The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Saturday, the 10th of February, 2024.

By Dwain Duxson

20 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 and Rob Dawes.

Not for us

You might have seen some footage of the protests throughout Europe. They were pretty full on, and I think in a few of the Countries, they got a result. By that, I mean they are in negotiation with the Government for a better deal. Part of what they were protesting for is what we are facing here ourselves, and that is the ability to Farm how we want to without environmental type regulation and restriction. These guys have some of those measures in place, and it is affecting their ability to Farm. But getting back to their protesting styles, they are completely different to us. Like the footage of the guys dumping a roll of Hay in a McDonald's and then spreading it out all over the place. Then there was the one of them lining the street in Paris with Big Squares stacked 4 or 5 high. I just couldn't see that style of protesting working here because by messing up the place, they are creating clean-up work for someone else. All I can say is that, in comparison, we are very peaceful protesters. Do you think protesting works? Reply to [email protected]

That Ham, Cheese and Tomato Sandwich

The Wimmera Farmers will think differently, but the Yorke Peninsula is the home of the Lentil. I am amazed that they haven't got "the big Lentil" in Kadina or Maitland. I visited the Yorke Peninsula last Wednesday and had a bit of a look around and caught up with a few people. It had been a while since I last visited, and I also wanted to check out what you get for up to $20,000 an acre to buy or up to $400 a acre to lease. I mean, when you think about it, it's a unique part of the world that has a niche Farming gift that sets it apart from the rest. That unique gift is the ability to grow Lentils, which has served these guys well for a while now but mainly in the last 3 or 4 years. Lentil prices hover around a $1000 a tonne ($865 to $895 yesterday ex Rupanyup), and they have much improved yields these days. I mean, the place is not wall-to-wall Lentils; there is a Crop rotation process in place. Interestingly, I never saw one Sheep. I guess at $20k an acre; it makes it expensive per DSE…. Oh, and I had the best ham, cheese and tomato Sandwich at the Maitland Bakery. Do you have any stories about the Yorke Peninsula? Reply to [email protected]

Plenty of Bull

The Bulls sales are underway and going by the results so far. I would say the mood is "cautious optimism". Results will be a bit back on the halcyon days or two years ago when the whole industry was at its absolute peak. I see averages of $10k and under, which is healthy, but the thing to keep an eye on is the clearance rates. Sure, there are high-profile studs that will still kick some goals, but there are a lot of studs out there and only a certain number of Cows to service. We will profile all the results in our articles and images section below. So you can keep an eye on things there. Good luck to all the sellers and buyers. Are you buying Bulls this year? 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:

• “Some years ago I attended a council meeting with a copy of expenditure and costs for most expenses so you could actually see where the money vanishes to. The rate money was identical to the wages bill”. - In regards to our Farm Tender Daily story on how Council/Shires need to find alternative revenue sources - Take a read here.

• “On a side note, the local council are developing around 250 residential sections on the western end of town to flog off in the near future. I'm guessing somewhere around $350K per lot”. - This is a Council trying to find an alternative revenue source.

• “Several years ago, Ballarat City Council rates of $42 million were slightly higher than the $41.5 million wage bill” - That’s a big wage bill.

• “The continuing practice of employing more and more staff, to create more and more bureaucracy and red tape is ongoing”. - More on how some Coucils/Shires operate.

• “We used to be able to look to our west off our higher country and see nothing (absolutely beautiful), now we have a 120-degree view of Wind Farms”. - Someone who looks at a Wind Farm every day.

• “No one likes paying something they don’t see they’re getting value for”. - Paying rates again.

• “To our detriment, our Shire can’t seal roads. They use an oleum that liquefies and bleeds on any day over 25c. Therefore, they try to re-sheet it, even spraying water over intersections. Blind Freddy knows it’s cheaper to do it right than keep redoing it. They don’t. Many Shires and state governments contract out work, and there is no accountability for the performance of the finished product”. - More on how some Shires do things.

• “Not much.  The more electronic they go, the less appealing they are to people”. - In reply to what out of the current models of Utes are people going to be collecting in 30 years' time.

End of message.

Dwain Duxson
0427 011 900

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