Agmates

Michael Darby (Location) writes: (Opinion)

If there are legitimate goals of public policy beyond defending Australia from invaders and protecting the lives and property of Australians from criminals, then high on the list should be the removal of impediments to the production and distribution of large quantities of high-quality, inexpensive food; for sale to Australians and to the hungry people of the world.

Expensive fuel has an adverse impact at every stage. There is no moral justification for any tax of any kind on fuel used in agriculture.

Cartoons: supplied by Victorian Cattle Producer - Jenny Bird

It is acceptable for an excise to be levied on fuel used for road transportation, but only for repair, maintenance and construction of roads, and that statement should not imply approval of governmental performance of these activities.

The total investment by all levels of government in Australia in operating, maintaining and adding to the road networks is estimated by Austroads at A$6 billion per annum.

The total of fuel excise (presently for petrol 38.1 cents per litre, plus one eleventh of the bowser price as GST) is approaching $14bn per year. Which means the involuntary contribution by vehicle operators to consolidated revenue through excise is at least $7bn per year.

The Opposition is proposing a 5 cent per litre cut in fuel excise, described as worth a $1.8bn per year rebate to vehicle operators.

Extrapolating from ABS 2006 figures registered vehicles are likely to consume about 30 billion litres of petrol and 14 billion litres of diesel in calendar year 2008. If the respective pump prices average respectively $1.50 and $1.70 per year, for the calendar year GST on petrol will be around $4.1bn and GST on diesel will be around $2.2bn.

That makes an excise plus GST total exceeding $20bn ripped out of motorists, $14bn of which is an unearned windfall for Australian governments.

The Brendan Nelson proposal represents a very modest reduction of about 9% of the total impost or about 13% of the rip-off component. It is actually less than the increase in GST on fuel which will have accrued from recent price increases.

SHORT TERM RELIEF

Some genuine short-term relief will be afforded vehicle operators by trebling the Brendan Nelson offer.

There are of course anti-motoring, anti-transport organisations which delight in high fuel prices and which oppose any reduction in excise. They include The Greens and the Public Transport Users Association.

The Greens, the self-appointed priesthood of the global warming pseudo-religion, want to reduce the Earth’s capacity to support humanity, and expensive fuel is part of their strategy.

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LONGER TERM RELIEF

There are two aspects to long term relief for liquid fuel prices worldwide. The first is allowing the market place to provide appropriate substitution for liquid fuels.

It is bleedingly obvious that nuclear generation of inexpensive electricity offers major opportunities for accelerating the switching of tasks from liquid fuel to electricity. Those tasks include irrigation, cropping and many aspects of mining. The future of motor vehicles will shift progressively towards electric power, provided that nuclear energy is allowed to play its proper role.

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The second aspect is removal of artificial impediments to petro-carbon exploration. Bans on drilling in Alaska, in Antarctica and along a significant percentage of the Australian coast are simply ridiculous, a reflection of pseudo-religious extremism. Australia should set an example in both aspects.

The Australian Government should call immediately for expressions of interest for the establishment of nuclear reactors on Commonwealth land around the nation, and cancel all bans on drilling, onshore and offshore.

Setting aside all other considerations, if we do not act to reduce the fuel cost component of primary production, people will die. And in due course they will die in millions.
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You can read more of Michael Darby by visiting his web site.

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Quality Used 4×4’s, 4Wd’s, Utes & Wagons - Sale

Used Farm Machinery - Tractors, Implements Sale

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Have your Say!

What are you paying for Fuel in your part of Australia / The USA or where ever you are?

Federal Shadow Minister For Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries Nigel Scullion writes:

Budget estimates today revealed that Labor’s election promise to provide an additional $15 million to Australia’s rural research and development corporations has been broken.

Australia’s agricultural sector contributes an average of around 12% of our GDP and employs directly and indirectly 1.6 million people, or 1 in 6 of all jobs in this country.

