The Farmers Club Newsletter

No 112 - Saturday's Club Notes

Dwain Duxson
January 20, 2024

The “Club Notes” for Saturday the 20th of January 2024.

By Dwain Duxson

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

Acres or Hectares?

There is a snippet from an article below saying that we have gone pretty much fully metric in Australia apart from acres. Ask most Farmers how big their Farm is, and they still talk in acres. Most Rural Property ads you see have acres, and I reckon they should be displaying both acres and hectares beside each other. It's like on our Farm Tender site, we always have an Ex GST price and below it an Inc GST price. It just takes away all the confusion. Most Grain Farmers have switched over to tonne per hectare. Having not been a Farmer for a while, I am starting to get used to it, but I still like to bring it back to bags per acre, just so I know the exact yield in my head. What do you mainly use, acres or hectares? Reply to [email protected]

Maaaaaaates

Michael Bagshaw has brought up the subject of how important your mates are. You can see part of the article he wrote below. But it got me thinking about how important mates are. And how some of them you might only talk to once or twice a year, but it's like where you left off the last time. I've been lucky in that we've lived in a few different spots and have some good mates from all the areas we have been to. The common denominator for us when we moved to a new area where we didn't know anyone was sport. If you play sport, you're right. For me, it was Cricket, and Cricket is a very social game. Farming can be a lonely pursuit, and sometimes, we can get caught on the Farm for weeks at a time and never leave. So that's where mates are important. And as I said the other day in a Note, anything like a reunion of some sort, don't hesitate. Make an effort to go; it will give you a boost to see people you achieved something with again. Paula and I were out to dinner last night, and there were groups of women out together; they do the mate thing better than blokes, I reckon. Tell us how important your mates are to you? Reply to [email protected]

Is our Education system right?

We got a huge resposnse to our Farm Tender "Daily" about Boarding vs Local Schooling. You can read the article here. We had plenty of wide and varied views on the subject, and many endorsing both and for different reasons. Many who replied spoke about our current education system, with most questioning whether it's adequate for the real world. Some of the stuff they learn these days is just not needed for what they are about to endure in the adult world. I think teachers today do a good job because it really is a thankless task teaching kids, especially in this day of social media, which can become addictive. So I take my hat off to teachers but bemoan when they start politicising things and passing their own views onto the kids. That was spelt out when the Yes/No vote was going on, and kids were coming home from school telling their parents which way they should be voting. I think the education system needs an overhaul, and many of you who responded said the same. I guess that's why some parents believe in homeschooling. What is your opinion of the education system? 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:

“Fendt. I've been running them for well over 30 years. Their engineering, etc, has been ahead of the times. I tipped one over with a Silage CT Feed Out Cart on and walked away”. - A Fendt fan in relation to our Farm Tender Daily story on which Tractor is the “Best in class”.
“I was fairly strong on Red, but after. a couple of mishaps, I started looking at John Deere and Fendt. Love the Fendts. Bought the first one (slightly cheaper than JD), loved it and traded on a new one. Then added a small Fendt as well, so now I own two”. - Another Fendt fan
“Deeres all gone (3) and replaced by Fendt; the last 2 were cheaper, but I didn’t even compare the 300 hp one as it was so superior, better in almost every way”. - Yet another Fendt fan
“Fendt is recognised as the Rolls Royce of Tractor engineering for a long time. The big Hay Contractors in my area use Fendt; they are sold by the local Massey dealer, who gives really good service”. - Yet again. And it’s good to hear of a Dealer giving good service.
“John Deere is overrated, I believe, and have snob value. You have arrived when you have a John Deere, a LandCruiser 79 Dual Cab and a big hat - Someone and their opinion of John Deere.
“The cheapest Tractor is a con tractor”. - In relation to our DIY Earthmoving Note.
“The years that our children would have been at Boarding School were the best years that we had with them”. - Parent who decided not to send their kids to Boarding School.