The Farmers Club Newsletter

Wednesday’s thinking and trends for the 13th of September 2023

By Dwain Duxson

If you can, please get your family, friends and colleagues to sign up. See the website link here.

Talking is good.

I was reading on Twitter, or "X," this morning that many Sheep and Cattle Producers were feeling pretty low right now. Coupled with that, some areas are drying out, so decisions have to be made. And many paid big dollars to restock post-drought. For those who are feeling like this, make sure you communicate with your family, Agent, Banks, fellow workers, etc. Talking is good, and it helps. Don't keep these things to yourself. Stay well.

We're back negotiating.

We've seen some big changes in the last 12 months in Farming. A year ago, if someone put up an in-demand piece of Machinery, it was gone in hours, sometimes minutes, no questions asked and no negotiation on price. Today, the landscape is different. Dealer's yards are full again, demand has dropped off a bit, and there's no panic that it's going to be a wet Harvest. People are still buying things but are back negotiating on price again.

Young Farmers need to….

In this job, you come across plenty of young Farmers and Agricultural people who are so switched on. It's like they have a wise old head on those young shoulders. They respect their elders, but at the same time, they challenge how they did things. They aren't afraid to make mistakes. Some are even addressing the essential but boring stuff, like succession, like self-managed super funds, and structuring up their businesses/companies at a young age to set the future before they build wealth. We spent years finding the right accountant to structure up our family-owned businesses. We were in our early fifties when we did it just recently. Go find good professionals to help you nail these things early.

Housing crisis is an opportunity for the bush.

We wrote some time back about how the housing crisis would be an opportunity for Farmer's to rent out unoccupied houses on their property. With the consolidation of Farms, some Farms now have multiple houses spread around. All are in different stages of disrepair. Some are, and some aren't. You probably need to forget about the unliveable ones, but the decent ones can earn you a good side income. Also, just don't think about rent for money only. You can ask your tenant to do repairs, attend to the garden, or, if they are clever enough, perhaps some renovations in exchange for rent. Or maybe it's work around the Farm. We have a young bloke doing a grazing lease on our place. He is a builder, so we negotiated a two-year lease in exchange for a new back deck. It's a ripper.

Here is the funny Livestock video reel I was looking for yesterday.

Hopefully, it works for you. Click here. It sums the show up.

End of message.

Dwain Duxson - [email protected] 

Random and associated images