansdowne and ended up [00:36:00] leasing the block for 25 years. And so I sort of, and I, and I get it. From a capital requirement perspective and cash flow perspective, it can be hard and we all know the challenges right now for young people trying to get into ag and do it on, you know, as a stand alone entity, we know the challenges that we're all facing at the moment.

Kind of, like, as, I just, for as long as I can remember, I swore to myself that I'd just get into the game. Get in, 

Sam Fryer: yeah. 

Callan Solari: And yeah, look, like, 200 acres on the coast is, is by no means the biggest starter block you can find. But, Kelly and I were patient. And I suppose fortunate, like, To get into the business relatively early.

That changed a hell of a lot of my plans, both professionally and career development wise, and, you know, personally, what we were trying to achieve. But yeah, eventually realized we were fairly settled where we were and wanted to find something and, but also when you [00:37:00] get, when you got the after hours phone and it's midnight, you don't want to be 50k's from town, let me tell you.

You gotta be close. So, We basically drew a 15K radius around town and just waited. And we rented in town, uh, for several years. And eventually this block came up. . And we were, you know, it's 12 Ks from the clinic. We were quick to jump on it and, and have a look. And, um, yeah, got, got in, got into, got into the block at the right price.

A by no means the, the world's greatest block. It's, it's a, there's a hell of a green drought going on there at the moment. Yeah, it's, it's a bit of a swamp at present, but it's a start. And it also has a hell of a lot of benefits. I'm on my way a lot. And so, you know, having 80 or a hundred cows on 200 acres and only have to walk them home, you know, a couple of hundred meters to the yards, I [00:38:00] can, I can get home and do things pretty quickly, which is, which is helpful for me and my lifestyle at the moment.

But yeah, that certainly comes with, with, uh, some difficulties and challenges and yeah. 

Sam Fryer: How did you go about purchasing it? Did you use your equity in the business at this point, or did you save up? Were you a real estate investor? Yeah, 

Callan Solari: yeah, so. Very old school, just banked it away, and sat tight, and we're just waiting for the right opportunity or block to come up.

I suppose, we were fortunate that I'd got into the business, and I suppose had, you know, but we were able to get a deposit together, you know, relatively quickly, I suppose, over a few years. And I suppose that's one of the challenges of being in a partnership and being in a business with more than one shareholder is your single biggest asset.

You can't use, [00:39:00] you can't leverage to, to continue your own personal growth and development. And, um, and so that, that's been one of our biggest challenges is obviously, the equity I hold in, in the veterinary business I can't play with. And, and I understand and completely agree with, with how we're structured.

So I suppose we, we had to use that As our engine room, I suppose, and the funds that we hopefully receive from that would then allow us to invest outside of our core business that we're a major shareholder in to grow our own personal developments, I suppose. And that's how we did it. So, you know, and it's a dual purpose property.

One, it is a starter block, but Two, it's also now at home. 

Sam Fryer: Because you've gone and built a house on that Yeah. 

Callan Solari: And we may or may not have overcapitalised on it. And you know, I wrestled with that decision for a little while. Yeah. But ultimately there's got to be a price to pay for your lifestyle and, and providing some kind of, [00:40:00] you know, a good life for our children.

And, and we, we felt that that was as, as good as any spot. So, as I said, we're out of town. It gives the kids the freedom to, to live a rural lifestyle, but, but we're also essentially in town and all of those opportunities that come with that and I suppose for us moving forward we'll try and pay that down as quick as we can and use that to continue to expand and yeah, that's, that's, that's our, that's our approach at this point in time.

Sam Fryer: So you've been out and as you said you, you would. Hopping around with adjustment and stuff like that with the family stud. Yeah. But you've been able to bring that back home, back to Absolutely. And that, that was, that's on the block. I 

Callan Solari: suppose that was the driver is to, we had a, we had a herd of cows to, to come home.

Sam Fryer: Yeah. 

Callan Solari: And, and you know, that's obviously where adjustment and, and leasing is, is really key in my opinion. And, uh, and mate, we, we've still got. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, our bull paddock is, is an adjustment paddock that my family's had since before I was actually born. So it's a really long [00:41:00] standing association with, with the Reed family from, from original from Burnside.

Uh, and it's a hell of a paddock. That's, it's where my bulls go. It's completely surrounded by cane. There's, they've got nowhere to go. It's a really safe place. It's high and dry. So we've still got that block or that, that adjustment paddock, but yeah, to bring the breeding unit home and be able to, you know, interact with them a little more frequently, particularly from a stud perspective has been, really enjoyable.

Absolutely my therapy is going back to the stove. Mate, get in the buggy and just go and drive in the paddock and sit down there with a beer for half an hour and all of, uh, all your troubles are washed away pretty quickly. 

