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Priority is the name of the game

How often do we keep on doing what we are comfortable with? We just keep on doing what is easy and will cause us the least amount of stress. If we have had a bad experience with something, we may not like to go back there! Examples might include; running out of money, getting hopelessly in debt or not wanting to open the bank statements for fear we are out of money again. Sound familiar? It is to me. It's easier just to think about milking the cows and going down the farm. We can all too of...

Is the world short of all commodities?

Increasingly if you read between the lines in the press, you will find continued reference to shortage of all commodities. I have previously referred to the fact that there is only 58 days of stored food in the world. Some may remember when all the chillers in New Zealand were full of butter and product. New Zealand couldn't sell enough annually to make way for the new season's production. I think we had up to two year's product stored in those days. Fonterra has sold virtually everything an...

Is the world running short of food?

Gwynne Dyer, a London based independent journalist, recently wrote an interesting article in the New Zealand Herald on this matter. In short, he explained how the world's existing grain supply is being taken away from human consumption for the production of meat, heat and bio fuels. Grain to meat The world now consumes 5 billion hoofed animals and a staggering 14 billion poultry every year. A lot of these animals are being grain fed to produce high calorie beef, pork and chicken. In terms of ...

Farmers must unite - no farms, no food!

United we stand, divided we fall. All sounds too familiar! Well you had better believe it, because farming as we know it is, and will be, under ever increasing pressure from the non-farming residents of this great country. I was fortunate enough to attend the Large Herds Conference at Mystery Creek, and hear all the excellent speakers, including those from overseas. The conference was captioned "People, Passion & Purpose". I came away enlightened, enthused, but worried about how New Zea...

Dairy farming in Australia the old way, and how it compares with New Zealand

Recently I was travelling in Australia, and spent some time with a farmer out of Ballarat. Ballarat is approximately 1½ hours north of Melbourne, in what would be classified as higher country, which generally is cooler over the summer than much of Australia. The average rainfall is 25 – 30 inches, and there can be snow in the winter. Over the fence, I was able to glean the following information: Production is around 350 kg per cow, mainly with all-grass and some gain feeding. The sea...

Thailand: How does it compare to New Zealand

Thailand is an interesting mix of Chinese, Japanese and Philippine cultures moulded into a large and relatively peaceful society. The economy is very substantial, built around a population of 63 million people with some 12 million living in Bangkok alone. A further million in Chiang Mai, make up a third of the population. It's a bit like New Zealand, with Auckland being the larger city, again taking approximately one third of our population. The Thai economy, like the rest of the world, has ...

How might New Zealand and New Zealand agriculture look in 10 years’ time?

Inspiration often comes to me when flying. What do you do with your brain when travelling, because mine just won't stay in neutral. In 10 years New Zealand will not look like it does today. Sure the farmland will still be all there and the cities still the same, but the pricing and structures will have changed forever. The number of dairy farms will have halved. There will be many more boutique dairy factories starting to compete with Fonterra. There will be a lot of leasing of land where th...

NZ Land - let's keep it in NZ ownership

Anxiety over continued sales of New Zealand farm land to offshore interests, particularly China, appears to be growing amongst New Zealanders. When you chat to farmers and friends, they are all very concerned to see the wholesale "sale" of our land. The most recent notable sale was 741 ha of coastal vineyard land with seafront in Marlborough. The Crafar farms were all sold to Chinese interests at $25 per kg ms which is a debt any New Zealand farmer could service, so the land was sold cheaply....

New Zealand is set to go into overdrive – read between the lines!

New Zealand is set to fly over the next 18 months. Brace yourself as all the indicators are there. Here is my thinking around why ... Auckland and Christchurch house prices have lead the way as they have in past recoveries. The Reserve Bank is smartly adjusting LVR (deposit %) on housing rather than pushing up interest rates which would take the growth out of the economy. Interest rates will rise, but they will be held down as long as possible. In fact I think they just keep threatening...

Green growers struggle with their returns, their finances, and their heads!

Without delving into the reasons why returns are down for green kiwifruit growers, the consequences for many are dire. Here are bullet points for an action plan: A. PLAN — sit down with an independent person and: • Complete a survey of your assets (realistic values) and liabilities (all of them) • Calculate your unpaid revenue flow from Zespri. How much etc. • Calculate, accurately, your outgoings for the rest of the season, paying particular attention to off-orchard costs in the way...

If life is not working - look at “The Man in the Mirror”

Before the recession, during the recession and no doubt after it passes, people will want to blame someone else. We say we want more time with the family, less stress, and so on. Just look in the mirror because the person you need to talk to is looking at you. That person is the only one who can make the changes and the only one whom it will affect. We men have health issues. We know something is not right. What do we do? We ignore the symptoms, and then we try to blow it out with more exerc...

Ask for help - Farmers and Suicide

Suicide is an issue that can affect farmers as much as any other sectors of society. People often mistakenly opt for suicide, as a 'way out' when they are in trouble. Following the US finance sector fallout, David Kellerman aged 41, who headed up the Freddie Mac Corporation, ended his own life, as have some others who have lost fortunes in the great credit crunch. Suicide has also been the choice of some New Zealanders, as the rough times bite. Among these some have been in the building indu...

