Repair your farm fences or tackle your Farm Finance?
The way the season is going none of us would be out fencing in this heat, so why not sit inside and focus on farm finance? Not your cup of tea? Well as a city boy with two grandfathers in farming, who took on breeding merinos and then Herefords, I never saw myself pulling calves. But it worked ok. Then I got a small grey “Square Meater” bull for the heifers and never pulled another calf.
In the same way it is good to have a go at the farm finances because there are really simple rules. Follow them and it will probably work well for you.
Here are some Hints - from a farm debt consultant:
Watch your income and spending every month, because yearly is like checking the stable door after the horse has bolted.
When waiting for irregular income like the annual weaner or a crop sale, keep spending as low as possible.
Avoid borrowing whenever you can. Once you have the bank monkey on your back it is very hard to shake it off and can absorb all the money you should have enjoyed from working sunup to sundown.
The word “Mortgage” means death pledge and for many Aussie farm families it is just that. While someone else holds your title deeds and a mortgage over them, your farm will always be at risk.
Clear debt as fast as possible. That way you avoid time, energy and money-wasters like Farm Debt Mediation or foreclosure.
When the big cheques come in, squirrel 1/10th or a 5th away in a different bank in a different town. That will enable you to be your own banker. When you need funds to buy plant or breeders and you might have borrowed, you can instead finance it yourself and then pay the money back into that account at the other bank over time so that it is there next time you need it.
If you do borrow, use our Borrow Better facility, be your own broker and save a heap of money.
