The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Tuesday, the 24th of October 2023

By Dwain Duxson

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Getting pushed out of the Tractor

You probably need to check the first image below, and you will get the drift of where the story is headed. It's a funny one. Automation is a buzzword in Ag-Tech. Companies are spending big on trying to Automate our Tractor fleet, and other Machines for that matter. But has anyone asked the Farmer if they wanted the Tractor fleet Automated? I mean, when Farmers get up in their Tractor, they feel a sense of comfort once they sit down and get into it. It beats crutching daggy Wethers or pulling the debris off a flooded fenceline. I'm sure one day, it will make economic sense to have Automated Farm Machinery. But in saying that, I think the transition will be long. People had their doubts when we transitioned from Horses to Tractors, too. As someone said, "They can always have Tractor parades". What do you love about your Tractor? Reply to [email protected]

Helping out mentally

Today was a good day. Someone replied with something I didn't realise was happening, which made me a little bit proud. They said, "Dwain, Congratulations and thanks for this forum. I reckon it will help us all mentally as much as anything else but to see outside your boundary fence". I thought shit, perhaps this does make a little bit of difference to someone's day. And we know some are doing it tough right now, so we will be more conscious about how we can help people who aren't feeling the best about themselves. I know it's good for the mind for Farmers to hear what other Farmers are doing, and we are lucky enough we can tap into what Farmers are up to. Also, we get so many replies from what we write, which fuels other topics. That's the beauty of Ag. There is so much diversity and so much going on. Also, Farmers are always willing to share. What are some things you do to help you out mentally? Reply to [email protected]

Young gun

I love Cassida Johnston's writing. She has a common sense approach but tells it how it is. She is a young Cattle industry visionary out of the US and writes her stuff on Linkedin. See today's writings in the images below. Take a read first, and then we will make a comment. So my one takeaway is that the right to Farm is just that, the right to Farm how you want to Farm. We have people telling us how they want us to do it when most of them haven't been to a Farm. But they do have an influence. One guy wrote to me today about how all these entitled people can affect what we do. It's about the Kangaroo population and a good example of Farmers losing out. He said, "The gist of the story is that a majority of our population (people) consider Roos as an important part of our national landscape. I don't disagree totally, but it was made clear that activists have succeeded in getting Roo products banned internationally. Thus, the cull is well down. More Roos mean more pressure on Grazing and eating more Crops. That affects us. What's your takeaway on what Cassidy has written? Reply to [email protected]

Banks not playing the game

A couple of Farmers have mentioned that the Banks are happy to lend money to Farmers for projects (eg buying Land, Machinery, Shed or something else) but are dragging their heels in when it comes to carry on finance or extensions of overdrafts. This comes at a time when many Livestock Farmers have so much red ink in the actual column of their budgets. Is this something you have heard or experienced? Reply to [email protected]

End of message.

Dwain Duxson

Random and associated images.