Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghia5L
Here's the thing. They were offered a $5.60/kg milk solids for 12 months LAST YEAR. The farmers subsequently (throughout last year/this year) adjusted their herd sizes and other cost factors (water licences, feed, veterinary and environmental costs, etc) only to be told recently that the price was being cut to $5.00/kg RETROSPECTIVELY.
Comparison to your job:
Last year you were offered say a $3000/week job for 12 months, the job is guaranteed to be ongoing but the $/week is up for review in 12 months' time. You subsequently upgraded your car, bought a new house and undertook renovations, ate out more, and upgraded your health insurance plan because you can budget that based on your expected income for the year. That, and next year looks to be rosy as well.
In the 10th month your employer tells you "oh, our bad, it was meant to be $2500/week since the beginning of the contract. Since the cuts are retrospective that means the first 10 months of being overpaid need to be squeezed in to the final 2 months, resulting in you actually having to pay US $1312.50 per week for the final 2 months and still perform at your job."
Hory shet. You now can't make your mortgage payments, your car loan payments, you're living on baked beans, you've gotten rid of your health insurance hoping you don't get sick...
The difference with that comparison is the dairy farmers were already doing it tough before this was dumped on them.
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Great post Ghia5L, the bit I've quoted is for me the big issue. As a result of what has been described above these farmers have suddenly got a debt of something in the neighbourhood of $100-120K in addition to any they may already have. Pow!! Just like that. All because SOMEBODY ELSE screwed up.
Fluctuating income for whatever reason is a fact of life for them and they roll with it as anyone in business would understand but through no fault of theirs they have been saddled with this. But their land is worth heaps people may say. That's all very well but that land is their business capital which requires a big investment in plant and equipment.
In the scenario as described by Ghia5L try going onto a construction site and laying that on your workers, you'd end up with a crowbar through your skull in no time flat!!
This will send farmers broke and off the land, it has already sadly driven some to take their own life. The Chinese will come in, buy up these abandoned farms on the cheap and when that happens every drop of product coming from that land will be going straight to China and we will NEVER EVER get that land back.
Our chicken hearted pollies have no clue, or willingness to get a clue and act. The opposition? Not so much as a fart or quack from them either!!
"So just move on and do something else" people may say but that is way to simplistic, farming is a way of life. I grew up on a dairy farm so I understand it and the fact my parents lived on the bones of their butts and worked like slaves to provide for my family.
This is a very serious situation and has ramifications for other sectors of primary industry. With manufacturing pretty much flatlined we are fast heading towards a situation where we as a country will not be able to feed and clothe ourselves, we will be entirely dependent on foreign interests.
Sorry about the long post!!!