Photo: Nigel Scullion is the Country Liberal Party Senator for the Northern Territory and Deputy leader of the Federal National Party. He is seen below talking to Graziers in the Northern Territory.

Page 7 Labor’s Election policy for their Plan for Primary Industries states:

“Strengthening Rural Research and Development”

Labor supports the current funding formula that provides for industry levies and matching funding by the Federal Government for investment in rural research. However, in recognition of declining revenues as a result of drought, a Rudd Labor Government will invest an extra $15 million in rural RDCs through Australia’s Farming Future.”

Labor have been in office for barely 6 months and all we have seen from the government is a sustained attack on Australian farmers.

Labor’s achievements to date include:
• Over $1 billion cut from the Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry Budget
• Scrapping the successful Farmbis training program.
• Savagely cutting food innovation grants.
• Closing CSIRO agriculture research sites in Queensland, Victoria and WA, and now
• Broken election promise for support to rural research and development.

Australian farmers provide not only the nations food and fibre, they export high quality produce right around the world.

They successfully compete against foreign subsidies, a rising dollar and advances being made in developing countries. They achieve such success due to the continued investment in research, product and process development.

Labor has now placed farm productivity and farm viability at risk with their short sighted razor gang cuts.

Farmers must be asking themselves what they ever did to deserve such a savage attack upon their livelihoods.

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Have Your say! What do you think of Labors ‘Sustained Attack” on Austraiia’s farmers.

Victorian Cattle Producer & Morgan Horse Breeder Jenny Bird writes:

Well, things got serious a few days after submitting my last article to Agmates “boasting” my cattle were sold at $1:85.

Not long after I got a call telling me that the Japs had pulled the pin on the job ……. after 35 years. My B - Double’s worth of steers weren’t going anywhere!……nor the 400 we had waiting to cover the 5 months forward order…all needled twice with ‘Pestigard’ at a cost of $8 a head.

Do you value your up bringing? I certainly do and often recall all those adages that were instilled into me like:

If at first you don’t succeed…
Don’t count your chickens…
Never look back….
Know when to be serious - all of which applied to me right then!

Photo #1: I have to tell you after I got the call I felt a bit this horse ……hemmed in with no way out.

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After a great flurry of frantic activity on the phone I finally got them and 3 other loads sold at $1:88 per kg for Angus milk and two tooth steers, and $1:75 for Black baldy steers….provided they met the target grid with a price down grade applying to those that didn’t comply, a curfew of 12 hours plus and compliance that no more than 10% were NOT Life Time traceable.

Photo #2: Below is the steer grid that I did manage to sell the steers on. For those of you who aren’t familiar with such grids, the curfewed liveweight in Kilos is the top line and underneath each is the cents per kilo of that weight range.

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Steers lose 10% minimum over 10 hours and my steers certainly lost that and more. eg the steers left here at 4 :30 pm and were processed individually next morning at 7:41 AM over a few hours. A full weight 504KG Black baldy near fat steer off silage melted to 450 KG and a similar one of 486 KG melted to 434.

Knowing the current daily weight gain of cattle you can expect if the delivery date is in 7 to 21 days time helps too when you are selecting. Cattle off dry feed and supplementary fed on hay or silage makes a huge difference to cattle and their ability to hold together.

Photo2: We have some heifers going tomorrow afternoon.
The adjustment downward to $1:55 was unfortunate. $1:65 was a “printing error”!!! This made the window very narrow for the best dollar 300KG to 359KG….of $1:65 EMPTY WEIGHT!!!!

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A discount applies of 5 cents per kg on every beast delivered in a day if there are more than 10% NON LIFE TIME TRACEABLE CATTLE.

Photo #3: Price grids are here to stay, get used to them.
These days when selling cattle, it is a matter of getting into bed with anyone who will have you! Just don’t go to sleep on the job!”

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So the Angus steers averaged $1:85 across the various loads (got a few wrong!!!) and the Black baldy steers averaged $1:75..and they were paid for within the 7 days of trucking. Other companies can take up to 3 weeks!

