David Heinjus
After a very warm weekend, it is certainly a reminder that spring has sprung. We have plenty of clients who are concerned about which way the season and corresponding incomes will land. Whilst parts of the state are OK (even fantastic), there are other areas that are far from OK. Recently, I drove in a dust storm from Renmark to Mildura. In parts, I was down to 30km/hr. I really felt for the farmers, who will now have two failed years in a row. Most, in this region, have only had 95mm rainfall for the year. Unfortunately, you cannot do much with that…
While driving in this dust, I started to think about what could be been done differently. I started to scenario plan how I would respond if it was our farm. I concluded I would start to focus on the things I could control, not things I could not. For example, I can control how I react, think and talk to my family. I can control if I choose to continue to still own livestock, I can control if I choose to review the budget and then talk to my bank. There are a lot of things I can control, even in adversity.
I was with another client recently. We did a quick whip around the farm. Some parts looked great and other parts not so good. Knowing this business very well, I started to feel sick in the stomach when looking at some parched crops. Once back at the house, we decided to scenario plan the budget with some reduced yields. The impact was not as great as we had built up in our heads. This was a great reminder about the structural impact of the business model. If the business model is robust and low cost, it will always help us through some difficult times.
The adopted business model is a choice and totally within our control. I know if I start to worry about things, I will always review the budget. I can then start to do something about it.