Sam Fryer: It's pretty amazing what cows can do. Touching on the stud, I want to talk about Triple E, because I reckon it's a cool story.

You, uh, I'll let you explain, but you're essentially a bunch of mates and your brother from school, and you created a stud in honour of your grandad's, is that right? 

Callan Solari: Yeah, basically. So, yeah, myself and my brother and [00:42:00] two of our mates. One of my mates from, from home in Ingham, uh, and, and one of my mates from boarding school, Gav Weber and, and Adrian Ferreira, and, and my brother Lachlan, we, I can't really remember how the idea started, but look, I suppose it's got a pretty, what I would say is a pretty reasonable base of stud cows at home, and, uh, an opportunity popped its head up to be able to maybe put some, yeah, form this.

this entity which we absolutely named in honor of our, of our granddads. You know, the, the triple E, the, the three grandfathers, paternal grandfathers, all first names all started with E and they are all probably fed, played a significant role in, in our lives individually and, you know, our keen interest in the, in the ag space and, you know, and, and cattle from my personal perspective and you know, jokingly.

We all definitely inherited [00:43:00] attributes from our grandfathers that we'd often joke to each other about and sometimes call each other by our granddad's names. And so my triple E just rolls off the tongue and sounded pretty cool. Uh, and which is important in the stud game and from a marketing perspective.

And so, and it's got a bit of a story, which is which is also important. And so. Yeah, essentially how this, how triple E works and it's, I literally, the reason I'm so late this afternoon is because we've just, we've just been putting embryo, IVF embryos in out here at Prairie for our next batch of calves.

So it's a complete, IVF operation. And, and so, 

Sam Fryer: So just for people who aren't as savvy, what does that mean? Can you break that down? Yeah, 

Callan Solari: so in vitro fertilization. So essentially what we do is we harvest eggs from the ovaries of my stud cows at home. They get flown to a lab in Brisbane and, and the semen or the sperm from the [00:44:00] bulls gets added in to the eggs and Those, those embryos, or those, they are incubated for, for seven days and growing and then flowing back up and transferred into surrogate cows.

So, yeah, it's obviously an advanced reproductive technology and I suppose of more recent times, IVF and those advanced repro technologies have copped a little bit of a bashing within the industry and it, I suppose it's not so much the technology itself that, that's at fault, but I think selection of, of donor cows has, has played a bit of a role in that.

Bit of a negativity that's around that space at the moment. And I suppose that's what sets EEE apart as a, as a new stud. Uh, we've been able to harvest eggs from cows at home that have got the runs on the board. They've, you know, they've calved year in, year out at home in pretty trying conditions. And so, yeah, we've been able to tap into those.

And the other [00:45:00] benefit of IVF is, is you can be super selective with your size selection. And it's a, a really nice opportunity for, you know, particularly for us as a young group of, of people trying to breed a few to access those top end genetics. Cause, cause we're only buying, you know, a straw or five straws and from that straw you can make, you know, 10 or 20 embryos.

So, and that's been our goal as a, as a start is to produce. A high end article that's, you know, trying to breed a few polled animals as, as the market demands. Currently mainly grey, but we've just put a run of red embryos in as well today. But, you know, a polled brahmin that's phenotypically looks apart but is also backed by some good genetic data.

So I think that's a, you know, the polar trend's been around for a long time, but I think as, as, as we see a transition amongst beef producers, uh, and that, you know, [00:46:00] people our age, I suppose, starting to make some decisions around sire selection and bull selection, that some, some data, Decision making is going to become more important with time.

I 

Sam Fryer: think it's the end producer too. I think that's the big driver. Like the end consumer wants a polled animal, wants animal welfare. They want, they want something that's going to taste good on the plate. That's, you know, not, doesn't take as much grass to eat. It puts more kgs on that. You don't have to dehorn all those factors that we're going to play to, but we do have to play to it because it's consumer driven.

Callan Solari: Yeah. And I mean, it's like any business. You've got to give the people what they want. If you want to be successful. And. You know, as a, I suppose of, I wouldn't call it. Yeah, I suppose as a Brahmin purist it has been challenging to step away from that original article, which was traditionally horned and But like anything with selective breeding and and and the focus of the of the stud industry as a whole towards that oldness.

We were certainly making leaps and bounds in the [00:47:00] quality of those those called animals, which, you know, super proud of some of the animals we've already produced that certainly don't have horns. But yeah, a pold animal looks it, looks the goods back with some good back by some good data. And is naturally quiet.

That's, we're full blokes with young kids and young families. The temperament's critical. Yeah, but temperament's critical. You know, we want our kids to be a part of the process. We want them in the sail pen or in the yards. We can't deal with, with that. And I think that's also another significant focus of the industry as a whole.

