Ive just had a change to read the stats to this little blog and its interesting to read people from as far away as Romania, The Ukriane and Canada are reading as well as many people from Australia and other destinations.
Let me just say thank you very much for taking the time to stop by and read - in todays fast paced world of www. something or other its quite a feeling to have your thoughts read around the world!
So please feel free to leave some comments, let me know where your from and what you do with yourself?
Look forward to hearing from you all!
Friday 23 September 2011
Saturday 10 September 2011
Big hats and sunsets
I was speaking with a great mate today - we've been best of mates since the first day we met in the main street of Horsham having fish and chips - funny how you remember events!
We are both from farming backgrounds and both have our own businesses - I guess now both of us are closer to 40 than 30 some big questions start to pop up.......
We both came pretty quickly decided that our futures lie in the farming game but for us both to remain a lot of things need to change and it got me to thinking if other people are thinking the same way.....
1) Expansion.
This is not negotiable, every year our base line figure for growth needs to be 15%, this is a big ask but it means some buffering against the declining terms of trade and the shrinking value of a dollar
2) Finance.
Plain and simply Australian mainstream banks are still stuck in the 1960's. Structural finance for agriculture is in the dark ages. The idea that farmers rely on land to borrow against in the whole is completely ridiculous and is slowing growth of farming businesses massively
3) Value adding.
Ive always been pretty convinced Im a low cost commodity producer and thats where things should lay - over the last few months starting a meat brand (www.certifieddorperlamb.com) has started opening up a whole new world to me and I now firmly believe where appropriate and cost effective value adding of product through the chain closer to the consumer will continue to grow as part of our business
4) Contractual Production/Intellectual Property.
Its works for Monsanto doesnt it? Perhaps our farming businesses now need to look at 'owning a production system' and utilising in house IP to ramp up production through third party providers. The pork and chook industries have this sussed out and I reckon a lot of cattle and sheep producers should research this further
5) Think like a corporate and not like a family business.
Its time we realised we are in control of multi million dollar businesses and we need to act like it - if not a board of directors then a board of management is required to keep farming businesses growing.
Ive been reading a lot lately about some of the growth in agriculture in South America with the likes of El-Tejar, Los Grobos and Maggi Group to name a few - these are businesses build on leasing land, modern principles that work in every retail business around.....except Australian agriculture it would seem.
The South American agribusiness powerhouses are growing at a massive rate with Los Grobos now farming around 630,000 acres with a variety of crops - there is no reason similar style businesses shouldnt be happening in Australia.....that is unless you want to finance them from an Australian bank!
So there you have it for some afternoon thoughts - agriculture isn't all about big hats and sunsets, theres some serious decisions which will shape our future being discussed at a lot of kitchen tables!!
Oh year.......and then theres carbon farming but thats a whole different story!!!
We are both from farming backgrounds and both have our own businesses - I guess now both of us are closer to 40 than 30 some big questions start to pop up.......
- Is there a better way to do things?
- Should we be expanding, standing still or selling assets to invest off farm?
- Is there really a viable future in our current businesses?
- Is mother nature really an Al Qaeda terrorist?
- Finance, finance and finance - how to finance when the banks arent keeping up with changes
- And of course structure, outside participation and working together
We both came pretty quickly decided that our futures lie in the farming game but for us both to remain a lot of things need to change and it got me to thinking if other people are thinking the same way.....
1) Expansion.
This is not negotiable, every year our base line figure for growth needs to be 15%, this is a big ask but it means some buffering against the declining terms of trade and the shrinking value of a dollar
2) Finance.
Plain and simply Australian mainstream banks are still stuck in the 1960's. Structural finance for agriculture is in the dark ages. The idea that farmers rely on land to borrow against in the whole is completely ridiculous and is slowing growth of farming businesses massively
3) Value adding.
Ive always been pretty convinced Im a low cost commodity producer and thats where things should lay - over the last few months starting a meat brand (www.certifieddorperlamb.com) has started opening up a whole new world to me and I now firmly believe where appropriate and cost effective value adding of product through the chain closer to the consumer will continue to grow as part of our business
4) Contractual Production/Intellectual Property.
Its works for Monsanto doesnt it? Perhaps our farming businesses now need to look at 'owning a production system' and utilising in house IP to ramp up production through third party providers. The pork and chook industries have this sussed out and I reckon a lot of cattle and sheep producers should research this further
5) Think like a corporate and not like a family business.
Its time we realised we are in control of multi million dollar businesses and we need to act like it - if not a board of directors then a board of management is required to keep farming businesses growing.
Ive been reading a lot lately about some of the growth in agriculture in South America with the likes of El-Tejar, Los Grobos and Maggi Group to name a few - these are businesses build on leasing land, modern principles that work in every retail business around.....except Australian agriculture it would seem.
The South American agribusiness powerhouses are growing at a massive rate with Los Grobos now farming around 630,000 acres with a variety of crops - there is no reason similar style businesses shouldnt be happening in Australia.....that is unless you want to finance them from an Australian bank!
So there you have it for some afternoon thoughts - agriculture isn't all about big hats and sunsets, theres some serious decisions which will shape our future being discussed at a lot of kitchen tables!!
Oh year.......and then theres carbon farming but thats a whole different story!!!
Summer Farm Planning
This year we will be cropping another 3000 acres on the Liverpool Plains in between Gunnedah and Tamworth - its a fantastic opportunity to spread the cashflow out a bit and do some summer cropping of sorghum sunflowers and maybe even some cotton.
