The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Wednesday, the 11th of October 2023

By Dwain Duxson

If you can, please get your family, friends and colleagues to sign up. What we do. Something has got to give. Mechainc out See the website link here.

Staying liquid

Yesterday, we spoke about how the cost of Farming has risen and how people are managing the incoming bills. When expenses rise, it sorta compounds a little because each bill is a little bit more than you expect. You get a few of them, and it starts to add up. Staying liquid is another way of saying cash flow is king, and cash flow is something Farmers have always struggled with and probably always will. Because we are tillers or grazers of the soil, we need Land to function, and Land is where the money is tied up, and it's in a non-liquid form. We need the Land to grow the products that give us the funds to run our Farm businesses. That's where it becomes a complex business, and managing cash flow is difficult. I just want to share how we run our business from a cash flow perspective in the next "Club Note" below. Reply to [email protected]

9 bank accounts

For what it's worth, I want to outline how we manage our cash flow at Farm Tender. Now, I want to point out that our business is very different from a Farm business in that we don't require Land to function. Owning Land can be a huge advantage and, at the same time, a disadvantage. What it is over time is a wealth creator. I also want to point out that I don't classify myself as a guru businessman or anything like that. I just think when it comes to cash flow, we have a good system that I'd like to share. It's a simple system, really. We have 9 different bank accounts, and we have a central account, which is a pretty accurate indicator of what cash we have at any particular time. We put set amounts of money aside each week for things like tax, more tax, super, wages, staff bonuses, Web development, Payroll Tax, dividends, and other expenses we know are coming. So when these bills come in, we don't get bill shock. And at any point in time, we know where we are at from a cash perspective. That's it. Do you have a way of managing your cash flow? Reply to [email protected]

The cost of volunteerism

A lot of people have replied to the articles we wrote about the Fire Brigades. Now, we all know volunteering is a second job for many Farmers, and it makes the local communities tick. Many have said to me that it's not only the Fire Brigades they are struggling to find time for. It's also the Sporting Clubs, the local Lion Club and their equivalents, etc. When not Farming, Farmers are using that valuable but limited time to spend with their families and kids. Then, if there is any time left after that, they might think about volunteering. I remember being president of the Cricket Club at Yarrawonga Mulwala, a pretty big Club, and between presidential duties, meetings, rolling wickets, mowing the grounds, managing people, playing, and a fair bit of after-hours stuff (you know, the president has to be there), and work, there wasn't much time for anything else. This went on for season after season. And yes, my wife Paula wanted to kill me. We laugh about it now, but it was a full-time second job back then. Do you think your volunteering takes up too much of your time? Reply to [email protected]

How hard are manners?

Most of you would be the same, always on the lookout to open a door for someone, let someone into a lane in the car, or just being a good samaritan, or as a mate calls it, a" proper citizen". But too often these days, you open the door for someone or let them in a lane, and you never get a thank you or acknowledgement. Occasionally, it can be an upstart kid, but more often than not, it's more an entitled older person. So if they don't respond, I say to them, "Thanks for that". They either give an embarrassed and quiet thanks or can't get out of there quickly enough. Do you have this issue too? Reply to [email protected]

End of message.

Dwain Duxson

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