The Farmers Club

No 161 - Thursday's Club Notes

Dwain Duxson
March 21, 2024

The “Club Notes” for Thursday, the 21st of March, 2024.

By Dwain Duxson

Keep em coming

Between this and our Farm Tender Daily newsletter, we would harvest between 15 to 30 replies each day in relation to the most recent articles in each publication. Some of them turn into conversations because I always reply (unless I miss it for some reason or another), and if I don't understand something, I seek clarification and ask a question back. Many future stories stem from this feedback, so it's very important to me for content creation. The opinions are wide and varied; some people agree with me, many don't, and some just go off on tangents. I have grown very comfortable with criticism or people not agreeing with me; it's one of those things that we have to accept in life; not everyone is on the same page, and not everyone likes your style. If they don't agree or like it, 98 per cent do it respectfully. The opinions of Farmers differ so much that it could be a strength, although more likely a weakness because we have trouble uniting or agreeing on issues that affect us all. A problem or issue that might be front and centre for one Farmer might not even bother the next one. Ag is a wonderful, diverse, complex and unique industry with so many simmering topics to tackle. Some ask where the ideas for all the content come from; just look around you or remember back to what went on yesterday, and you will understand how massive this industry is. So much going on, so much to do. Thanks for replying, keep em coming. Reply to [email protected]

Keeping the Rural areas rocking

Paula and I decided to have a three-day working away from home sorta change of location thingo at Bright in North East Victoria. Lovely part of the world, as many of you would know. We went out and had a feed and a few beers last night, and I commented to Paula in a respectful way, saying there are plenty of old people around here. Paula replied; we're old ourselves. But I meant older than us. We chatted to a few and a couple of Farmers or ex Farmers who are doing the grey nomad thing, and it got me thinking about this age group. The baby boomers are all travelling, they are out and about in Rural locations right across the country, spending their hard earnt in your local town/area and helping to keep the show going. Yes, they flock to desirable places like this, but many love the less notable areas. You go to most Country Towns across Australia, and there will be Caravans parked up at the local Oval, Caravan Park or Showgrounds somewhere. Embrace these people; they are only enhancing our very important Rural economy. Have you seen the importance of these travellers in your area? Reply to [email protected]

Social media is a weapon. Many use it to grow their businesses; it seems to work best with consumer-related businesses selling products and services to the masses. It's a little different in Ag, where selling products and services is a more localised pursuit. In Ag, we sorta use social media because everyone else is, but we don't use it that well because we don't understand it; I don't understand it and can't get my head around it. We use it for our businesses, but I am not sure why. We feel the need to, though, and I have no idea if it makes a difference or not. We have been involved with a couple of social media experts over time to try to help boost our business profile and drive more customers our way. They have come and gone because their service offering doesn't seem to shift the needle too much, in the same way an SEO expert does (I am a sceptic). You might engage a so-called expert, but in 12 months' time, you wonder what the hell they are doing. You stop using them, but they move on to the next Ag business, and the cycle continues for them. Many Farmers use Twitter; it's like a community where like-minded Farmers from around Australia congregate in one area. It's effective and positive. It can also be a time waster. In Ag, they want us to tell our story to the world; I don't think we have to. Do you use social media, and if so, what do you use it for? Reply to [email protected]

Your replies

Below are snippets from some of the replies you sent in. All quotes will remain nameless. See a few current ones below:

