What a cold, cold winter we’ve had!
But besides the thermometer boasting single digit figures for the best part of July, the winter hasn’t been that bad for our region.
I can’t recall any catastrophic weather events, and the best part of our region is green.
There has been the usual early movement on the temporary water market, and this year, a bit more gibberellic acid than usual is being sprayed about.
I’m hoping that our southern counterparts have had some rain by now, because parts of western Victoria and South Australia have been really struggling.
I’d love to see a bumper spring everywhere so we can all put a good bank of cheap feed away!
July had to be my least favourite month, and it’s got nothing to do with the cold — it’s the book work.
And to top it off, the accounting program we use needs re-licensing and upgrading every July (a thing which gives me pure anxiety).
The staff all get a pay rise and extra super, and the ATO want to reward our savvy farming practices with an invitation to pay some tax. It never ends.
But I guess if we’re paying tax, we had a good year (at least that’s what the accountant tells me).
With a lower milk price this year, were going into it with the same game plan as last year — keep getting cows in calf, keep feed ahead of the cows, measure everything so we can track how we’re going, and conserve as much fodder as possible.
These are the things we can control.
I’m not going to guess or speculate about how we’re all going to finish up the 2024-25 season, but I came across this information last week. I thought I’d share it with you.
Hopefully you don’t need it, but perhaps you do, or someone you know might when finances get tight on farm things get tricky.
The new Farm Household Allowance 10-year period started on July 1.
What does this mean? If you’ve used your four years of payments in this 10-year period, you may be eligible for four more years of FHA from July 1.
Get on the Centrelink website or get in touch with your local rural financial counsellor. It won’t be enough to pay your fertiliser bills, but it’ll put food on the table.
Fingers crossed for a great spring
– Rachael Napier is the Murray Dairy chair.