So, and that's what we're trying to achieve. And it's, it's been, it's been a heap of fun. It's also been, from a personal perspective, extremely enjoyable to watch my genetics from home on some pretty trying country. Yeah, 

Sam Fryer: your dad's coming through. Yeah. 

Callan Solari: Yeah, and I suppose that history and dad.

Legacy. Yeah, absolutely. But the significant difference that environment makes. So, uh, being able to grow these cattle out here at [00:48:00] South of Prairie on some pretty neat country. It's a 

Sam Fryer: beautiful country. That's a beautiful block. 

Callan Solari: Isn't it? Uh, and I suppose I also definitely need to mention, you know, and thank Barb for the opportunity she's given us as a group of young fellas.

You know, we've got a paddock, an adjustment paddock. And we're, you know, those cattle grow out in, as you said, some pretty neat country. And, and all of our recipes or surrogates come from, from, um, the, the Moondah breeding herd. So, but a huge opportunity and a massive, you know, extremely grateful to Barb for, for providing us that opportunity.

Yeah. But, to, yeah, to see my genetics reach their full potential, because they're not restricted by the environment they're growing up on, has been personally really, really enjoyable and fulfilling, and mate, as an example, we've had, Between a hundred and a hundred and fifty kilos difference at weaning weight, between full siblings at home on the coast, in the wet, and out here in a bit [00:49:00] of better country.

So, that's, and that's part of the, I suppose, some early success that Triple E's probably experienced in recent times. 

Sam Fryer: Yeah. What is it with Brahmans? What is it Brahmans that, you're obviously, you're passionate about it. You, you, the way you talk about the brie, what is it that makes them so special for you?

Callan Solari: Yeah, and I'm conscious of not just rolling out the classic answer of, oh, you know, I was born into it and dad did it. No, you can't do that. Dad's dad did it. And, and that's not the case, mate. Well, it's part of the case. Obviously was born into it and, and it was, um, it's certainly a passion that has, um, a passion that's been with me as long as I can remember.

But I, I think in today's world, First and foremost, you need cattle for your country. 

Sam Fryer: And 

Callan Solari: I think there's always going to be a place for a Brahmin animal in Northern Australia. You know, heat resistance, parasite [00:50:00] resistance, and tick tolerance in particular. You know, grazing ability and ability to track out and walk, you know, further than a lot of other breeds.

Traditionally, good mothers that have a, you know, reasonable small calf and get up and get going. And so, yeah, ultimately I think they're best suited to our country and to most of the country in Northern Australia. I also think, for the future of the breed and the social license I suppose to operate a grazing operation or an animal based protein production.

As well as environmental sustainability, I probably can't find another breed that can do what he, what a Brahmin can do. You know, environmental sustainability, I can't wrap my head around, and with all due respect, and this is my personal opinion, but I can't wrap my head around how a long fed Wagyu is an environmentally [00:51:00] sustainable animal.

When I can run, you know, three or four or five, short fed cattle through that same process and consume the same amount of feed and the same footprint, I suppose, and produce four or five times the quantity of protein. And so I think there's an important role for the, for the Bosynicus type cattle in that space.

And, yeah, from a organic, organic space, obviously, yeah, tick resistance, parasite resistance, they don't, they don't need, you know, treating as often or as regularly and they've performed in country that, you know, a lot of other breeds won't or can't perform, and, and, and that may not be, you know, a straight brahmin animal, but I think the, the bosynicus influence will forever be important in northern Australia in varying levels in, in, you know, most commercial operations are a cross breeding operation and, and I think they'll always have to turn back to a, to a brahmin type or a bosynicus type [00:52:00] throughout their, their breeding program, in my humble opinion.

Sam Fryer: Carl, I'm, I'm really aware that we've, we've been You're hunting for a while, and also it's been bloody interesting. Personally, I've got a lot out of this conversation. But I always wrap up with three questions, and the three questions are, Have you done any courses throughout your life that have greatly helped you, whether it's personal or business courses, that you'd recommend someone having a crack at?

Callan Solari: Yeah, obviously, Obviously my veterinary degree, for me personally, has been the single most important course that I've, I've ever done. Taking 

Sam Fryer: out a vet course. Yeah, alright. I'll make it tricky. 

Callan Solari: No, in the business space absolutely around communication styles and personality types. Understanding how, how best to communicate with various people.

Uh, I think that's been a really enlightening process. And, and, we run that almost annually, or [00:53:00] every couple of years throughout our clinics. What course is that? Uh, so it's a, uh, Oh shit, I think it's called a Myers Briggs. 

 And so yeah, through some business consultants that we use, we run that within our clinics, and, and I've found that enlightening. Both for myself as how I do it. Should, uh, should communicate with others, but also how I like to be communicated to, which I think is, at the end of the day, irrespective of what we're doing, communication underpins most of it.

Callan Solari: Yeah. 