I see on the weather forecast there was 42mm of rain there over the last couple of days and the agronomist tells me theres a full profile of moisture which means perhaps the possibility of being a bit cheeky and double cropping all the black soil country with sorghum and then back into wheat.
Playing around with some district averages for 6.7t/ha of sorghum and a lock in price of $220/t Im pretty keen to get as much country in as possible - on a back of the envelope budget 800ha would give a gross income of almost $1.2 million, take away costs etc etc there should still be enough for couple of beers and a steak sandwich. It just makes sense to 'farm moisture' through summer and turn the saved moisture into cashflow instead of letting it sit for a wheat crop next year....maybe with enough rain we can get the sorghum off and get a wheat crop in - move to the coast for winter and back a winner for a change!!
Ive also been looking at whats happening with budgets for our new New Zealand lamb finishing enterprise. Ive looked at the NZ experience as a risk management tool, and also a pressure relief valve for what we are banking on in Australia if the proverbial hits the fan!
We've got access to around 15,000 acres of lucerne country in South Canterbury/North Otago and the aim is to buy and fatten around 100 - 120,000 lambs over there. The NZ lamb market is a bit different to the Aussie market in that the prices are very easy to track year in year out - so this takes a fair bit of work out of looking at overpriced and underpriced lambs, its a bit more a case of buying as many 28-32 kg liveweight lambs and get them through to 43-46 kg liveweight as quickly as possible. Buying in mid autumn and turning off late winter is a fantastic trade with this year showing around $65/lamb and then taking off cost of carry etc still ends up around $33 per lamb net cash.
The most intruiging thing in NZ is its possible to finance a finishing/backgrounding animal by just using the animal itself as collateral - unheard of in Australia I would have thought!! Anyway, for thinking right outside of the square and not being afraid to jump on a plane to see how things are going can certainly mean a lot less stress (I hope!) on things in Australia.
Isnt it stupid though - we live and farm in Australia and in order to safeguard things here we end up looking outside of the nation to income opportunities. I know Ive written it before but I really do wonder where things are heading for this country. I dont expect a handout, I dont expect subsidies but it would be handy for a few changes to make the game a bit less problematic!
Dorper ewe prices seem to have come off a bit the last month or so which will make it handy for stocking the new farm, we sold a load of cast for age ewes the other week and it might have been good timing before the price slide. Im thinking sheep prices will stay up for a while yet but they were a bit overheated for the first half of 2011.
Anyway, theres a few random thoughts with whats happening in my little corner of the world at the moment, hope everyone else got a good splash of rain this week
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Overpriced and underpriced cattle
Just looking to stock a lease block near Tamworth for 5-550 head of cattle and its interesting looking at the prices floating about.
My grazing plan is telling me I have more than enough feed to get me right through Summer even with less than average rain - in fact Id like to get rid of some of the dead feed which is slowly oxidising and get some new feed off and racing if we get some Spring rain.
Cows and calves are ranging from $1000 to $1500 in the last week for pretty much the same quality - Im guessing there might be another $40-50 in cartage there but still some good buying around the place. Its still showing a 32% return on money with cost of carry taken into consideration.
Heifers seem to be up and down a bit too ranging from a high of 244c/kg down to 172c/kg in the markets Ive been looking at - if I was a bit surer of the quality of the feed on this new block it could be worthwhile getting some extra animal pressure with some heifers and extra numbers - get them in calf and turn them over.
Would be a great time to have a crystal ball to know where the season is going in northern NSW at the moment!
Last weeks markets for cows averages 149c/kg in Dubbo and 134c/kg in Tamworth - thats quite a difference and it would be interesting to know the make up of the cows there, Indicus content, quality etc etc. At those prices buying in Tamworth, and trucking to Dubbo still makes for a good margin even with cartage taken into account - now there would be a strategic move that even Sir Sid Kidman would be proud of!
The livestock market is an incredible way to make cashflow, turnover and true profits. It doesnt involve overpaid capital city executives trading fluff and paper. Australia needs to focus on producing something real instead of moving paper around the place and charging for it.
With all this data I reckon you'll see me at Inverell and Tamworth sales in the next week or so! Stop and say gday if you spot me there.
Happy farming and lets hope for a good downpour to kick Spring into gear!
My grazing plan is telling me I have more than enough feed to get me right through Summer even with less than average rain - in fact Id like to get rid of some of the dead feed which is slowly oxidising and get some new feed off and racing if we get some Spring rain.
Cows and calves are ranging from $1000 to $1500 in the last week for pretty much the same quality - Im guessing there might be another $40-50 in cartage there but still some good buying around the place. Its still showing a 32% return on money with cost of carry taken into consideration.
Heifers seem to be up and down a bit too ranging from a high of 244c/kg down to 172c/kg in the markets Ive been looking at - if I was a bit surer of the quality of the feed on this new block it could be worthwhile getting some extra animal pressure with some heifers and extra numbers - get them in calf and turn them over.
Would be a great time to have a crystal ball to know where the season is going in northern NSW at the moment!
Last weeks markets for cows averages 149c/kg in Dubbo and 134c/kg in Tamworth - thats quite a difference and it would be interesting to know the make up of the cows there, Indicus content, quality etc etc. At those prices buying in Tamworth, and trucking to Dubbo still makes for a good margin even with cartage taken into account - now there would be a strategic move that even Sir Sid Kidman would be proud of!
