The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Tuesday, the 17th of October 2023

By Dwain Duxson

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Is old news still good news?

Does a weekly Ag newspaper cut it anymore? I used to love all the Ag Newspapers and couldn't wait until Thursday or Friday to get my copy. We got most of them, Stock & Land, The Land, Stock Journal, and the Weekly Times. We even subscribed to the WA Farm Weekly. Saturday mornings were bliss. It was always an early rise so you could get over all the things going on in Ag. But today, we don't buy any. In fact, we haven't bought an Ag Newspaper for seven years, maybe longer. Why? Because all the printed news has already been told. To me, old news is old news. You move on. Sure, there are articles profiling people and their Ag achievements, but they are pretty timeless, and you come across them at some point. I understand not everyone has ditched them and gone to digital, so they still have their place. But my observation is that young people don't buy newspapers, and as the generations change, they might get phased out eventually. I would love to know how many copies of the thinning Stock & Land now sell each week. Where do you get your Ag news? Reply to [email protected]

Kerang an Ag Manufacturing hotspot?

It's interesting driving through Kerang (Vic) these days to see how much Ag Manufacturing is going on there. It's well and truly punching above its weight. Some names include Dunstan Farmers, AgCrete Industries, 10 Fold Engineering, Eastern Spreaders, Leersen Electronic, Kerfab, Ezydrive Post Company, Equipco, etc. They also have Farmor Manufacturing and Counterpoint Stockfeeds 20 odd km's down the road. I was talking to Matt MacCabe from 10 Fold about it the other day, and he said most of the businesses were in expansion mode. How good is that for the area? We really need to celebrate our Aussie Ag Manufacturing sector as it's big and very diverse. There are a lot of clever people out there building some wonderful products. What's your favourite piece of Aussie-made Ag Machinery? Reply to [email protected]

A transition that saved an industry

We wrote about the saying "ducks on the pond" the other day and said how many Shearing teams are dominated by women these days. The Shearing industry was once a male-dominated domain, but not anymore. And when you look at it, it would be three-quarters stuffed by now without women coming into the Shearing industry. It's funny how you put a Shearing competition on at a Show or Event, and people mill around in droves and can watch for hours on end. But, when it comes to recruiting new people into the industry, that's another story again. It's probably because it's bloody hard work. What's your greatest Shearing Shed memory? Reply to [email protected]

Remembering your postcode

Farming in many areas has changed. For example, Western NSW has transitioned from Merinos to Dorpers and Goats. The Country around Griffith, NSW, has changed when Irrigation was introduced. They are opportunity Cropping in Western Queensland around Richmond now. Dairy Farmers going into Beef, and now some are looking to go back into Dairy. I was discussing this very thing with a Griffith Farmer the other day. And he said to me that people still have to remember their postcode. By that, he meant we are all trying to push production, and sometimes the country or the postcode isn't capable of that bit extra. He said he had seen disasters where people put too much Urea out on Crops grown on marginal Cropping country where the postcode is renowned for the lack of rainfall and dry finishes. In many of these spots, they wouldn't have considered Cropping it in the past. Thoughts? Reply to [email protected]

End of message.

Dwain Duxson

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