The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Monday, the 6th of November 2023

By Dwain Duxson

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Well done Wyche 

My mate Sandy and I went to the Wycheproof races on Saturday. We were ably driven there and back by Dave, a close colleague I worked with for several years. They had around 3500 people, which was a fantastic result. As I said on Saturday, the Rural areas of Australia are full of salt of the earth people, and the Mallee area of Victoria has them in spades. It's just fantastic for Farmers and Rural people to go to something like this to forget about the Farm and everyday life pressures for a few hours and let the hair down a bit. It was good to catch up with a few Farm Tender members. Many have started Harvest North of Wycheproof, and to the South, they are a week or two away yet. The Crops look pretty good. Well done to President Kevin Thompson and his team. It was a very well-run event, which we enjoyed immensely. My tips were a little bit out, with one being scratched and the other one running 6th in the Derby. Have you been to a Country Race meeting lately, and if so, which one? See the photo of the crowd below. Reply to [email protected]

Best podcast ever

I love reading, but I don't read books. I just find that it takes too much time. I am into getting value from reading, and from a long book, you might get 10 or so takeaways. I like reading papers and articles. I can read 10 articles and get 20 takeaways. That's much more efficient than reading a book. Don't get me wrong, reading books is a great thing to do but as I said they take up too much time. Like my writing, I like to read in short form. But I have discovered the Founders podcast. It's my favourite podcast because its host, David Senra reads the books and then does a podcast on the books. He does it about all the famous business people, most of them have left the building, and he is now doing some on ones who are still alive. It's so fascinating. I like to listen to these longer podcasts when I am driving, as they run for a minimum of an hour and can be up to 2 hours long. They are good ones for the Tractor or the Header. Take a listen, some of the stories are inspiring. What's your favourite podcast? Reply to [email protected]

Beer a currency but so are other things

We asked on Saturday whether Beer was still a currency used in the Bush. Turns out it is alive and well, but there are others. Some said Lamb, others said Bundy, some used Wine, others said a tank of Fuel. I am sure there are many more. One of the guys said he lent his Auger out to a neighbour, and the neighbour said he would buy him a few slabs of beer for the lend. He said it sounded good, but you better get some wine for the Mrs. See in a photo below what he left at the back door. Whatever you use, it's a fantastic thing to do to recognise people's generosity. There should be more of it. Have you done it lately? Reply to [email protected]

The one mores

We often talk about how to get ahead in Agriculture and how you need to do it incrementally in small licks, and over time, things add up. I was talking to a Farmer the other day, and his strategy to get ahead is to do one more. So when he thinks of knocking off, he always does one more of the things he is doing. It might be crutch another pen, take another load to the Silo or prune another row of the Grape Vines. We also talk about how Farmers work too hard and need to slow down so there is a balance there. As long as it is only one more and not five more I guess. It's a bit like going to the pub. The temptation is to always have one more, and it's a discipline to say no, that's enough. Unfortunately, I don't have that discipline. Do you agree that we need to find a balance between getting ahead in Farming and working too hard? Reply to [email protected]

End of message.

Dwain Duxson
0427 011 900

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