The livestock market is an incredible way to make cashflow, turnover and true profits. It doesnt involve overpaid capital city executives trading fluff and paper. Australia needs to focus on producing something real instead of moving paper around the place and charging for it.
With all this data I reckon you'll see me at Inverell and Tamworth sales in the next week or so! Stop and say gday if you spot me there.
Happy farming and lets hope for a good downpour to kick Spring into gear!
Democracy....as long as you agree with Comrade Gillard
Now I don't mind getting stuck in and saying my piece. Im a keen believer in free speech and people saying exactly what they think....its called democracy isnt it? Doesn't Fanta Pants describe it as democracy in the making over in Afghanistan when our diggers are killed fighting a war no one even seems to know what is for? Didnt it start as weapons of mass destruction some years ago and then waver on into the war on terror and then it was the fight for democracy in a country run by warlords for the last 1000 years......can someone just say oil and be done with it? Anyway...... Im being well and truly sidetracked!
Well, Ive been listening to old Fanta Pants, Bob Beige and that rude little bastard Albanese with regards to the convoy into Canberra yesterday. How dare Bob Beige call it a convoy of no consequence... the very task of organising that many people and vehicles is a mammoth effort, Ive been following the groups in Facebook etc and in contact with some of the people involved - how in the hell did we end up with this angry little gay man holding Fanta Pants by the short and curly's and pulling the strings running the country?
Albanese's comments were just plain rude and showed plainly his clear lack of education - when did these MP's forget that they are there to represent the people? Since when did these MP's forget that it is the people in Australia who work their bums off making a dollar actually pay for their wages, their useless government junkets, their overpriced retirement plans and dare I say it in Thomsons case their prostitutes too! Why arent these people accountable to the very people who fork out money every week? Its beyond me and shows our country is going the wrong way down a one way road at the moment. Scary times
Gillard, Fanta Pants, The Goose in The Office, Juliar..... for once in your pathetic excuse for a leaderships time please have a look at yourself in the mirror and try one of your speeches without wincing at the complete load of bollocks that comes out of your cake hole! You too are sitting up there in The Lodge with your hairdresser boyfriend living off the tax payer, you are not some untouchable dictator - although your trying your bloody best to install yourself as a dictator! Your approval rating is at 28%. 28%!!!!! I guess you will have the dubious honour of going down in history as the worst labour leader ever - hell of a thing to be remembered by!
You knifed Kevin 747 in the back when you said you wouldnt
You are trying to give us a carbon tax when you promised you wouldnt
The steel industry is collapsing
The rural industry might as well pack up and move to Brazil - at least we are wanted there
You are borrowing over $2 billion dollars a week just to keep your circus afloat
For christs sake woman....enough is enough! Do the honourable thing and hold an election - you are not Gadaffi, you are not Fidel Castro, you wouldn't even make the chewing gum of Margaret Thatchers shoe!
I just read this letter on Facebook from Leigh Davis and wanted to share it with you all - I hope you all read it 2 or 3 times and take the time to think about it during this week. There are some very important thoughts i contained in it.
From a Convoy of No Confidence Supporter Leigh Davis.
It has been suggested to me to post my letter here to show the "Convoyers" a bit more support. I have posted to 7pm and the today pages as well as emailing sunrise. I hope this gives you all a bit more support.
I was extremely disappointed to see all the negative coverage the convoy received today. Above all else, all of these people stood up for something they believed in. How many people can say that? And I don't mean just voicing their opinion, but actually getting up and doing something about it.
Does anyone know how much money it cost for those in the convoy to participate? Thousands. And before you say "how can these people cry broke and then go and spend that money?" A lot of these people were either sponsored or used what little money they have left to fight for their beliefs. Like a very well repected young woman said (not verbatim) "she would rather spend that money now than be able to do nothing when they are broke".
To put the icing on the cake, I turned on the news this evening and saw Anthony Albanese ridiculing those taking part. Since when is it acceptable for someone in the government to carry on so unacceptably towards members of the public? Now, if the convoyers were the opposition, I would say that is normal behaviour for the front benchers, but not towards people who potentially voted them into power. Is Mr Albanese proud of his behaviour tonight, watching play backs? Would he like to be ridiculed by those "representing" him and the rest of Australia? Because now it IS his turn to be judged by those who he represents. Australia has seen his true colours and I'm sure he'll be found lacking. I also hope particular attention is paid to the PM and her pompous little smirk while Mr Albanese was ranting.
And as for calling it the convoy of no consequence, did he ever see the footage of the convoy passing through Charters Towers? Has anybody in the media looked at it? The streets were lined with towns folk. Not to mention how many took part in the drive through. None of the media seem willing to put forward the fact that a lot of people could not afford to drive the whole way, instead they played tag team with other drivers from other towns. Please note also that for every person that was a participant in the convoy, there were at least a hundred supporting them and their stance. It makes the numbers look fair bit different, doesn't it?
Now back to the PM. Where was she today? Instead of facing people representing a multitude of industries in crisis, she decides to hide behind the downfall of another industry. And surprise, one of her policies has caused this industry to fail. The difference between this and the northern cattle industry is the notice the poor people losing their jobs got. Which ever side of the fence you sit on with regard to live export, I'm sure everyone can agree the cattle industry was thrown into turmoil with no forward planning or notice, whether it was deserved or not. Julia had plenty of time today to talk to the Australians on the "front lawn", she could have fronted both the bluesteel media conference and the convoy participants. But I'm sure she knew there would be no compassion out the front. Instead she chose to stay where she could control the media and rely on them not to report "crap".
