The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Thursday, the 11th of January 2024.

By Dwain Duxson

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

Don't waste a good bust too

Yesterday, we spoke about the advantage a boom brings to Agriculture, and today, we are going to talk about the bust. When a bubble bursts, it's a bust. Busts usually aren't nice, but they can have a strain on us financially, physically and mentally. They can be tough, and older Farmers can usually recite what they went through in these tough times. To appreciate the good times, you have to go through these events. They can also reset the markets for better times ahead. But busts can make us think more about how we can do more with less; they can make us alter our business model and make us think of other ways to make money. This can fire up innovation and can lead to better systems which will serve us well when times are good again. They say more innovation happens in the tough times because we have to find a way, or the alternative can be going out of business. So don't waste a good bust. What have been some of the changes you have made on the Farm during tough times? Reply to [email protected]

What happened to Vendor Finance?

We had some replies to our "Charity Idea" post on the Farm Tender daily, reminding us about Vendor Finance and how a lot of deals were done this way years ago. So why isn't it a trend today? I reckon it might be that the stakes are alot higher these days with the increase in Land prices. But some could still have a portion of the borrowing under Vendor terms. I would also think that buyers would never ask or even think about asking a Vendor for such a thing, and even though Agriculture is a pretty trusting place, that sort of trust has gone missing. We keep coming back to it, but it has to be that there is too much money involved. Ask Nigel Kerin, a Farmer at Yeoval in NSW; look him up on social media; he has done a lot of Land purchases on Vendor terms. Have you ever done a Land purchase on Vendor terms? Reply to [email protected]

Who's making headlines in Ag?

Who in Ag is making headlines? I was thinking about how controversial former AWI Chairman Wally Merriman was always in the news. He was one of those polarising characters you either loved or hated, and the media picked up on these types because people read about it. Wally loved it and played the game beautifully. Now, he's living a much quieter life back on the Farm at Boorowa, NSW. Similar to Jim Watts when he rolled out his Soft Rolling Skin technique for Sheep Breeding. Grain Farmer Andrew Weidemann is on speed dial to all the Rural reporters, and fellow Grain Farmer Brett Hosking was for a while. NFF President David Jochinke was in all the headlines for a while but is not so much anymore. WA and Queensland have quite a number who constantly make headlines, and you could put Gina and Twiggy in the Ag camp. Twitter is where Farmers go, and there are a number of Farmers and Agriculturalists that are prevalent. Who do you see regularly in the Headlines? 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:

• “It is hard to get into farming, but farming on a small scale could well be harder”. - A small Farmer replying to our Charity idea.

• “The financial charity as proposed is one thing, but free mentorship from an older farmer would help enormously”. - A Farmer in reply to our Charity idea.

• “I agree the Freight industry is highly underrated.” - In regards to our Note on the Freight industry.

• “Following on the concept of how to help young or Farmers in general acquire Land. Maybe we revisit the notion of Vendor Terms”. - An observation by a Farmer

• “YES, we hope that the FARMERS AROUND THE WORLD all get on board” - In reply to Farmers protesting against anti-Farming Governments in Germany.

End of message.

Dwain Duxson
0427 011 900

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