Perspective and the one battery story

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By Dwain Duxson

Perspective and the one battery story - I attended the Echuca and District Cattle Group AGM last night and had a little chat with them. They are a small but tight-knit group of 25 or so people that meet every month and always have a guest speaker.

You could say that most in the group are more in the older Farmer bracket, and I say that with all due respect. During the AGM, they had a little debate about the yearly membership fees. The fees are $30 per entity, and one person wanted them waived for the upcoming year due to economic conditions. Someone else suggested $10. It was then discided by the majority that membership for the upcoming year would stay the same at $30. Everyone was happy.

It really does put it all into perspective, and you have to respect Farmers who have been through alot of tough times and are still watching the pennies. I mean, you go to an upmarket Pub and pay that ($30) for 2 pints of beer. I really took it all in and thought about it all the way home. Most Farmers would know that apart from an era in the 50s and a short period in the late 80s, Farming has been tough going up until probably about 15 years ago. People don't forget that. 

I remember when I came home from school and started on the Farm, interest rates were around 20 percent. Money was so tight that we had one battery for 2 Tractors, 2 Trucks and a Header, and we just kept swapping it around. I told that story to the group, and there were plenty of people nodding. As an older Farmer that's been through some tough times, have those times made you very careful with money, even today?

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