That about wraps it up for my rant. Except for my disclaimer: I too would have been an extra face in the crowd, but I have four little girls who rely on me. I have also lost faith in all media and as such will not only send this through to as many media outlets as possible, but will also post on as many websites as I can. This is not just so I can get my position out there, but so my words are not twisted into a different stance as so many people have had done to them before.
Well I guess I better sign off, please leave some comments if you agree with me.... or leave some comments if you think Im barking up the wrong tree!
Freshy
Well, Ive been listening to old Fanta Pants, Bob Beige and that rude little bastard Albanese with regards to the convoy into Canberra yesterday. How dare Bob Beige call it a convoy of no consequence... the very task of organising that many people and vehicles is a mammoth effort, Ive been following the groups in Facebook etc and in contact with some of the people involved - how in the hell did we end up with this angry little gay man holding Fanta Pants by the short and curly's and pulling the strings running the country?
Albanese's comments were just plain rude and showed plainly his clear lack of education - when did these MP's forget that they are there to represent the people? Since when did these MP's forget that it is the people in Australia who work their bums off making a dollar actually pay for their wages, their useless government junkets, their overpriced retirement plans and dare I say it in Thomsons case their prostitutes too! Why arent these people accountable to the very people who fork out money every week? Its beyond me and shows our country is going the wrong way down a one way road at the moment. Scary times
Gillard, Fanta Pants, The Goose in The Office, Juliar..... for once in your pathetic excuse for a leaderships time please have a look at yourself in the mirror and try one of your speeches without wincing at the complete load of bollocks that comes out of your cake hole! You too are sitting up there in The Lodge with your hairdresser boyfriend living off the tax payer, you are not some untouchable dictator - although your trying your bloody best to install yourself as a dictator! Your approval rating is at 28%. 28%!!!!! I guess you will have the dubious honour of going down in history as the worst labour leader ever - hell of a thing to be remembered by!
You knifed Kevin 747 in the back when you said you wouldnt
You are trying to give us a carbon tax when you promised you wouldnt
The steel industry is collapsing
The rural industry might as well pack up and move to Brazil - at least we are wanted there
You are borrowing over $2 billion dollars a week just to keep your circus afloat
For christs sake woman....enough is enough! Do the honourable thing and hold an election - you are not Gadaffi, you are not Fidel Castro, you wouldn't even make the chewing gum of Margaret Thatchers shoe!
I just read this letter on Facebook from Leigh Davis and wanted to share it with you all - I hope you all read it 2 or 3 times and take the time to think about it during this week. There are some very important thoughts i contained in it.
From a Convoy of No Confidence Supporter Leigh Davis.
It has been suggested to me to post my letter here to show the "Convoyers" a bit more support. I have posted to 7pm and the today pages as well as emailing sunrise. I hope this gives you all a bit more support.
I was extremely disappointed to see all the negative coverage the convoy received today. Above all else, all of these people stood up for something they believed in. How many people can say that? And I don't mean just voicing their opinion, but actually getting up and doing something about it.
Does anyone know how much money it cost for those in the convoy to participate? Thousands. And before you say "how can these people cry broke and then go and spend that money?" A lot of these people were either sponsored or used what little money they have left to fight for their beliefs. Like a very well repected young woman said (not verbatim) "she would rather spend that money now than be able to do nothing when they are broke".
To put the icing on the cake, I turned on the news this evening and saw Anthony Albanese ridiculing those taking part. Since when is it acceptable for someone in the government to carry on so unacceptably towards members of the public? Now, if the convoyers were the opposition, I would say that is normal behaviour for the front benchers, but not towards people who potentially voted them into power. Is Mr Albanese proud of his behaviour tonight, watching play backs? Would he like to be ridiculed by those "representing" him and the rest of Australia? Because now it IS his turn to be judged by those who he represents. Australia has seen his true colours and I'm sure he'll be found lacking. I also hope particular attention is paid to the PM and her pompous little smirk while Mr Albanese was ranting.
And as for calling it the convoy of no consequence, did he ever see the footage of the convoy passing through Charters Towers? Has anybody in the media looked at it? The streets were lined with towns folk. Not to mention how many took part in the drive through. None of the media seem willing to put forward the fact that a lot of people could not afford to drive the whole way, instead they played tag team with other drivers from other towns. Please note also that for every person that was a participant in the convoy, there were at least a hundred supporting them and their stance. It makes the numbers look fair bit different, doesn't it?
Now back to the PM. Where was she today? Instead of facing people representing a multitude of industries in crisis, she decides to hide behind the downfall of another industry. And surprise, one of her policies has caused this industry to fail. The difference between this and the northern cattle industry is the notice the poor people losing their jobs got. Which ever side of the fence you sit on with regard to live export, I'm sure everyone can agree the cattle industry was thrown into turmoil with no forward planning or notice, whether it was deserved or not. Julia had plenty of time today to talk to the Australians on the "front lawn", she could have fronted both the bluesteel media conference and the convoy participants. But I'm sure she knew there would be no compassion out the front. Instead she chose to stay where she could control the media and rely on them not to report "crap".