I don’t know if heifers stand up better or not but if they are off dry feed or hay they hold together better than soft green feed cattle. You need to be a magician to keep well with in the EMPTY WEIGHT range to avoid disappointment on a grid as specific as this one. We’ll weigh before loading to get a better idea as we don’t handle many and it will be interesting to know

Photo #4: There are some over weight and underweight steers left to find markets for but at least there are 330 head fewer looking for a feed on the “sheep feed” post 6 ml of rain in the paddocks and hay feeders.

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A little issue that caused some heart ache is worth relating.

One property is river bound by the “Mighty Murray” which has been reduced to a mere creek with cut backs in release from the Hume Weir with the view to saving water for the next irrigation flow (and save the frog wet lands inundations).

Two B Doubles were due at 5 pm. A muster of two paddocks began at 4. A quick count found 102 from one paddock and no amount of re counting turned it into 135 that should have been there. On dusk we returned to find them all across on the far river bank…stuck under a ledge.

Photo #5: This is the Murray River after they stop the irrigation flow releases.
The cut back of flow has reduced it to only a few feet across in places. All too easy for steers to walk across. The absconding steers just made the mistake of picking a place with a high bank on the other side.”

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Our ‘helpful dogs’ forced them up the 12 foot embankment on the Victorian side from where we retrieved them the next day. A B Double load was reduced to a Double only and the balance went out the next day. Fencing is currently in progress of the river frontage!!!

Photo #6: The oat crop on Bungowannah Park is growing slowly.
It enjoyed 6 ml of rain last week but has mainly survived on the heavy dews and foggy mornings followed by bright sunny days with temperatures in the high teens. It was dry sown before we got any rain at all so it is well ahead of crops being sown now. We are dependent on it for grazing in the winter as the crop hay from last season (that refused to burn) has all gone.

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The autumn colours have been drab this year due to the dry. Normally the place is a photographer’s delight.

So there you have it, I found a way round the cattle marketing issue and now I better get on with the next obstacle to staying viable. I’m so lucky really. There’s no shortage of choice…. fuel costs, the fertiliser hike, the lack of rain, the restocking quandary, the over draft.

Another of those life driving sayings just came to mind. “If you don’t weaken….”.

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Say G’day to Jenny. Leave Jenny your message / comment or question.

NSW North Coast Farmer and activist Ian Mott (pictured) writes: (Opinion)

The moralising on the supposed evils of converting grain to biofuel and pushing food prices to record levels in a soon to be hungry world has only just begun.

It has been described as nothing less than a “crime against humanity” by United Nations (UN) expert, Jean Ziegler and these sentiments were also echoed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The only thing missing were the “four horsemen of the apocalypse”, but give them time, they are only just warming up yet.

Just be sure to take it all with a grain of salt because that is a narrow minority urban view. Afterall, the majority of the world’s population are still farmers. And under the principles of universal sufferage and one vote one value, it is the farmers perspective of high food prices that should, but rarely does, prevail over the bleatings of minority urban panic merchants. Read entire article Here

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Have Your Say!

Once you have read clicked through and read Ian’s article - come back and give him your feedback on his article by firstly using the Drafting gate - Bush or Keep and leaving a comment or question for Ian.

Victorian Cattle producer Jenny Bird writes: Location

This feed on steer job is beginning to look like a waste of time and effort.

Sowing oats and rye on the promise of rain ……..was meant to be started on Monday…..but that’s how farming goes sometimes!!!

Sent another 64 head of steers to my father’s 400 acres of hill ….he’s got more grass than me this season …waiting for a lift in the feedlot price!!!

I have the second B Double of Angus pictured below ready to roll out and locked in at $1:85 to go in 6 weeks time. but the coloured cattle price has to go up over $1:80 to pay the extra trucking costs. It is all starting to get scary.