In Pursuit of Rural Happiness

I recently read a book called 'The Practice of Happiness' by a John Kehoe, a book kindly given to me by my secretary. Farming, with all its complexities, can bring a lot of stress and unhappiness. A culture of hard work, long hours and monotony, seems to go with the territory. Put on top of that, difficult times and a recession. With the falling pay-out, a shortage of cash, 'rural happiness' seems to fly out the window. I have seen a number of farmers in tears recently. This shows the pressure...

Trustees

What do you look for in a Trustee? What are your responsibilities and what do you need to do? I have seen people appointed to Family Trusts and as Trustees of Wills and have been aware that they have made some terrible decisions. This has prompted me to pen this story. I have knowledge of, where two Trustees were entrusted to look after a large farm that had not been well maintained. They spent every cent that was in the coffers to tidy up the farm, as they, the Trustees thought th...

Heart Attack and Farmers

Having recently written "So You Think You Are 10' Tall and Bullet-Proof" I thought it might be timely to follow up on the other things I have learned. Let me say at the outset I am not a doctor but hugely respectful of their profession. They are busy human beings just like you and me. They are trying to make decisions quickly in the 15 minutes allocated to you on your longevity. It's important that when we go to see them that we are honest about what's happening so they can make a more informed ...

So you think you are ten feet tall and bullet-proof? Well, you’re not

My own recent experience of having a stent installed in my well-worn 61 year old body has prompted me to write about it with the hope it may just alert others to the problems and the things that you need to focus on. It seems to me that there are about 6 risk factors for heart problems: Weight It is important to maintain the correct weight otherwise you are putting strain on your heart. Exercise We need almost daily exercise sufficient to elevate the heart rate and get our body moving. Chole...

‘Black Dog’ and Farmers

I've talked to a number of people who don't even know what 'Black Dog' is. I understand that the term came from Sir Winston Churchill who surprisingly enough also suffered from depression. He called it 'Black Dog' which I think is quite appropriate. Now depression in farming is alive and well. There are many things that contribute to its likeliness: Unrelenting long hours of work with sleep deprivation can get it started – calving –no time off. Unresolved unhappy family expectations....

How to run a Family Meeting

New Zealand is one big farm. The majority of farming is done by families (long may that remain). So it may follow that New Zealand agriculture is one big farming family? It's a bit radical but it's probably quite true. With families in land and cows there are always going to be issues. Families are going to have expectations, hopes and dreams, arguments and unhappiness. It is almost inevitable. The problems are not the issue; it's how we solve them that is pivotal. Pivotal because there are ...

In some things there is no way back

Life is an interesting adventure. Farming life is even more interesting. Some things we do, we can actually go back and have another go, or get out of. There are many things that once done there is no way back. I thought I might traverse some of the issues pertaining to agriculture and to life. Sale and Purchase Agreements Once you have signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement unconditionally, there is no way back. It's a very good reason to have it checked by your professionals and have finance ...

Farming families and how to survive them

John Cleese co-authored an excellent book called "Families and How to Survive Them". It is a brilliant book that looks at family issues, the rackets that go on, and the expectations of families involved. It talks about how family members get bent out of shape and the things that can be done to improve our understanding of one another and feel better about it all. John Cleese puts his usual twist of humour in too, which made the message more balanced. Now all the issues he traversed are exactl...

We need to want ‘What we Have’

A recent article in the Listener highlighted this. In other words, we seem to spend our life wanting more, more farms, more food, more things and more and more and more. It has been a period of rampant consumerism. A recent trip to the US was a graphic example of wants and must haves. It has been so bad, in that country, that they all live on credit and many are facing forced sales of their homes. With consumerism comes greed and expectations: our car is no longer looking near new; our fa...

Managing relationships

For those in the farming industry and running a business, how many recognize that we are also in the business of managing relationships. Relationships are the key to our existence. Staff relationships are the key to our business. With our farm staff, we have these expectations of them to work just as hard and as long as us. We expect them to be enthusiastic and make all the extra effort. If they don't, many farmers do get grumpy. But whether we like it or not, we actually have a relationship w...

Are your kids kicking up over the Family Trust?

I was recently talking with an accountant who is heavily involved in Family Trusts. He stated that one of the issues increasingly around Trusts is with beneficiaries challenging the Trust document, and more importantly, the list of wishes. Beneficiaries are more times than most, children of the Settlor. Discretionary beneficiaries want to know what is happening. At times, beneficiary's solicitors are requesting copies of the Trust document so as the beneficiary can uncover what the Settlor's w...

Families and how to survive them

This is the title of a book written in the 1960's and co-authored by John Cleese from Fawlty Towers. A great book on family relationships and issues, a must read for all who are passionate about creating good family relations. This article is a follow on from my recent philosophy about family, "Family Demands and Can They Be Managed Better?" As children, and adults for that matter, our perception is our reality. What we are told and what we take in becomes what we believe, or our reality. And...

Family demands and can they be managed better?

With my work in the rural sector, I am becoming increasingly amazed at the children's demands and pressure that is being put on parents to "move over", give equity and so on. Matrimonials are also an area of increasing discord. Let's explore some of the issues. Farms are becoming more valuable every day. With only 39 days of stored food in the world (less than in the 70's, when we had about 18 months to 2 years), it is clear that those who own land that produce food, will continue to be mo...