That about wraps it up for my rant. Except for my disclaimer: I too would have been an extra face in the crowd, but I have four little girls who rely on me. I have also lost faith in all media and as such will not only send this through to as many media outlets as possible, but will also post on as many websites as I can. This is not just so I can get my position out there, but so my words are not twisted into a different stance as so many people have had done to them before.
Well I guess I better sign off, please leave some comments if you agree with me.... or leave some comments if you think Im barking up the wrong tree!
Freshy
Sunday 21 August 2011
Sunday morning musings.....
I had to go to the supermarket last night - nothing special with that I guess except this supermarket has 4 security guards...and yes this is in Australia! Im constantly amazed by the fact that a supermarket would need a security guard let alone 4 of them!
Anyway, I first got to meet the head security guard a few weeks ago when I was standing out the front with my dog waiting for my girlfriend who was in doing a bit of shopping - old mate came out and told me I couldn't beg for money outside the Woolworths there, to say I was a bit surprised by this is an understatement! Anyway, we got chatting and he soon realised I wasnt a beggar (didnt think my work clothes were that rough looking!) and we struck up a conversation, old mate who Ive now nicknamed Ghandi is a 6ft tall Indian fella who I wouldnt like to meet down a dark alley. Now we have got to know each other a bit I always say Gday to Ghandi and he always says gday to me, we pass the time of day and I ask him how many people he's had to throw out for the day which is usually 4-5 every day!
Anyway, last night Ghandi was looking a bit stressed and was being interviewed by 4 police, I just just assumed he had dealt with another petty thief and that was that. This morning I got thinking about what my mate Ghandi must go through every day just to put food on the table and I was reminded of the writings of Allan Savory, an exceptional man who will surely go down in history....look him up if you havent heard of him.
Savory talks about the breaking down of society and in turn civilisation and I really can't help but wonder if what Im seeing in inner city Melbourne is the start of a break down in Australian society?
The streets here on a Sunday morning has some extra graffiti scrawled on every bit of available concrete, theres a few more broken bottles and sometimes the odd syringe in the gutters, people dont look one another in the eye and say gday when they walk down the street - something completely foreign to me!
The locals must think Im a bit odd here, I say gday to them, strike up a conversation and always acknowledge them when I see them again.... I guess they dont see that from the locals too much.
Ive met a few other interesting locals here too, and by chance I was just talking to one of them this morning when I went to buy the paper. I met this bloke a few weeks ago when he asked if he could pat my dog - he said his uncle used to have Kelpi's on the property he worked on. This poor fella was an aboriginal bloke who was trying to forget his world drinking cheap wine in a brown paper bag and hurling abuse at his other drunken 'tribe'. His eyes changed from a blank drunken stare to kindness when he patted my dog and in slurred tones he was telling me fondly of his uncles dogs and how he missed having them around, I guess at that stage he was at the bottom of the slippery slope and cheap wine dulled his daily grind. Ive since seen old mate a few times with his 'tribe' and he's always given me a wave and Ive always stopped to say gday and ask him how he is getting on. I dont know think many locals talk to these blokes.
Its obvious handing out endless streams of money doesnt work for people, Ive seen that from the Kimberly to Sydney and from North Queensland to Melbourne. I think my aboriginal mate in Collingwood is a prime example of that. They drink to forget and maybe now they have drunk so much they have forgotten what they were trying to forget in the first place?!
I think this another example of our community breaking down, Australia is a melting pot of cultures, countries and ideals - most people are happy to be here, some are trouble makers and need to be shown the next flight back to where they came from. What is vitally important though is a community and government plan that takes a holistic view of where Australian society is at. Presently we dont have this, we have cultural groups singles out and treated that way - the population of our country is a whole and interacts as a whole, the singling out of groups is simply creating an urban ghetto situation which is leading further down the path of society breakdown.
Im really glad I was bought up in the country on a farm, Im extremely proud to have been able to carry on the family tradition of being a farmer - times have changed recently which is bringing around a whole new adventure for my family and myself. This has taken some extreme planning and at times a leap of faith into the unknown but its all coming together in a way that will take us on a journey for the next 100 or so years - part 2 of the family history hey?
I dont know who, if anyone reads my little blog here in the corner of 'internet land', perhaps even if just 2 or 3 people take my message about where society is going, research holistic decision making, read some of Allan Savory's works and implement it - maybe even tell your friends and family and start looking at your part of the world in a different way too?
Anyway, I first got to meet the head security guard a few weeks ago when I was standing out the front with my dog waiting for my girlfriend who was in doing a bit of shopping - old mate came out and told me I couldn't beg for money outside the Woolworths there, to say I was a bit surprised by this is an understatement! Anyway, we got chatting and he soon realised I wasnt a beggar (didnt think my work clothes were that rough looking!) and we struck up a conversation, old mate who Ive now nicknamed Ghandi is a 6ft tall Indian fella who I wouldnt like to meet down a dark alley. Now we have got to know each other a bit I always say Gday to Ghandi and he always says gday to me, we pass the time of day and I ask him how many people he's had to throw out for the day which is usually 4-5 every day!
Anyway, last night Ghandi was looking a bit stressed and was being interviewed by 4 police, I just just assumed he had dealt with another petty thief and that was that. This morning I got thinking about what my mate Ghandi must go through every day just to put food on the table and I was reminded of the writings of Allan Savory, an exceptional man who will surely go down in history....look him up if you havent heard of him.
Savory talks about the breaking down of society and in turn civilisation and I really can't help but wonder if what Im seeing in inner city Melbourne is the start of a break down in Australian society?
