The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Thursday, the 5th of October 2023

By Dwain Duxson

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A modern-day Ram Auction

Paula and I attended the family's Annual Ram Sale on Wednesday. We helped out as we do every year, and I was thinking how this and many other Ram Auctions have changed over the years. We used to do big marquees on the lawn area and sell over the pens. It was pretty dangerous for the Auctioneer. They then went to selling in a sales ring, and that was pretty wild, too. I have outlined in a series of 4 photos below. 1) The Rams are housed in a separate Shed next to the selling centre (new Woolshed) where people inspect the Rams that are 2 to a pen. 2) This is where the dramatic change is. All the Rams are filmed and put on a big screen that can be viewed by the audience, who sit in comfort, and the Auctioneer and the trusty group of Agents take bids from the floor. Not a live Ram in sight. Also, the Rams are filmed so they can be viewed on the Auctionplus platform, where people can bid in real-time from the comfort of their Farm office. 3) The result. It was a solid result, considering where the Sheep Market is at. 4) The obligatory photo/s of the top-priced Rams. This is common and makes its way to the Rural news media or on social media. See the 4 images below. Reply to [email protected]

The smell of freshly tilled soil….

My wife Paula and I were driving past a Crop of Canola in the process of filling after some rain. She said I can never get used to that smell. I said I actually liked it. So, it got me thinking. What are some of the things in Ag that hit the senses? Have you ever experienced the smell of freshly tilled, moist soil? Does the sound of rain on the tin roof soothe you? What about the sight and smell of a flyblown Sheep? How about the smell of a new Tractor or Ute? What are some that you remember? Reply to [email protected]

Record crowd again…..

The Elmore Field Days wound up on Thursday this week. Tuesday was a complete washed out, and bugger all attended. The rain was great though…. Day 2 was say so, one exhibitor said. And they were rolling out the old chestnut of a record crowd for the Thursday. A few Farming mates and I were talking over a beer on Wednesday night, and the subject of Field Days losing their lustre came up. One of the Farmers said they are no longer a must-attend like they used to be. "You can get all your information elsewhere and talk to people who have used a particular Machine or piece of Equipment you might be interested in. People value peer reviews. There is plenty of this going on in places like Twitter (Now X)" the Farmer said. Oh, and also, it might be a good Spraying Day….. Reply to [email protected]

Don't get sucked into "the new normal"

When Livestock prices hit record highs not so long ago, many would comment, "Are we in the new normal"? I may have been seen writing about it myself. We can get sucked in, and as I get older and wiser, I think that predicting the future is fraught with danger, especially in Ag. I saw this quote recently, "Prediction is an illusion. A trap that conditions you to a state of learned helplessness". That doesn't mean we don't have opinions, and we don't stop seizing opportunities. This period of low Livestock prices is not the new normal. We will come out of it. But where it lands is anyone's guess. Reply to [email protected]

End of message.

Dwain Duxson

Random and associated images.