The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Tuesday the 6th of February 2024.

By Dwain Duxson

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

Speaker profile Danny Thomas - Our FarmTender2024 - Entrepreneurs in Farming event is not far away, with only 24 days to go. Click here for more info and click here to see what sort of information we want to prize out of Danny.

The backbone of our Country

Our Utes aren't built like they used to be, but they are more popular than ever, with Tradies, Mum's and Dad's, Families, Tourist, even the young ones like them, you name it have got Utes now. That's why I find it very disturbing that the Government wants to put restrictions on the humble Ute and try to force people into buying an EV. This doesn't make any sense because Ute's are workhorses, and you need grunt to be able to tow things. EV's don't have grunt from a towing or workhorse point of view. Once again it's the Government making decisions without even thinking what the consequences might be. People all over the Country have Utes for practical reasons, and those reasons are wide and varied. That's why two brands of Utes occupy the number 1 and 2 spot of the most sold Vehicles in Australia. They really are the backbone of our Country. I don't understand why they have to mess with it. What's your view? Reply to [email protected]

Recency bias

I remember back 20-odd years ago when I used to listen to the ABC Country Report, which came on at about 6:30 am. I remember when we used to get our break each year in Autumn, and people would ring in and give their rainfall figures. Many would say, "That's gotta be the best break we have ever had". This is typical of how recency bias works; we simply forget what happened in the past and focus on the present. Something that is present and clear in our mind gets precedence over something that is a bit cloudy and not quite as clear in our mind. But don't worry, we all suffer from it. Do you have an example of recency bias? Reply to [email protected]

Getting rich slowly

Farming is a classic example of how to get rich slowly. Many Farmers own Land and have done so for generations. It's taken Farmers a long time for Land to realise its true worth, and really, it has only been the last 10 to 15 years that we have seen everyday Farmers realise real wealth. Now, many of these Farms have assets under management anywhere from $10 to $30 to $50 million dollars. And then there are the ones that are bigger again. Most of these Farmers don't feel wealthy, but in reality they are. So we have to look at our Farm wealth differently these days because our production hasn't been able to keep up with the rises in Land prices. No longer can we get lucky enough to pay off a block of Land with 1 or maybe 2 good Crops. That ship has sailed. And that wealth is only really realised when you sell, and I have this inkling that some are thinking about just that. If you are fortunate enough to own Land, how do you treat your Farm wealth? 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:

• “The same can be said for Animal health, welfare and husbandry. We respect our stock and treat them with such respect. I’d be the first person to report cruel animal practices. I don’t need some earth soldier with dreadlocks to tell me I’m a bad person because we run Cattle”. - A general comment that Farmers are fantastic at looking after their Stock.

• “CLARKSON’S FARM - First time I caught while on holidays. Funniest thing I’ve seen in years. Good for the soul”. - A reader who has just seen Clarkson’s Farm for the first time. It’s done so much for Ag in the UK.

• “Back a while ago, I got two quotes to shift 1500 head of cattle one came in at $.95 per kilometre per deck, the other one came in at $1.12 per kilometre per deck when I rang the dearer fella who had been carting Cattle for me for three years, and when I told him I'd gone elsewhere, I got abused verbally over the phone, and he ended up telling me to F off. I guess they think that because they've been doing it for a while, they get a little complacent”. - In reply to our Note on how people react when they lose something in business.

• “I’ve witnessed some fairly poor reactions and poor behaviour from losing a potential sale or client.” - On how people react again.

• “Once upon a time we had 2 local agencies, which was good, healthy competition and all, but the remaining one (the principal of the business) used to abuse Farmers when they would buy the stock from the one that's now out of the game. I believe he once publicly abused a Cockey for buying a Bull at the annual Bull sale in front of hundreds of people because he was being sold by the opposition. Poor form”. - Another story on how people react.

End of message.

Dwain Duxson
0427 011 900

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