Farmer Roy's Random Thoughts - I never said it was easy.

[CornishTone]

A mm here and there but very sporadic. Enough to keep things alive where it does fall but not enough to allow anything to grow. Things are getting a bit desperate where it isn’t falling, which seems to be most places!

Just been to see a customer I haven’t seen or heard from in several weeks. Quite unusual not to hear from him so thought I’d better call in a drink his tea. He’s feeding all his lambs at the moment and once the silo of oats is gone they’ll be gone too as there’s not a scrap of green feed on the place. Luckily lamb prices are still pretty good so it won’t be a total disaster.

All his sheep have been turned away on a block he’s got up north to fend for themselves on salt bush and sticks. It’s got mains water so they’ll live at least.

Will try to call in on a couple others doing it tough this arvo. Agronomists turn into social workers when things get tough, but we’re all evil, money grabbing barstewards when things are going well![emoji57]

 

[Blaithin]

I asked a producer at work how his crops are looking. It’s the general mode of polite conversation after all.

Oh boy did it turn into a tale of woe

I don’t mind being an ear to talk to but I usually have to mentally prepare myself, not be ambushed after a question for politenesses sake

 

[Deerefarmer]

Yeah i like to keep my problems short and minimal, so I can ask the other guy how things are going for him

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I just prefer to avoid asking the question these days.

I know it's polite to ask, but it's also polite to reply:
"fine, thanks"

Reasons and excuses are different things; reasons I can understand and sympathise, excuses I cannot (and do not).

Negativity reigns supreme on farms, and that is why a ranch is better for my mental health.

 

[Deerefarmer]

Aaaannd,like we had to tell a newbie at work who was a born whiner
I don't feed off negativity

 

[Blaithin]

I’m not a fan of negativity at all.

At. All.

Drives me bonkers.

This particular farmer is usually quite cheerful and good for a fun chat whenever he’s delivering. I enjoy seeing their farm scheduled. Was quite a surprise when he went off, stress must be building up. I would say most of the things he described were reasons more than excuses as they’re pretty much all out of his control. Poor germination, hail, frost... Mother Nature showing farmers that they’re at the front lines of her powers.

I’m just an incredibly socially awkward person on a good day so if I’m not ready to hear all the things going wrong then I’m like a gaping fish looking for words

 

[Deerefarmer]

As a man thinks ,so he is....
Very true when you observe a bit

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I find negativity much easier to cope with with when you expect it, I can definitely relate to "the gaping fish" .....

"We can't" is the most offensive phrase in the English language to me, just because it assumes nobody else knows, either.
Someone somewhere is probably proving otherwise.

 

[Deerefarmer]

Believe it or not I actually struggle to think positive ,yet when it comes to working with my hands, or tearing into a mechanical fix my positive kicks in, I guess the struggle I have to keep negative stuff out of my mind is what makes me irate listening to a negative person ,as I hate sharing my negative thoughts
There it's out

 

[Yale]

I find negativity much easier to cope with with when you expect it, I can definitely relate to "the gaping fish" .....

"We can't" is the most offensive phrase in the English language to me, just because it assumes nobody else knows, either.
Someone somewhere is probably proving otherwise.

Part of being a farmer is recognising the we can/can’t situations and making an educated decision.

I like to think I am a can do person however sometimes when you work with your father it is difficult to hold your line if their opinion is can’t.

I get the feeling at least @hendrebc knows what I mean along with all on here who work with family members.

You have to bite your tongue,be diplomatic and get on with it.

 

[FonterraFarmer]

Either "positive" or "negative" , some of us struggle with "words", full stop Like the time I put something on messenger , that I thought was constructive, only to be misinterpreted by a family member....

 

[Farmer Roy]

So,after a catch up on some the more vitriolic threads on here, I come back to my favorite thread.... how's life down under today @Farmer Roy and @CornishTone and @cows sh#t me to tears , any signs of rain yet? How are you coping roy?
We had quite a wet spell thru June ,now July has been hot and dry, late planted corn and beans needing a drink ,those who can are watering, some whining about the drought going on here, seems like the fields that were ran on wet (compaction) are the ones suffering,

yeah, some of those threads can get you down & question your faith in mankind, cant they