The streets here on a Sunday morning has some extra graffiti scrawled on every bit of available concrete, theres a few more broken bottles and sometimes the odd syringe in the gutters, people dont look one another in the eye and say gday when they walk down the street - something completely foreign to me!
The locals must think Im a bit odd here, I say gday to them, strike up a conversation and always acknowledge them when I see them again.... I guess they dont see that from the locals too much.
Ive met a few other interesting locals here too, and by chance I was just talking to one of them this morning when I went to buy the paper. I met this bloke a few weeks ago when he asked if he could pat my dog - he said his uncle used to have Kelpi's on the property he worked on. This poor fella was an aboriginal bloke who was trying to forget his world drinking cheap wine in a brown paper bag and hurling abuse at his other drunken 'tribe'. His eyes changed from a blank drunken stare to kindness when he patted my dog and in slurred tones he was telling me fondly of his uncles dogs and how he missed having them around, I guess at that stage he was at the bottom of the slippery slope and cheap wine dulled his daily grind. Ive since seen old mate a few times with his 'tribe' and he's always given me a wave and Ive always stopped to say gday and ask him how he is getting on. I dont know think many locals talk to these blokes.
Its obvious handing out endless streams of money doesnt work for people, Ive seen that from the Kimberly to Sydney and from North Queensland to Melbourne. I think my aboriginal mate in Collingwood is a prime example of that. They drink to forget and maybe now they have drunk so much they have forgotten what they were trying to forget in the first place?!
I think this another example of our community breaking down, Australia is a melting pot of cultures, countries and ideals - most people are happy to be here, some are trouble makers and need to be shown the next flight back to where they came from. What is vitally important though is a community and government plan that takes a holistic view of where Australian society is at. Presently we dont have this, we have cultural groups singles out and treated that way - the population of our country is a whole and interacts as a whole, the singling out of groups is simply creating an urban ghetto situation which is leading further down the path of society breakdown.
Im really glad I was bought up in the country on a farm, Im extremely proud to have been able to carry on the family tradition of being a farmer - times have changed recently which is bringing around a whole new adventure for my family and myself. This has taken some extreme planning and at times a leap of faith into the unknown but its all coming together in a way that will take us on a journey for the next 100 or so years - part 2 of the family history hey?
I dont know who, if anyone reads my little blog here in the corner of 'internet land', perhaps even if just 2 or 3 people take my message about where society is going, research holistic decision making, read some of Allan Savory's works and implement it - maybe even tell your friends and family and start looking at your part of the world in a different way too?
Saturday 20 August 2011
Where are we heading as a nation?
Gday everyone and thanks for reading the first of what will be a regular comment whats happening in my part of agriculture as well as some ponderings as to where we are heading as a nation.
Firstly I must send massive congratulations and support to the Convoy of No Confidence - the people involved in this initiative to move concerned Aussies over a long distance to get to Canberra is fantastic. Comments from some mates who were at Charters Towers the other day are that the feeling amongst people was positive and upbeat - I can only hope this grows as everyone gets closer to Canberra!
Who am I? My names Andrew although pretty much the whole world knows me as Freshy and always has. Im a 6th generation farmer from the eastern states of Australia. Mostly my family have always farmed sheep, beef cattle and broadacre crops. Like all families theres been wonderful times and other times which has meant many a night staring at the roof wondering what the future might hold and if indeed there is a solid future in what we do for 'a day job'
Last night was one of those staring at the roof nights, the last few weeks in the media have been extremely scary - we have a government with no real mandate to govern making decisions which, in reality could send a lot of us to the wall - so at 4am or so this morning I really felt I couldnt hold my growing and seething anger and concern in any longer.....not sure who if anyone will read my blog but if we all do our little bit to get our message across then hopefully its like a ripple on a pond.....
The Carbon Tax
First it was global warming, I think Al Gore might have actually set his retirement up quite well jetsetting around the world telling us all we were up that well known creek without a paddle because the world was heating up, the glaciers were all going to melt and some green footed, blue nosed frog in the middle of a jungle somewhere was going to die.
Now its all carbon, carbon, carbon - and funnily enough the very evil Juliar Gillard (thats not a typo) and her band of scaremongering idiots are telling us will kill us all is what they are happy to support other countries digging up so they make some money.
So on one hand we should all be taxed to the eyeballs and scared of carbon, but on the other hand we should all make way for the latest Chinese government company buying up farmland to dig up coal.....or in reality carbon to pay royalties to the government to stop us becoming a Banana Republic.
Now.....when I was at university doing biochemistry units we learnt this about this really odd thing - its called photosynthesis or to put it plainly
light + 6CO2 + 12H20 = C6H12O6 + 6O2 +6H20
Oh my god....who would have though it - plants actually use carbon!!! So in reality, in conjunction with native bush and grasslands, well structured agricultural systems which have a high percentage of perennial forages etc will actually use carbon.
Dr Christine Jones from up on the New England has been saying for quite some time with the building of soil carbon levels there can be up to 33 t of CO2 per hectare.........no point me explaining this further except to say Farmers are in indeed the hero's of our future!
Anyway, back on my little carbon tax rant. Im all for lowering pollution, Ive spent the last couple of months in inner city Melbourne whilst in the process of some business changes and Im dismayed and shocked at the level of filth in the concrete jungle. So Juliar, perhaps a really novel approach to this would be clean up a bit of pollution, encourage farmers and agricultural businesses to have well managed systems lets all get on with the job.
