Thread: I believe this is serious?

This is no new thing.
I remember when Paul Keating was "The Worlds Greatest Treasurer".
I was at our local stock sales, prices were rock bottom.
A bloke from up Broken Hill way had brought a semi load of sheep down for hopeful sale.
He was sitting on the step of his truck in tears, not one animal sold and no money to even buy fuel to get back home. We passed the hat around that day, gave him a couple of grand, at least he could get home and feed the family.

Another local bloke, got a loan from the bank, 60 grand, for fuel, seed, fertilizer etc to put his crop in. Later that year at harvest sale time, total income from the crop was a paltry 20 grand, he simply walked off the farm and left the keys in the front door.

What to do about it?
Get rid of those multi-national corporate "farmers" for a start, at least then the genuine farmers might yet a voice in Canberra again.
Buy local where and when ever you can, I go to farmers markets and the local roadside farm gate stalls for a lot of my food shopping.

Originally Posted by shorty943

This is no new thing.
I remember when Paul Keating was "The Worlds Greatest Treasurer".
I was at our local stock sales, prices were rock bottom.
A bloke from up Broken Hill way had brought a semi load of sheep down for hopeful sale.
He was sitting on the step of his truck in tears, not one animal sold and no money to even buy fuel to get back home. We passed the hat around that day, gave him a couple of grand, at least he could get home and feed the family.

Another local bloke, got a loan from the bank, 60 grand, for fuel, seed, fertilizer etc to put his crop in. Later that year at harvest sale time, total income from the crop was a paltry 20 grand, he simply walked off the farm and left the keys in the front door.

What to do about it?
Get rid of those multi-national corporate "farmers" for a start, at least then the genuine farmers might yet a voice in Canberra again.
Buy local where and when ever you can, I go to farmers markets and the local roadside farm gate stalls for a lot of my food shopping.

Hi Shorty

We must be careful that politics be kept to a low key in this thread to keep it's usefulness going.

Over regulation of the Farmer is one of the biggest culprits of letting corporate's get ahead of the small Boutique Farmer, some of these regulations have been bought about by stock theft and transport requirements brought about by 'Do Gooders' that are supposably looking after the animals welfare.

We can't just get rid of a system willy nilly, the change if any, will need to be slow to minimise the disruption to producers and consumer alike.
.

This thread parallels this one Four Corners-Tonight-A must watch for Truckies. on so many levels. Is it mere coincidence that the profit driven duopoly is at the head of the chain, forcing prices down to unsustainable levels?

I watched Landline yesterday, & there was a long segment on the drought affecting 69% of Queensland.
The program featured Barnaby Joyce & he was showing GENUINE concern, the guy was almost crying.
Bob Katter was also seen, but he was unusually quiet.
There were some VERY distressing scenes, but also some very realistic landowners talking about the situation.
It was gratifying to see no-one blaming anyone for what is happening, all looking at what can be done.
I wish everyone involved Good Luck.
Pickles.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

This thread parallels this one Four Corners-Tonight-A must watch for Truckies. on so many levels. Is it mere coincidence that the profit driven duopoly is at the head of the chain, forcing prices down to unsustainable levels?

I doubt there's any coincidence at all Ian. Same goes for their attempts to control the retail of fuel (and booze). Even after they have just had restrictions put on their "discount fuel" practices - they have already worked out a way around those restrictions. Just watch all of their petrol stations rapidly turn into supermarkets.

I can honestly say that I haven't been inside a store owned by either of the two companies referred to for at least a couple of years - nor have I ever purchased fuel from a service station that is linked to either of them.

It's IGA for me for most of my needs, plus the local butcher / fruit & vegies shop / baker etc - whether I'm in Perth or Kalgoorlie, or travelling.

(Long range fuel tank makes it a lot easier to be "selective" where I purchase fuel - in some places it's becoming almost impossible to find a service station without a supermarket logo plastered above the fuel prices.

How much are these duopolies propped up by super funds being invested into them . It is in the best interest to show the best return therefore the " little guy " doesnt get a look in.

Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

[COLOR="Navy"]In the decade 2000-2010 , 147 farmers in Queensland and 92 in NSW committed suicide.

.................................................. .................................................. ......
I have seen an estimate of over 8 billion dollars financial loss for farmers throughout Australia due to drought conditions.

.................................................. .....

Reading all this I just wonder if Dr John J.C Bradfield was not into something with his scheme.

How much will cost now?
How many life it would have saved?
How much income in primary produce have been generated?
How much electricity can generate now?
How much damage to the barrier reef would be avoided if was built back then?

It's funny how most here are basically thinking the same way.

Shorty,, I've seen this first hand, and heard of it more times than I can remember,, and it never ceases to amaze me how generous our farming community is,, as in passing the hat around,,, thanks
And Arthur's right in what he says, both about the politics side and also "willy nilly" changing things.
It needs to be done the right way. Personally I don't know how, or which way to go with all these regulations, but yes, something needs to be done.

Something that doesn't help the farmers, is a lack of education, and the willingness to change. I'm sure as seasoned travelers, we've all come across farms that that just look run down. And I'm not referring to all the Landies sitting out the back. Looking at paddocks, they've got weeds and dead trees around, fences that need straining up. A lot of cockies don't seem to care about the productivity of their farms. They've been doing things a certain way for so long, they think it's fine. A lot of these blokes need to step up to the plate and have a go. It's a two way street.
I've seen guys have a major sized farm handed down to them owing not a cent. 10 or so years later, they've left in bankruptcy. New cars, new machinery, doesn't take long for the bills to add up.
I've seen depression in action, and I know, one doesn't want, or feel like doing anything during these times. To them, it just doesn't seem worth the effort anymore. It's hard to watch, and harder to convince them otherwise.

The Almighty Dollar, and the greed that accompanies it, has a lot to answer for.