yeah, we are ok. As ive said before, have basically just shut up shop, sitting down doing nothing & pulled the belt a few notches tighter. Avoiding all spending, so that means we cant do any projects & only minimal maintenance. We don't know how long it will be before any income stream.
Already reconciled the fact we will have no crops for this season , but that is the story for this broader area ( first time in over 30 yrs of my active involvement in farming here ). A few people dry sowed, but I haven't seen any / know of any crops around here. I do know of 2 fields of wheat, that are irrigated & are only watered so they can honour valuable contracts / customers. Most irrigators seem to be conserving what water allocation they have for the summer, for cotton
My biggest problem is sheer boredom & lack of motivation.
We have a 640 mm annual rainfall here
less than 300 mm last year
less than 90 mm six months this year so far
we have zero moisture & zero chance of ANY growth
night time temps are down to -6 but being so dry, it is very damaging
I am finding the boredom & inactivity difficult, especially as I have lost faith in modern industrial chemical farming & have lots of plans & ideas to implement change ( which have reignited my interest in farming ), but as I said, we have pretty much put up the 'closed' sign for now.
Because there is no guarantee when or if it will rain again, I am very hesitant to spend any money on anything . . .
might start looking at what I can sell shortly ( motorbikes, spare vehicles etc ) to free up a bit of spare cash . . .

Best case scenario, is we may have an income stream in 12 months time . . .

I am down, but not out yet
yes, it is hard, but we are a long way from being fu^cked yet
I plan to still be around after it floods



just thankful Im not poor old Master Bater stressing over losing his subs, thatd be too much

 

[Farmer Roy]

A mm here and there but very sporadic. Enough to keep things alive where it does fall but not enough to allow anything to grow. Things are getting a bit desperate where it isn’t falling, which seems to be most places!

Just been to see a customer I haven’t seen or heard from in several weeks. Quite unusual not to hear from him so thought I’d better call in a drink his tea. He’s feeding all his lambs at the moment and once the silo of oats is gone they’ll be gone too as there’s not a scrap of green feed on the place. Luckily lamb prices are still pretty good so it won’t be a total disaster.

All his sheep have been turned away on a block he’s got up north to fend for themselves on salt bush and sticks. It’s got mains water so they’ll live at least.

Will try to call in on a couple others doing it tough this arvo. Agronomists turn into social workers when things get tough, but we’re all evil, money grabbing barstewards when things are going well![emoji57]

that is particularly valuable & DOES go a long way towards building relationships . . .
sometimes people just want to know they are not 'alone'
its great that agros & other rural supply people recognise this & make an effort to connect with their clients


I hope they appreciate it

 

[Farmer Roy]

a local hay grower here next to town & his night time irrigation

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Part of being a farmer is recognising the we can/can’t situations and making an educated decision.

I like to think I am a can do person however sometimes when you work with your father it is difficult to hold your line if their opinion is can’t.

I get the feeling at least @hendrebc knows what I mean along with all on here who work with family members.

You have to bite your tongue,be diplomatic and get on with it.

Boy have I earnt THAT T-shirt

I'm preparing myself for a tidal wave of TFF negative after next April here (no, I refuse to use the B word in Roy's friendly thread) when (if) the reality actually sinks in

I'm now reading the last of my Groundswell purchases

I have only just read chapter 3 but already highly recommend it to you all. I think we would all have much in common with joel and enjoy a chat round a camp fire. I won't quote the book and spoil it for you but, seriously, it's worth reading.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

I spent about an hour last night on the phone to Anna from "Just Farmers". It's a group she's setting up where farmers of all sectors with no officially held positions (NFU etc) or journalistic links make themselves available for unbiased interview by the media to show farming as it really is in the UK.

I'm probably mad but it sounds like a good thing.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Boy have I earnt THAT T-shirt

I'm preparing myself for a tidal wave of TFF negative after next April here (no, I refuse to use the B word in Roy's friendly thread) when (if) the reality actually sinks in

I'm now reading the last of my Groundswell purchases
View attachment 694522


I have only just read chapter 3 but already highly recommend it to you all. I think we would all have much in common with joel and enjoy a chat round a camp fire. I won't quote the book and spoil it for you but, seriously, it's worth reading.

Interesting character. Do his books contain any labour figures?

 

[unlacedgecko]

I spent about an hour last night on the phone to Anna from "Just Farmers". It's a group she's setting up where farmers of all sectors with no officially held positions (NFU etc) or journalistic links make themselves available for unbiased interview by the media to show farming as it really is in the UK.

I'm probably mad but it sounds like a good thing.

Anna Bowen?

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Interesting character. Do his books contain any labour figures?

Not yet but may do further in. I'll post updates as I read it.

Anna Bowen?

I didn't catch her surname. [email protected] I have her mobile number too if interested.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Not yet but may do further in. I'll post updates as I read it.

Please do! I've read some criticsm levelled at him that his systems are only profitable due to the large amount of intern (free!) labour he employs. I'd be interested to see if he mentions labour costs. Fúcking interesting bloke though! I think his enterprise stacking philosophy is amazing.

I didn't catch her surname. [email protected] I have her mobile number too if interested.

Google reveals she is Anna Jones, Nuffield Scholar. That is this evenings reading sorted then! I love the Nuffield Scholar reports. They're such an amazing free resource.