Live Export
Where do I start? I think my keyboard might just melt on this issue - either that or I'll be punching the keys so damn hard I'll be up for a new laptop!
Overnight, Juliar and her band of merry idiots stopped an area equivalent to a vast chunk of Europe from making an income.....well done Fanta Pants - you surely get the prize for idiot of the century!
Having been around livestock production all my life across 3 countries and right around Australia I would say without a hesitation that the massive investment in animal welfare, management techniques, land management techniques and prevention of animal cruelty on Australian cattle properties is world class.
I heard on Melbourne radio the other day "...Your investment buying a house is the biggest investment you will ever make...." and I got thinking about a $600,000 house and the kind of investments we, in agriculture make on a yearly basis just to continue to provide clean safe food in what is an ever increasing uphill playing field. Our world in Australia is now clearly rural and city and for the most city people have bugger all idea what goes on outside the city limit signs.
Joe Ludwig has been saying a supply chain needs to be put in place for the live export back to Indo to get up and going again - obviously he hasnt bothered to have a look at what the likes of Elders or Consolidated Pastoral have been doing for quite some time.
Time for a class action to sue the government Id say!
RSPCA
RSPCA, I once had huge respect for you. I gave hard earned money to you every year in order to prevent animal cruelty, built animal shelters, look after strays, rehouse and rehome unwanted or ill cared for animals and safeguard the well being of animals across Australia.
That changed the day you became a pseudo political force and became the silent backer for the likes of Animals Australia. Animals Australia aren't about animals - they are a thinly veiled left wing animal terrorism organisation who want the world to become vegan. Make no mistake!
I was interested the other day that at their rally in Melbourne someone bought a lamb on a lead as part of their stunt - surely this is cruelty at a high level and the RSPCA should have stepped in to take the lamb. A motherless lamb isnt a political tool to be used on the steps of parliament, its an animal that clearly should have been out in the paddock on grass where it belongs.
I spent 54 minutes on the phone a week or so ago speaking with the CEO of the RSPCA who couldnt even tell me when she was last on a farm or if she indeed had been onto a cattle station recently because 'its not part of my job' Really? There must be a lot of animals walking the streets of Canberra!
Of particular interest also is the fact that she told me the following:
-Theres plenty of feed in western QLD, all the live export animals should just be sent there
-Animals that are back on stations are actually getting too fat now and will miss export specs
-She doesnt need to go on farm because DPI staff brief her on everything she needs to know
So as well as supporting an agricultural terrorism organisation, the CEO of the RSPCA has not much of an idea with reality....the scary thing is they still have the power to come into your farm and shut you down!
Mining and Agricultural Land
Ever tried to eat a lump of coal? How about filling your drink bottle with some coal seam gas? Not something thats going to make it onto the next Masterchef Im guessing!
Australia......the foodbowl of Asia - well, at least it was until we sold it all to China and they dug it up, poisoned our waterways and shipped the heartland (including the profits) back to China so they could continue to sell us cheap tv's.
What is happening at the moment across the board is increasing our sovereign risk....if you read nothing else in what Ive expressed her read this. AUSTRALIA IS INCREASING ITS SOVEREIGN RISK!
We are selling all of our minerals and resources to overseas governments for a quick dollar now and in the process we are selling the very heartland of our country. Bugger the food production, we'll just import that too....
I was awake at 4am this morning thinking about this and pondering the thought if, as a food producing family does our future lay in remaining in Australia or should we be looking to go to South America, or New Zealand? Its a big question and Im still not too sure of the answer - I love Australia and want so desperately to believe the future for being a family business reliant on producing food is strong and secure here, but in reality to safeguard the future of my family Ive already started looking overseas and am well down the track of setting up a business in a country more friendly to the pursuits of farming.
Maybe this makes me a hypocrite in writing a blog concerned about where things are at in Australia and overseas ownership of assets, maybe it just means I'll spend a few less nights staring at the roof during the night.
So there we are folks, the first entry in my blog. Questions, comments etc are more than welcome!
Firstly I must send massive congratulations and support to the Convoy of No Confidence - the people involved in this initiative to move concerned Aussies over a long distance to get to Canberra is fantastic. Comments from some mates who were at Charters Towers the other day are that the feeling amongst people was positive and upbeat - I can only hope this grows as everyone gets closer to Canberra!
Who am I? My names Andrew although pretty much the whole world knows me as Freshy and always has. Im a 6th generation farmer from the eastern states of Australia. Mostly my family have always farmed sheep, beef cattle and broadacre crops. Like all families theres been wonderful times and other times which has meant many a night staring at the roof wondering what the future might hold and if indeed there is a solid future in what we do for 'a day job'
Last night was one of those staring at the roof nights, the last few weeks in the media have been extremely scary - we have a government with no real mandate to govern making decisions which, in reality could send a lot of us to the wall - so at 4am or so this morning I really felt I couldnt hold my growing and seething anger and concern in any longer.....not sure who if anyone will read my blog but if we all do our little bit to get our message across then hopefully its like a ripple on a pond.....
The Carbon Tax
First it was global warming, I think Al Gore might have actually set his retirement up quite well jetsetting around the world telling us all we were up that well known creek without a paddle because the world was heating up, the glaciers were all going to melt and some green footed, blue nosed frog in the middle of a jungle somewhere was going to die.
