The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Friday, the 6th of October 2023

By Dwain Duxson

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Stuffing a national asset

Boy-o-boy, we have had some replies on the topic of the Fire Brigades. We started writing about it on this platform last week, and then we wrote a story about it in our Farm Tender Daily on Thursday. Read it here. Some of the replies have been short, and some have been lengthy. One person who dedicated over 50,000 volunteer hours to his brigade and state organisation walked away in disgust at how the Brigade was taken over by bureaucrats. One person said this, "If the powers that be had actually set out to deliberately demoralise and disband a massive volunteer resource, they could not have done a better job. I hold them in contempt for vandalising a national resource. None of this takes away a thing from the many volunteers who still turn out for the Brigades, the guys on the Trucks still give and give. Lions led by Lambs". Reply to [email protected]

Counting cans

I was talking to someone the other day about two of life's pleasures: BBQs and Beers. He mentioned that he loves nothing better but has a little problem. His wife's a can counter and reckons he should have no more than 3 beers when cooking the Barbie. One Friday night, after he drank his quota, he decided to devour 4 extra ones. To hide the evidence, the 4 extras fitted nicely into an old pair of gumboots that hadn't been used for a while. Knowing that he could get up early and dispose of them in a safe place. Lo and behold, his wife got up earlier than him and, with some overnight rain, decided to don the gumboots. Sprung... He has now set up the BBQ area away from prying eyes, so it's not difficult to slip those extra ones in. See my slightly out-of-the-way BBQ area below. Reply to [email protected]

We need entrepreneurs not experts

Back on the Tom Bull podcast, he mentioned the Sheep industry, and I was sure he meant the Ag industry in general that we need more entrepreneurs, not experts. By this, he means the Sheep industry is full of experts, some of whom have never bred a Sheep or managed a Livestock business. He said that Sheep industry events were chock full of speakers who were experts and urged event organisers to get more entrepreneurs to speak at future events for the industry to go forward. I am a big believer in this, and I have been saying for years that the Ag events model is broken. Many of these events are pitched at Farmers, but no Farmers ever turn up. They are always populated by industry people who are not Farmers. Why? Because they are not relevant to Farmers. And then there are the events that get sponsored. I won't go on because that's another story for another day. In light of Tom's statement, we have changed the name of our FarmTender2024 event from "The Business of Farming" to "Entrepreneurs in Farming" event. Reply to [email protected]

A season of living on the edge

We all know that it's been the season of the haves, and the have-nots. Those who have missed out have unfortunately missed out badly. We feel for you, but we all know that's how Farming goes. And the ones that have done okay are thanking their lucky stars because they have lived on the edge. By that, I mean that it has been one of those just-in-time years. After a dry start, the rain came, and some actually got really wet. Then, in September, arguably the most critical month, it went dry again. And just after El Nino was declared and many thought the season was shot, the rains (for some) came again. Just in time. Have you been living on the edge? Reply to [email protected]

End of message.

Dwain Duxson

Random and associated images.