“As far as Advocacy goes in Agriculture, well, we only have ourselves to blame. I witnessed the decline of NSW Farmers over a number of years due to apathy and white-anting by vested interests and political party moles, the same thing seems to have happened to VFF” - One Farmer and his opinion on where Advocacy has got to in Ag.
“It is so bad that first cars for country kids need to be 4x4 style for their safety reasons”. - One Farming lady talking about the state of our roads in Australia.
“As for debt, if you are expanding, and for the most part that’s the only way you can stay competitive and keep up, then that comes with a good chunk of debt.” - In reply to our Note where statistics say that we are at an average of 90 per cent equity and half the Farmers don’t have debt.
“Dwain. I think Aussie Farmers should set up a commercial organisation to handle all of the buying and selling of our products nationally and globally. Forget about advocacy. Let's take control of our future”. - So I asked. Interesting comment. Food for thought. Can you explain a little further on how you think that would work? “Yes Dwain ... huge question. I'd start talking about it and find like minded Farmers who want to make it happen and start building a blueprint to present to the wider Farming community. What might it look like? Personally speaking, I'm brainstorming concepts like - Democratic. Farmers only. Like Mining, Petroleum, other industry and overseas models. Strategies to stop conflicting outside ideologies and agendas. Setting minimum prices. The days of relying on governments and Farm bodies have gone. Because we haven't taken control”. - It’s an interesting concept, but we struggle in Ag to unite and come together. This concept would require that.
“We recently moved back to the country and have had mixed experiences with our rural lifestyle change. We had quotes for a dam started at 360k. Finally, an experienced Farmer not too far away came after a recommendation and has offered to do it for closer to 70k. We had a Plumber quote us 36k to make relatively minor gutter and water tank changes. In the end, with guidance and support, we did it ourselves for 8k, including Excavator hire. We also had a local Electrician come by and spend an hour making the property safe and not charge us a penny. He is top on our list for the up-and-coming house build”. - In reply to our Note that you can’t take one person's opinion as gospel when it’s a subject you know little about.
“Hi Dwain; I’ve been subscribing to your Farmers Club email for a couple of months now and find it thought-provoking and relevant. However, at that advised price ($44 a month), I can’t see myself continuing with the subscription without it providing some extra value to me. Perhaps a comparison to the ACM group would be a fair comparison. It currently stands at $195 annually for digital access to all its publications online or $16.25/ month. I would argue that this is better value for a large team of journalists and commentators. You, on the other hand, are a single person”. - My reply. I respect your opinion, and you make some good points. The subscription thing is not for everyone, and I am happy to keep refining my audience and reach people who see it as valuable. “Thanks for the email; I was not sure if you’d reply or not, so that’s a pleasant surprise. I’m not against subscriptions for content, as I believe that content creators need rewards for effort, and I certainly wouldn’t diminish how much effort it takes to put this together, either. I’m just questioning the price point/value equation. I’d be comfortable, somewhere between $10-20/month. Anything more than that, I’d be looking for some other type of value-added feature, such as a discounted subscription to another provider or priority access to another service”. - My reply. I will always reply, and if I don’t, I have missed it by mistake. I love feedback, and especially feedback that challenges what I do. Now, my challenge is to add more value to get Frank on board. Leave it with me……
“Dwain – Cheap shot cartoons and the like can be entertaining but you wouldn’t appreciate any directed against the Agricultural community. If you really want to build a case against wind and solar can you get some figures on what it would cost to replace it with updated/new coal/ gas fired and/or nuclear plants, how soon they can be up and running and how much cheaper it will be if it ever happens”. - My reply. They are all for a bit of a laugh, and that only. Ag is a pretty serious business, so a laugh is good occasionally. I don’t consider them cheap shots. I have to put up plenty of “funnies’ where we take a bit of the piss out of Ag. See an example of a cartoon below.
“Three years ago RRV spent $8 million on our 8 KM of road. Since then, long sections have been rebuilt, and the rest of it is in abysmal condition, resulting in 29 accidents and 8 cars written off. The wire rope barrier down the centre of this narrow country road is continually being hit, whereas there was only one head-on accident in 40 years before they put this cloth line down the centre of the road and cut off access to 2 of my farm gates. My motto, “Victoria the place for waste.” - In reply to our Note asking what your local roads are like near your Farm.
“We love freighting good-quality small square Bales. We are the Tetris and compliance kings and love the challenge! A good-quality product will always travel well, too! (See the attached photo of our truck loaded with Lucerne Baron Packs in the images below.)”. - In reply to our Note on how small squares are making a comeback. It looks like this is a can-do Freight company that likes freighting some of the things that others don’t. How refreshing.
“Hi Dwain , always do your own homework and try to get an understanding of whatever your project is; remembering it's your money always makes your research a little easier”. - In reply to our Note that we need to seek a wide range of opinions before spending money on projects we know little about.
“To Dwain, I think your newsletter is great. However, I believe that $44 per month will take a lot of people off your mailing list, especially if they also already subscribe to or purchase at least one of the Land, Weekly Times, QLD Country Life, etc. I know it’s your time; however, your other production costs, I imagine, are very low, and in effect, you will be in competition with what other media Farmers purchase. as interesting as it is, you cannot light the fire with it once it's read, lol”. - A Farmer outlining that our proposed subscription to this newsletter down the track might be a bit high.
“I have been a long-time member of Farm Tender; I think I joined when you came to the Nyngan Expo years ago. I am from Walgett. Then when you started “The Farmers Club” I joined it as well. I saw in one of your early notes that you were intending, down the track, to ask us to subscribe to this daily comment. I see today that you are now at that point! I have been a very regular reader of your daily comment and I find it very interesting and informative. I am disappointed to read in yesterday’s comment that the free edition will be ceasing from next month. I appreciate all that you said in your note about how time consuming this piece is to put together on a daily basis. I personally think you are amazing to be able to find interesting topics every day to present, I think you have a real talent to be able to do that. However for me I am disappointed and will not be able to fund the $44.00 per month to go forward”. - A Farmer outlining that our proposed cost of $44 a month will be too high for them. I understand and respect their opinion.
“As a committee person at the time, we faced the same problem of connecting a nearby power source 250m away (quote $85k plus underground cabling and ongoing network supply charges, or going off-grid with little or no ongoing costs. The committee chose the latter and installed a panel and battery system (can't remember the exact specs - possibly 15kw panels, 10kw batteries- plus a back-up diesel generator (2nd-hand) for a set-up cost of $42k”. - In reply to our note of seeking out other opinions when it comes to project we know little about.
“I can still see coastal shipping involved as I don’t believe rail has capacity. Completion of Inland rail would have to be a positive”. - In reply to our Farm Tender Daily story on how we might become self sufficient in Urea in 4 to 5 years time. You can read the story here.