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It'll never happen,,, they're not made of the right stuff to even be out there in the first place,,Quote:
Originally Posted by ramblingboy42
And whilst a few people whinge about a couple of overgrown fish being knocked off, any Govt will have their hands full,,, too full to be worried about the state of our farmers.
We had one of our neighbours take his own life,,, and he was well off, but stress can do strange things :( Took us all by suprise.
Andrew,, and others,
There is a discussion about all this, as in produce and prices etc, going on in the Cantina as well.
Hi ChopsQuote:
Originally Posted by Chops
Thanks for drawing attention to that discussion, but it is probably best not worry about whats being thrown about in Cantina, as the subject of farmers doing it tough is too real to ignore and should be aired on here where everyone can see what is going on and have a think about the seriousness of it all.
It's not just the blokes that are taking their own lives. A farming family near me is now mourning the loss of the mother, she had four kiddies under the age of six and the warning signs were just not there.
.
I'm a city boy , and do not have any family association with any sort of farming or farmers . When I read about the plight of farmers and there family's up and down the country . There must be a way to help them . We live in one of the richest country's in the world per head of capita . I believe some of the massive profits made by the banks for example should be used to fund infrastructure towards water distribution , and the big supermarket chains should pay farmers fairer prices so they have a profit . they know only to well what profit is , but hay I'm only a city boy what do I know .:(
It's a tuff one, but society should not expect to keep smashing business that have worked out the game and the rules. We all have the opportunity to do so. We all have a choice where to buy, be a wager earner or a boss. Granted luck also has a bit to do with it. But we can all do a lot.Quote:
Originally Posted by jimr1
I think yes we are all rich, look at your own wealth, see where you can trim some opulence and channel the savings back into an organisation like the in first post. If you expect woolies to do so than so should you.
As a city boy have you been for a holiday in the country? Spend your money out there. When we travel we phone a head to a rural butcher and get him to cryovac our meats for pick up on the way past. Our last two big holidays have been west, putting $14 000 into the communities.
Shop at the local butcher, fruiter, or IGA; pay the higher prices if it works for you. My local IGA is staring down the barrel of closing as Woolies just opened next door. Still I support them and I'm at Oxley in Brisbane. Convenience is king in my world.
Woolies and Coles also have to get their supply from somewhere which does help farmers too. I have a mate who sell potatoes. He had to find 40T of spuds the other day, Woolies wanted to match or better a sale Coles were having on the weekend. The order had to filled immediately and I'd expect the farmer could get better prices on that deal as the demand was there and now.
But it's the reported screwing by the majors that is unappealing, and my guess the media have a large part in how we all feel. The media has it's own agenda and truth is not high on the list. I'd assume IGA do it to a degree of screwing as well, just reported far less.
You could look at writing a letter to the CEO of Coles, Woolies, or some media outlet, and ask him if his wife suicided because she could not balance the budget due to low prices, how would he feel. That you find it appalling the practice of locking cornered farmers into contracts with little margins. But ask a farmer first what's the go, he will be happy he has a buyer, or otherwise.
So as a city boy, or a country boy, or just an Australian, there is a lot YOU can do besides expecting tall poppies to do it for you.
Maybe the Mods could take a look at the particular discussion and merge it up here with this one. It's not a political-sided discussion as such, or even an argument.Quote:
Originally Posted by wrinklearthur
And this is what has changed in the last couple of generations.Quote:
Originally Posted by jimr1
Australia has always been one of the most highly urbanised countries in the world, but until the 1950s, almost every city family had family associations in farming areas, and there was frequent swapping of people between country and city. As farming became more mechanised and less profitable (squeezed between import competition, red tape, protection for manufacturing, overseas protection etc), the movement of people has become largely one way, and most of the postwar migration has been to the cities, adding to the number of people without any rural connection.
This has resulted in less and less political representation for rural dwellers, and consequently their needs get very short shrift in the parliaments of Australia.
Even thirty years ago successive federal governments found it politically possible to extend the latest telephone service to virtually all Australians - today a comparable effort to extend fibre broadband beyond cities and large towns is not even considered.
John
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chops
Best we leave things the way they are, Bob
Quote:
Originally Posted by newhue
That's part of the problem. A farmer has to be happy he has a buyer, any buyer. As a result he has to take whatever the buyer offers. Debt loadings play a part in this, as there is no opportunity to say no and sit tight for a month or two. The repayments still have to be.
By the way, congratulations to Woolies and Coles for achieving market dominance.
But with great power comes great responsibility. How they deal with the producer will shape the producer of the future.
If they keep driving the traditional farmer out of the game, who's left?