The Farmers Club Newsletter

The “Club Notes” for Thursday, the 7th of March, 2024.

By Dwain Duxson

I just want to help the young ones

There were alot of young people at our FarmTender2024 event last Friday, and they all had a thirst for knowledge. It's so rewarding to see young people come through the door, part with some money in the realisation that they will reap that value many times over from the things they learn on the day. It also might come from a conversation with a person they met. I was talking to a Farmer who has leased his Farm out to a couple of local young guys. He said, "All I want to do is help the young guys out". It's a statement that says to me that there are some bloody good human beings in Ag. It's like what Hayley Grosser noted in her interview, as they lease alot of Land off tenants they have a great relationship with, and to the tenant, it's about the money, yes, but it's not only about the money. She said, "Farmers knew one of our leases was coming up for renewal, and they were offering more money, but the tenant refused the other offers because they just wanted us as temporary custodians of their Land". How good is that? Do you help, or do you intend to help the young ones in your Ag journey? Reply to [email protected]

Long term succession

Every Farm is different, and every Farmer operates differently from the next. It's one of the beauties of Farming. Succession is one of the biggest issues in Ag, and like every Farm, no two Farming succession issues are the same. They all have a uniqueness about them. We think of succession where we all get in a room with a facilitator, start dividing up the assets, you get this, they get that, then you all come to a reluctant agreement, get all the legals done, and within 3 months, it is all done, and we have to work out how we are going to operate with what we have and more so what we don't have. Wam, bam, thank you, mam. That's probably a bit extreme, but that is how it might feel. So why can't we do a succession over a period of 10 or 20 years? So, it becomes the cornerstone of all the decisions we make around the Farm going forward. It's not easy because family Farming can be all about accumulating and dividing. You can do some of the initial work internally, but it's advisable to get someone in to help you through the process because those skills need to be brought to the table. This is exactly what someone said in their reply through email yesterday. See the last quote in "your replies" below. Are you looking at a long succession, and if so, would you be willing to start now? Reply to [email protected]

Head to toe

I don't know about you, but when I was on the Farm, hydraulics and I had this hate/hate relationship. Anytime you would work with hydraulics, you would always end up with hydraulic oil from head to toe. The very first thing you would need to do when you know an encounter with a hydraulic connection was coming up was to organise a rag or two. And boy, did we have some monumental encounters. Please tell me, dealing with hydraulics is much easier now. Surely they would have wonderful connection technology these days? Don't get me wrong; it's one of the greatest inventions ever. Whoever came up with the idea is a genius. It's a brilliant system. Out of 10, with 10 being excellent, how would you rate your relationship with connecting or unconnecting hydraulics? 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:

• “I like it - some grass roots common sense in state politics. However, someone give him a lend of a 600 Quaddie (Quadtrac) cause he’s gunna need all the HP and traction he can muster to govern going forward”. - In reply to our Note on Tassie premier Jeremy Rocliff on how he’s a Farmer and his campaign video is done from the Farm with a Tractor and Disc.

• “He had Aussies blocked outta Tassie during COVID ….. happy to bankrupt Taswegians with a future stadium holding half the apple isles population (looking across the Derwent to a similar stadium at Bellerive ….. and talks of “having a plan” (like a current federal leader …..) ….. ummm, No!! - A Tasmainian that not so supportive of the Premier.

• “Firstly very well done on the event Friday, a great setting even allowing how hard the set up was and very well run. Love to see the event in SA next year”. - An attendee from last Friday who is asking for it to be in SA next year.

• “Fully understand where you’re coming from ….. but suffered under this bloke!!”. - In reply to our Note of Tassie Premier being a Farmer.

• “G’day Dwain, what Claire (Booth, Lawyer) spoke about last Friday is a really important component of moving Farming operations forward. We are a fair way through setting up our Farm for the next generation to take over. It has taken a while for me to realise outside advice is very necessary as there are so many areas that have to be covered to keep harmonious relations in the family. And family is so important”. - An attendee at last Friday’s event who could relate to what the speaker (Claire Booth) was saying in regards to succession planning. See the story above.

End of message.

Dwain Duxson
0427 011 900

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