Some of the ‘coloured’ milk and 2 tooth steers are pictured below. Their weight range is 420 to 480 kg and thirty head consume a silage roll every second day while they have been on the last of the irrigated pasture. Tomorrow they are locked out of the sown paddocks and have silage only. This dam they are beside has a 20 mg water licence anad can be replenished from the lagoon and dams above it.

So the plan is to get 150 acres under oats and rye pictured below and get as much silage put away early in spring and re sow suitable paddocks with perennial…and pray for rain!

I will do a few smaller paddocks with perennial just as a test to see what I could have got away with!!! But the better perennial mixture of ryes and clovers is $5 to $12 a kg…..so I opted for some the local favourite at $3:70 a kg. I’m not a big gambler!

The mountains are capped with snow and the record lowest temperatures on record have put the wind up me too. Frosts are predicted for the next week or so. The whole exercise has cost double what I had budgeted on 12 months ago.

Fuel delivered on farm was $1:72 a week ago before the big price rise…..I am not game to re order before I go for the over draft extension!!! The contractor Mark pictured below is the cheapest cost of all at $60 a hectare ……I felt so guilty I have offered to fill his tank before he pulls out tomorrow.

Sowing rates are at 80 kg oats (at $300 a tonne)/ 8 kg annual rye (at $2 a kg)/ 80 kg DAP (at $1630 a tonne) to the hectare. DAP $1600 a tonne bagged…………$4800 Oats $300 X 3.3 tonne off farm and $550 X 1 tonne cleaned and private buy……..$1540 Annual rye $3 X 400kg……..$1200 (Couldn’t afford the $12 a kg perennial) Double spraying out as the weeds got away again……..$3000 Sowing contractor $60 per hectare………$2500 plus diesel.

So 40 hectares of potential growth and potential silage with maybe a chance to strip graze the irrigated 25 acres pictured below will mean I may be able to better than double the 300 steers and 50 cows and calves I turned off it in the last 6 months.

The buy in price of weaners is more than you can see getting for the 450 kg product after drench and trucking costs. Doing $9000 silage rolls and then feed them, $9000 on 60 litres of Fasimec….and thousands on Pestigard….. sweat tears of blood waiting for the price to lift and worry if the cattle are going to fit into a Swift grid targeted at the milk and 2 tooth 380 to 499kg empty weight with the crunch back to $1:83 for those over and under with no compensation for doing them twice with Pesigard at $8 a head!

There’s got to be an easier way of making money……let me know when you find it will you?

My estimated input costs have doubled!!!

It wouldn’t hurt so much if you could see it back in the steer price or could look forward to $2500 a hectare return for your grain in 7 months time……..but this feed on steer job is beginning to look like a waste of time and effort.

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Have Your Say!

Farm input costs are rising, how are you coping?.

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Editors Note: Below is a small exert from Julian Cribb’s article. This is a must read for every farmer and rural policy maker in Australia. Fantastic and well done Julian. Agmates has been saying this for ages, but it takes a world food shock for others to realize it.

Julian Cribb (pictured below) is an adjunct professor of science communication at the University of Technology, Sydney. He writes:

Farmers will be the Hero’s of the Coming Food Crisis.

Most people think of farmers as the people ‘out there’ who grow the food and, occasionally, gripe about the weather. The farmer of the 21st century, however, may be the person who rescues civilization.

International agencies, like the World Bank last week, are belatedly recognizing the global food crisis is much closer than the climate change crisis or even than the next oil crisis – as a string of food riots and disturbances round the world already suggests.

And only farmers can get us through it. Australian governments, it is almost redundant to say, have not yet woken up to it.

It is also a challenge for which Australia is singularly well-qualified ………… It is a task we cannot, in conscience, ignore - either in our own country or in the wider world.

It is also an opportunity like none other, for renewal of the natural world, for economic and rural growth, for the relief of human misery and for developing a sustainable basis for civilisation as a whole.

Read the whole article by Clicking here.

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