Now its all carbon, carbon, carbon - and funnily enough the very evil Juliar Gillard (thats not a typo) and her band of scaremongering idiots are telling us will kill us all is what they are happy to support other countries digging up so they make some money.
So on one hand we should all be taxed to the eyeballs and scared of carbon, but on the other hand we should all make way for the latest Chinese government company buying up farmland to dig up coal.....or in reality carbon to pay royalties to the government to stop us becoming a Banana Republic.
Now.....when I was at university doing biochemistry units we learnt this about this really odd thing - its called photosynthesis or to put it plainly
light + 6CO2 + 12H20 = C6H12O6 + 6O2 +6H20
Oh my god....who would have though it - plants actually use carbon!!! So in reality, in conjunction with native bush and grasslands, well structured agricultural systems which have a high percentage of perennial forages etc will actually use carbon.
Dr Christine Jones from up on the New England has been saying for quite some time with the building of soil carbon levels there can be up to 33 t of CO2 per hectare.........no point me explaining this further except to say Farmers are in indeed the hero's of our future!
Anyway, back on my little carbon tax rant. Im all for lowering pollution, Ive spent the last couple of months in inner city Melbourne whilst in the process of some business changes and Im dismayed and shocked at the level of filth in the concrete jungle. So Juliar, perhaps a really novel approach to this would be clean up a bit of pollution, encourage farmers and agricultural businesses to have well managed systems lets all get on with the job.
Live Export
Where do I start? I think my keyboard might just melt on this issue - either that or I'll be punching the keys so damn hard I'll be up for a new laptop!
Overnight, Juliar and her band of merry idiots stopped an area equivalent to a vast chunk of Europe from making an income.....well done Fanta Pants - you surely get the prize for idiot of the century!
Having been around livestock production all my life across 3 countries and right around Australia I would say without a hesitation that the massive investment in animal welfare, management techniques, land management techniques and prevention of animal cruelty on Australian cattle properties is world class.
I heard on Melbourne radio the other day "...Your investment buying a house is the biggest investment you will ever make...." and I got thinking about a $600,000 house and the kind of investments we, in agriculture make on a yearly basis just to continue to provide clean safe food in what is an ever increasing uphill playing field. Our world in Australia is now clearly rural and city and for the most city people have bugger all idea what goes on outside the city limit signs.
Joe Ludwig has been saying a supply chain needs to be put in place for the live export back to Indo to get up and going again - obviously he hasnt bothered to have a look at what the likes of Elders or Consolidated Pastoral have been doing for quite some time.
Time for a class action to sue the government Id say!
RSPCA
RSPCA, I once had huge respect for you. I gave hard earned money to you every year in order to prevent animal cruelty, built animal shelters, look after strays, rehouse and rehome unwanted or ill cared for animals and safeguard the well being of animals across Australia.
That changed the day you became a pseudo political force and became the silent backer for the likes of Animals Australia. Animals Australia aren't about animals - they are a thinly veiled left wing animal terrorism organisation who want the world to become vegan. Make no mistake!
I was interested the other day that at their rally in Melbourne someone bought a lamb on a lead as part of their stunt - surely this is cruelty at a high level and the RSPCA should have stepped in to take the lamb. A motherless lamb isnt a political tool to be used on the steps of parliament, its an animal that clearly should have been out in the paddock on grass where it belongs.
I spent 54 minutes on the phone a week or so ago speaking with the CEO of the RSPCA who couldnt even tell me when she was last on a farm or if she indeed had been onto a cattle station recently because 'its not part of my job' Really? There must be a lot of animals walking the streets of Canberra!
Of particular interest also is the fact that she told me the following:
-Theres plenty of feed in western QLD, all the live export animals should just be sent there
-Animals that are back on stations are actually getting too fat now and will miss export specs
-She doesnt need to go on farm because DPI staff brief her on everything she needs to know
So as well as supporting an agricultural terrorism organisation, the CEO of the RSPCA has not much of an idea with reality....the scary thing is they still have the power to come into your farm and shut you down!
Mining and Agricultural Land
Ever tried to eat a lump of coal? How about filling your drink bottle with some coal seam gas? Not something thats going to make it onto the next Masterchef Im guessing!
Australia......the foodbowl of Asia - well, at least it was until we sold it all to China and they dug it up, poisoned our waterways and shipped the heartland (including the profits) back to China so they could continue to sell us cheap tv's.
What is happening at the moment across the board is increasing our sovereign risk....if you read nothing else in what Ive expressed her read this. AUSTRALIA IS INCREASING ITS SOVEREIGN RISK!
We are selling all of our minerals and resources to overseas governments for a quick dollar now and in the process we are selling the very heartland of our country. Bugger the food production, we'll just import that too....
I was awake at 4am this morning thinking about this and pondering the thought if, as a food producing family does our future lay in remaining in Australia or should we be looking to go to South America, or New Zealand? Its a big question and Im still not too sure of the answer - I love Australia and want so desperately to believe the future for being a family business reliant on producing food is strong and secure here, but in reality to safeguard the future of my family Ive already started looking overseas and am well down the track of setting up a business in a country more friendly to the pursuits of farming.
Maybe this makes me a hypocrite in writing a blog concerned about where things are at in Australia and overseas ownership of assets, maybe it just means I'll spend a few less nights staring at the roof during the night.
So there we are folks, the first entry in my blog. Questions, comments etc are more than welcome!
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