The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Wednesday, the 28th of February, 2024.

By Dwain Duxson

3 days to go

Our FarmTender2024 - Entrepreneurs in Farming event is not far away. Click here for more info. See the media release here. Read some of the questions we are going to ask: Danny Thomas, Rob Dawes, Claire Booth, Andrew Weidemann, David Jochinke, John Gladigau, Hayley Grosser, Cassidy Johnston, Jeff McDonald, Broden Holland and Sam Van Assche.

Game-changing opportunity

There is a quote in an article below (it's the story under those expensive John Deere pliers) that resonated with me. It was from GRDC Chairman John Woods, and it went like this, "we do need to increase our risk appetite to give you those game-changing opportunities". He was talking about the GRDC in this case, which is wonderfully comforting for Farmers to hear because they have a mission to find the things that make extra money for Farmers. But it would be a good quote to use ourselves in our own businesses. You could ask yourselves, as a Farm, what big risks are we going to take this year in order to get our profitability up, or something along those lines? I mean, you might plant more Lentils, or take a punt on a couple of mobs of cheap Ewes, or start a Wagyu Stud, etc. I spoke to a Farmer the other day who spent upwards of 3 million creating a wedding venue and accommodation on the Farm. That would fit into this category. Tell us what you are thinking you might do this year? Reply to [email protected]

Managing the money-go-round

A replier below commented about one of the articles we put up on holding onto Grain. With on-Farm and Warehouse storage these days, it can be a big job selling all the Grain once the Harvest has finished. That is usually left to someone as a responsibility. Many use Brokers to help them out, but I detect a movement away from Brokers, and Farmers start to do the marketing themselves. But I think there is a bigger job than just the Grain selling, and that is managing the money-go-round. There is so much money going in and out these days that it's a concentrated effort to keep the Farm's finances above the line. By that, I mean that you have to have a fair level of available cash or credit in order to keep the business going. I found when I was doing the Farm books, I would always get the monthly bill figure wrong, and it was always more than I expected. So there would be a scramble to sell something to make up the difference to keep the overdraft liquid. These days the costs are higher, and some of the bills you look at can be a surprise. Anything with a Dealer's name attached to the letterhead can be scary. How do you manage the money-go-round? Reply to [email protected]

Backing in

There is a photo of a crowded Boorowa St in Young NSW in 1968, and it shows how busy the place is. One thing that has bemused me over the years is how and why some NSW and Qld towns make it so you back into their street parking. It's not at a 45-degree angle; it's more like a 70 degrees. I have always questioned it as being inefficient in that there are usually no lines marked, and it's sort of a bit random as to how everyone does it. When I say inefficient, you will see differing gaps between the cars because the accuracy of backing in is nothing like just freewheeling in forward where you can get tight. Plus, you have to hold up traffic to back in. Looking at the photo below, they have done very well, and that was in the days before the backing camera, which I recon have been one of the greatest inventions ever. Do you like the backing in parking model? "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:

• “Just reading through the newsletter to find the comment about holding Grain on Farm… Sounds like a pretty good argument for a centralised, orderly marketing system… What's that? We had one? One of the things that I hear these days since we devolved ownership of our Grains industry, especially from younger people, is that the Harvest never really ends. I think this is one of the reasons the Sheep are all gone (or at least the ones with Wool on them) from around here (Northern Riverina), handling Grain takes up a lot of time”. - In reply to Andrew Whitelaw's story on holding Grain for a better price post Harvest myth.

• “I read somewhere that seaweed has high levels of 3 toxic minerals. One of them was mercury. It was about 9 times over the acceptable level for inclusion in rations. It sort of makes sense. In the past, there have been cases of flake or hake we buy at Fish and Chip Shops testing high in mercury, and health warnings being put out to the Public”. - In reply to our Note on fattening Cattle on seaweed.

• “My understanding is if you can get it into Cattle, it helps. The coalition funded a lot of trails. Not much good for Stock in the paddock but might help as an added supplement in Feedlots”. - More on the seaweed topic.

• “My experience has taught me the squeaky wheel gets the oil from politicians. If nobody critically examines their actions goodness knows what we end up with. The trick is to get in early while policy is being developed. Far too late complaining when it is announced”. - In reply to our Note on seeing everything in a positive light. Sometimes, you need to stick up for yourself, and that might come across as being negative at times.

• “Keep up the great work, Dwain; choosing our attitude is so important, and you throw the right amount of positivity to your writing and present the reality as it is rather than what we wish it is”. - A comment on our Note about talking the show up with a positive tone.

• “Hi Dwain, nature already takes care of methane emissions from Cattle on pasture through methanotroph bacteria, which use methane as an energy source. The seaweed scenario is only relevant to Feedlots, but it would have to be a lot cheaper to be viable”. - More on seaweed as a feed source for Cattle.

End of message.

Dwain Duxson
0427 011 900

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