As autumn comes to a close, the fire is lit and the days are getting shorter.
It’s been lovely to have a real proper autumn break, something we haven’t seen often in recent years.
We’ve been busy sowing seed ahead of rainfall events, and maintaining tracks and drains ready for winter.
Getting the things we need, whether it’s good quality hay or rock for the tracks, has taken more work than usual.
We never seem to manage to achieve all the autumn jobs we want to do, but it wouldn’t be a dairy farm without a never-ending to-do list, would it?
I had the pleasure of attending the 25th anniversary dinner for the Don Campbell Memorial Tour, and we were honoured to have many members of the Campbell family in attendance.
Rhonda Campbell shared some memories of her late husband Don, the first chair of GippsDairy, to help us get to know a man who was a young leader, a family man, the life of every party, and a person who was always looking for opportunity to develop himself, young farmers, and the dairy industry.
I am thankful that our early leaders of GippsDairy acted on their vision to bring the industry together and create opportunities for growth and development beyond the front gate of the farm.
GippsDairy continues to hold these values strongly to this day, and I think that 25 years on, this is reflected in the collaborative and supportive way in which our industry in Gippsland works together.
Early in May, GippsDairy hosted Dairy Australia chair James Mann for a visit to Gippsland.
On our travels, we visited one young farmer who had bought and paid off his own farm, and another who after starting in the industry in 2009, had just purchased his first farm.
We also spoke with farmers who were in the process of family succession. It was refreshing to see that not only is it still possible to buy a farm these days, but that you don’t have to look far to find plenty of great young people in our industry.
I don’t think it’s ever been easy starting out on your own. Reflecting back, Simon and I never thought we would buy a farm when we started our journey as newly married sharefarmers in 2007.
Getting there has involved hard work and financial discipline, but also getting off the farm, developing ourselves and being involved in the industry.
It’s hard to predict exactly what the next opportunity will be, but you can prepare yourself and your business to identify and take those opportunities when they arise.
It definitely hasn’t got any easier being young. Rising wealth inequality and climate predictions bring feelings of hopelessness and impossibility about the future.
Mobile phones and social media create a sense of connectedness that isn’t real. We’re always ‘on’ yet attention spans are short and we’re less productive than ever.
Rather than lamenting these things, it’s time for every one of us in and around the dairy industry in Gippsland to take responsibility.
We can take up the challenge to turn every negative conversation towards the things we can do, right now, to take a small step towards a better place.
We can move from being problem-oriented to solution-focused.
We can support our young service providers to become the next great consultants in Gippsland by taking the time to coach, mentor and gently provide feedback.
We can share with the next generation the opportunity that dairy has provided to us.
We can be generous with our time, knowledge and resources.
We can turn up, put our phones away, and be present.
Can we be the change we want to see?
Lauren Finger
GippsDairy chair