The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Monday, the 12th of February, 2024.

By Dwain Duxson

18 days to go

Our FarmTender2024 - Entrepreneurs in Farming event is not far away. Click here for more info. See the media release here. Read some of the questions we are going to ask Danny Thomas and Rob Dawes.

How's your marketing going?

I have heard from Ag businesses all over Australia that there is a lack of advertising space in Agriculture. What we mean by that is Ag businesses that serve Farmers have limited spots where they can reach that Farmer audience. So much so that print is still a desirable spot for 3rd Party Ag service providers to spend their advertising dollars. We all know how print's share of the Ag wallet has dropped from a distribution point of view. So there are not as many people buying the papers as there used to be. As of this week, we, Farm Tender, are heading to the dark side and allowing 3rd Party Agricultural businesses to buy banner ads on our website. As of Tuesday, you will see and change where banner ads will be a part of the landscape. In essence, I would say we have been doing advertising since we started, as I would describe a listing as a form of advertising anyway. Reach out if you are interested in promoting your business. Reply to [email protected]

Baton handed

After my trip through the Yorke Peninsula last week, it got me thinking about how production had shifted over the year in the Ag space. Our Farming wealth was built on Livestock, Both Sheep and Cattle mainly, but that has shifted over the last 3 or 4 decades to Cropping. We have gone from Woolsheds and Yards being the farm infrastructure that dominated the Farm to now Machinery Sheds and Silos. You go to the great Cropping places like the Darling Downs, the Liverpool Plains, The Wimmera, Mallee, the Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas, and the Wheat Belt of WA, where Livestock used to coexist. Now, some Farms don't even have fences and are destined to never have Livestock again. Our Farming wealth has transitioned to Cropping. That's not to say Livestock don't play an important part; they do, but in a lot of cases, they are assigned to areas where Crops can't be grown. Have you changed your enterprise mix over time? Reply to [email protected]

Faith in Humanity restored

Well, it was never really lost….. But on the weekend I went to our closest and most local town, Malmsbury, to get some takeaway for Paula and I and when I got to town, which is 10-12 minutes from home, I realised I had left my phone, which is now my wallet, at home. Now, Paula and I aren't locals as such; we have only been in the district for 3 years. We do, however, have a PO Box at the local store and do get to the pub occasionally (we like to share ourselves around for food and grog). So we aren't really well known, but we are recognisable. So, I thought I would test out my negotiating skills rather than make the 20-minute round trip home and back again. I managed to talk the young lady into a couple of Steak Sangers on the tick, and whilst they were cooking, I went to the pub for a couple of beers, which my old mate behind the bar obliged. I went back on Sunday morning and repaid. Have you been in a situation where you needed someone to trust you on your word? 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:

• “Buying Black Angus Bulls and also retaining some from the Herd. There is a local stud up the road with very good quality, no advertising, just word of mouth”. - On our Note about the upcoming Bull sales. 

• “In NZ, the last Greenie govt applied huge taxes to Ute owners, and a few KIWI shearers over here tell me that and the general push over there by Adern to kill off Farming is why they moved here”. - We are hearing more and more despondent New Zealanders where Ag is doing it tough.

• “Ham cheese and tomato. I have it at Condo at a little coffee shop called "Happy Daze", but toasted on rye bread” - Can’t beat a Ham, Cheese and Tomato sandwich; toasted is good, too.

• “Europeans have always been more vocal and passionate about certain issues; it appears to me that the majority here just sit back and accept what our inept politicians or lawmakers control. - In reply to our Note about how the Europeans protest.

• “Tough 12 months for Livestock Agents!, boo hoo!, their commissions basically doubled overnight, which they would never have expected. It was like winning the lotto. Surely they upgraded their Ute's, paid off the mortgage, bought a beach house, etc, with the winnings”. - In reply to our note about how Livestock Agents have been going over the last 12 months.

• “We have Land in 2 Shires. The smaller Shire only has a very small local Town made up of mostly Farming businesses, and there would be more Farmers than towns people. The rates are somewhat acceptable, and they do a pretty good job for Farmers. In contrast, the larger Town Shire is the complete opposite. It's run by city people who have no concept of Farmers. I do know for a fact that the entirety of all rates collected which was about $20M (3 years ago) paid only for the staff of the Shire. Everything else that they need to do is funded by the state and federal government. From roadside mowing and planting flowers down the main street to road repairs”. - In reply to our Note on rates and how Shire/Councils are performing.

End of message.

Dwain Duxson
0427 011 900

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