Farmers - No Food and Fibre Week

By Dwain Duxson

Farmers - No Food and Fibre Week -  As Farmers, we are getting belted from pillar to post by the Government and the anti-Farming brigade. I have an idea of how we can wrestle some power back.

What if we had a "Farmers - No Food and Fibre Week", where collectively, we deliberately hold back selling or delivering any of our Farm products for one whole week? We disrupt the supply chains. It could be a Monday-to-Friday thing. We would need all the third-party service providers to support it so that everyone in Ag made a huge stand for the selected week. So, no Grain, no Livestock, no Wool, etc, and to the point where Processors, Mills, etc, would have to stop production. We would have to work out how we deal with perishables like milk and grocery items; maybe Processors demand that they only be sold in Rural Supermarket locations. And we could still trade between ourselves as Livestock would still need to be fed; it's just the humans we are trying to starve.

It would need the support of all the Ag Advocacy groups, the big guys like Elders, GrainCorp, Nutrien, CBH, Inghams etc. It would be a protest like no other, no Tractors hitting the streets, no wasted trips to Canberra for a meaningless protest; we could do it all watching from the Farm, just getting on with our daily business.

But here's the kicker. I reckon that we set dates (I am proposing July 15 to 19), and then what would happen in the lead-up is everyone would panic and strip the supermarkets bare. It would be a frenzy. And when that happens, that's when we make our presence felt and demand the support of the nation. We need to be heard; this is our version of the European protests. What do you reckon? Any ideas? What to do now - Please forward this email to your entire database and copy and paste this article link to your socials or send via text. Reply to dwaind@farmtender.com.au or 0427 011 900

Some of the replies we got - We sent this out to a couple of hundred paid subscribers of The Farmers Club newsletter (free subscription here). It's a small sample size, but see some of the responses below.  Reply to dwaind@farmtender.com.au

• "Hi Dwain. Great idea".

• "I like this mate. Surely there would be alot of WA sheep producers keen for it".

• “Hello Dwain. I absolutely 100% agree with this. We did it locally here in the drought, and it made even the real townies in a small country town wake up to themselves. 100% needs to be done, and I believe Central West NSW would support it. Especially after last night's budget…don’t get me started”.

• “Grand idea……love it”.

• “G'Day Dwain. I could not agree more with your thoughts this morning. There is no better example of Farmers being under attack than what came to light yesterday regarding the Labor Party swapping preferences with the Animal Justice Party in the Dunkley by-election in exchange for banning the live export of Sheep. I think the flagrant disregard for rural (mostly WA, but a knock-on effect for all Sheep producers) people's livelihoods to get a few votes in Melbourne is absolutely disgusting. I have always taken a bit of an interest in politics and, up until now, have been a believer in the preference system where everyone's vote counts. But when fringe extremist parties such as the AJP have the power to shut down an industry, the system is f***ed, quite frankly”.

• “You are hitting the nails hard today, Dwain. We got to get today's edition published on whatever the most popular electronic media our metro-woke folk to listen to. There you go, a new acronym - MWF (metro woke folk) (Definition - overly compensated urban dwellers bound by the 25km electric fence surrounding a capital city post office, easily led and generally severely lacking practical intelligence). Because, after all, milk does come from a carton, eggs come from a delivery van and cereals and legumes come out of a big truck! NFI! Another acronym that I have seen used before today! I better go do something practical, might go contract spraying & put a knockdown out in front of a seeder - to stop the "poisonous mushrooms from growing" Have a great day”.

• “I really hope it goes ahead”. 

• “Hi Dwain. Food and Fibre Week is a great idea. Everyone always says Dairy being perishable is a weakness, and as a single farmer, it is, but I have always said as a united front, it could be the greatest strength; just put it all in powder for a given time frame and see what happens so for your week just do that”.

• "Hey Dwain, Interesting you note that. I have a belief that once a country or civilisation loses contact with the agricultural sector, the country or civilisation collapses (eventually). I am sure that is not the only factor that causes the collapse, but look at all the countries out there that used to be really wealthy until they dissed out their Agricultural sector, and they are a mess now. It's sad to see, but interesting to watch from a third-person perspective".

• “G/day Dwain. Congratulations on your No Food, No Fibre week.WHAT A GREAT IDEA. I  and many others have been bashing our heads up against a brick wall for fifteen years, and it has now gotten to the point where we are no longer appreciated. We are forced to drive on shit roads, whereas almost all the road funding ends up in the city. City folk are a race of their own. Very few ever venture out to even look at how their food is produced. We MUST show that we really mean this protest, as it's been going on far too long. We need to show strength and solidarity among ALL Farmers. WHAT ABOUT THE SUGGESTION OF MAKING IT AUSTRALIA-WIDE DWAIN? I'm right behind you. Thanks for bringing it up”.

• "Good Morning Dwain. I share your concerns as to the future of all things Rural. This Government barely manages "Regional" and seems unable to show any pride in anything "Rural"- despite pledging transparency and to govern for ALL Australians - it has proved to be not only unqualified, untrustworthy, wasteful, and so destructive in seeking to divide rather than unite our nation - Shameful! I cannot imagine how heartbreaking the decision to end the live Sheep trade must be for all involved - true to form, the instigator has chosen to remain anonymous; what an utter disgrace as is the elation expressed by the urban-based North Sydney listener - one can only hope her financial security is never threatened by such ignorance".

• Good idea, Dwain, but I don't think one week is enough as so much product is already in store. And how do you get everyone on board? Some of these processors are not our friends, and the opportunist Farmer who only thinks for themselves will take the price spike. some of them even believe the government fearmongering, which is deliberately set up to destroy Farming. But got to try something before it's too late".

End of message.