Sam Fryer: Have you had any mentors on your journey that really helped you out? And how much of a part have they played? 

Callan Solari: Yeah, as I said earlier, I think, I think every, every interaction or every day is an opportunity to learn. And, you know, throughout my life and I suppose professional career now, I've, um, I've learnt so much from so many people.

You know, a new grad comes into your clinic and they bring the latest and greatest ideas and you can learn from them and, and, you know, [00:54:00] You know, people at the other end of our business that have been around for forever. Just, you know, sometimes you can't beat experience, and so, I'm always learning from the people around me, which I suppose goes back to that, that whole premise of building a really good team of good humans.

But specifically, and at risk of missing people out, and sincere apologies if I do miss anyone, but immediately Post my dad's accident Errol and Mitch Cole were really, really important to, to me as a, as a young aspiring Brahman breeder, but also as a young man. They were, they were critical in, in helping us navigate that whole process post that.

And, and I'll, myself and, and my siblings and my mum will forever be indebted and, and grateful to, to those guys. From a, you know, I had a bit of a, had a bit of a space in my life for that paternal figure. And, [00:55:00] uh, kind of have, a second family, the Chiesa family. And yeah, the, the Peter Chiesa Senior has certainly throughout my life, um, played that more paternal figure.

If, if I ever need to talk to someone about, about it, you know, most things and, and I just need that, yeah, that paternal type advice that, that wise head. guiding me in the right direction. It's always been old Pete, as he's affectionately now. So yeah, again, massive, massive shout out to him. And then professionally my business partner, Graham has, he was my mentor as a new grad.

So, You know, I learned a lot of things in my first couple of years as a veterinarian. And and, you know, Graham was, was my mentor. Uh, it's, it's interesting, you're, you're often a product of your first job as, as, as a veterinarian. As a veterinarian, and [00:56:00] Graham's left handed, I'm right handed, but I I do surgery on the wrong side of the table just because I watched Graham and followed him, so, he's been really important to me, uh, in my professional life and as my, you know, we've been business partners for, for a decade now.

And we share a really, you know, really good relationship. And then outside of that, but still within the veterinary profession there's two senior vets who are legends in the profession in Dr. Bruce Pot and Dr. Alan Guilfoyle. Who, both of which You know, I still talk to regularly you know, mate, about life and most things, but also about anything within the profession.

So, those three guys yeah, from a veterinary perspective and yeah, obviously some other people, uh, from a more personal sense, I don't know. 

Sam Fryer: And lastly, What would be your one piece of advice for the next generation, either on their land ownership journey or in life [00:57:00] in general? 

Callan Solari: Yeah if I can indulge myself, I've got, I've got a couple, in all my, all my years of wisdom.

But I'll keep it brief. Mate, uh, for the next generation my two pieces of advice would be, one is that, uh, you know, one of the certainties in life is that you're going to have some time in your life that's not fun. You're going to have a period or periods in your life where something, um, something bad will happen.

And bad things happen to good people all the time. And I think it's important to have some coping mechanisms and build some resilience into your, into yourself, I suppose. To be able to deal with those when they come along, because they will come along. And, uh, sound like an old codger here, but yeah, I think that's something that, that the next generation could certainly listen to and learn from.

And, [00:58:00] you know, personally, I've had some moments that, that weren't ideal, but I think, and I've been fortunate that my mindset's always been to continue on and look to the next challenge and, and get through that. But, yeah, be resilient and develop some coping mechanisms, number one. And number two is, I think if you're a young, keen person, particularly in northern Queensland or northern Australia, there is so much opportunity out there.

Sam Fryer: If 

Callan Solari: you just put your head down and have a crack, You will, you will be successful. And, and I encourage any young person who's got an interest in, in, in anything to, if you've, yeah, if you've got enough drive and determination and obviously some support around you, then, then you can certainly achieve a lot of things.

So that'd be my two for younger generation and I think, Probably from a personal perspective and probably speaking to people from our generation and myself, as I said, personally, we're often caught up in [00:59:00] trying to achieve so many things all the time that we sometimes lose sight of where we've come from and what we've, what we have achieved.

And so, and, and I need to listen to what I'm saying here, but to just stop and pivot and turn around at times. Reflect. And just take five seconds to Yeah, reflect on what you have achieved Yeah, I think that's a really good thing to, to do every now and then, and something I need to do a bit more of, but and be grateful for what you, what you have, and what you have achieved and for the people that help you get there.

So, 

Sam Fryer: hopefully 

Callan Solari: that's alright. 

Sam Fryer: That is awesome. And thank you very much thank you very much for your time this afternoon, it's been a great conversation, and honestly one I've got lots out of, so once again thank you for jumping on the podcast. 

Callan Solari: Cheers Sam, it's uh, it's been fun.