ADVENTURE'S DOWNUNDER OR FARMING IN PARADISE:An Old Rams view.

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day Gang,hope everything is going well?...
.
What a day it was today!..Almost Spring,nearly 20C,little or no wind,so it was a good day to spray,the paddock I am in now is the last of the worst.I covered about 5 acs and used about 80mls of herbicide...Saw both of the lambs in my travels around the flock.I have been trying to get a pic of a "huge" Black Snake I saw the other day,he was sunning himself and is one of the largest I have seen of this species (he looks to be about 8ins around the middle)and has got colossal speed seeing its still "pretty cool" in the daytime.

I noticed today that our neighbor has started lambing in a paddock opposite the house(2 sets of twins),he normally lambs 1 month before us (that's if I can control the "sex manic's).

Q & A:..NC.thanks for that.

~GD.Thanks for the tip on the Coconut Oil.Here's the pic of Jenny's woodshed

It's a funny thing with the Magpie's,the group that nest near the house never "swoop" us during nesting season,but the one's that live near the shearing shed are "shockers",they dive from a tree branch and you hear nothing until the "wing-beat" right behind your head.Before we moved into the new house we were living on the other "block" and as soon as Jenny walked out the door they chased her,but never worried about" me"(I could never work it out myself)................

On the question of the GST,I find its the "fairest" tax,everybody pays and business claim back there GST on inputs (we do ours every 3 months).We collect GST on sales(except the cash one's at the farm gate)and we either pay them or they credit our bank A/C............

The trick with land seems to be that unimproved land will always attract Capital Gain,because every new sub-division is further out from the town center,and the cost of providing services is always increasing,so each "new" block costs the home builder more and so there is an automatic rise in the value of your block.As you said once before ,eventually whats left of your farm will be sub-divided and that will be not bad Capital Gain I think.Its just a shame that you have no way of "writing off"your costs until that happens.Was the Goose and Duck thing a business?If its a long time frame to when you sell it ,is it possible to set-up some sort of biz where you write off your fixed costs? ...

Down here you "dodge" the GST on Agri land if it is going to still be used for Primary Production and the Cap Gain is not applied to your place of residence........On the Solar thing ,yes, the house could be classed as part-passive,its well insulated and the conservatory does generate heat for the house in daylight hours,but the big glassed areas are on the wrong side of the house,but are 10mm laminated,so they do cancel out some of the outside cold,both of our "wood heaters"are designed to only heat the "air" in the house and they only heat the structure if left going 24 hrs a day.The farm work is such that we are always outside doing "something" (unless its raining) and at night nothing replaces our "yummy" electric blanket(LOL)....Its my view that we are to far south to get the max benefit from solar hot water ,so we have a big off-peak system with an adjustable hemostat.

Well," that's about your lot",so til we chat again ,our best wishes ....................T.O.R................................

 

[~gd]

Gday old Ram, I think magpie are much like geese, they both have a reputation for being aggressive but are really territorial, if they get used to you being around during the season when they are not nesting and you dont bother them, they wont waste their time trying to chase you off. I remember the first hot day one spring (geese have young ones then) I went and bought a straw hat to keep the sun off my head when I wore it home they wanted to eat me alive until I got smart and took it off.
The people pushing for a GST to replace income taxes are calling it FairTax they say it can work at about 17% (I think yours must run about 10% going by the prices on the Australian mint site) Many of my friends wonder why I dont support it. The reason is very simple, I was heavily taxed when I earned my money, and again yearly on any money that my capital earned and I built a nest egg to support me in my unproductive old age. I have so little income now that I can escape paying income taxes. So now you want to change the rules and tax me again on everything I need to live? You figure out a way not to hurt we retired folks and I will be with you. Old people vote, the turnout is higher than for any other age group. Now I bet that last statement may confuse you with your mandated voting law. We dont have it and in most elections less than 50% of the people vote. While I see some merit in your system, my counter is that if people are too dumb or lazy to vote, they should stay home and let us that do care make the decisions.
It is evident that land use is a bit different between our two countries which should be no surprise since you have about twice our area and we have about 100 times your population. While I wont go so far as to say your model doesnt apply I will say that it only applies to our smaller cities. The land that I was considering was only semi-productive, part of a pine plantation. About had been clear cut and half had trees that had maybe 10 more years of growth before the trees would mature enough to be cut. Once a forest is mature it can stand for another 10-15 years before it starts to decline. I passed on it for lack of a clear opinion of what the land was worth and its potential worth. My farm is a different story, it is just outside city limits and has great access to a crossroads where two major highways cross and well inside the 30 mile range that most people here are willing to commute for work to 4 cities (the first city mentioned is mostly a bedroom city providing shopping and services to people that work elsewhere and as such its potential growth is limited, a fact that our city fathers refuse to believe) Due to its potential value it is way over valued for tax purposes and is practically worthless now without a water source or enough area to support a septic system for waste disposal. The question is can I continue to carry the fixed costs in the hopes that the city will expand my way. The current expansion is outward on the other side of the city. Land use is not logical.
The funny thing is that the government never questioned if it was a farm while I was reporting losses yearly. At its peak I reported profits and then they looked at it and declared it was a hobby and I could no longer write off losses against my salary but I must report any income from my hobby. Of course like anybody else I became cash and carry and quite keeping books.
Speaking of weird government things why is the AUS$2 coin smaller and lighter than the $1 coin. Do either one still circulate? I may have gotten confused but are the paper equivalents no longer produced? Our government has been trying to get a $1 coin is use for several years now as being longer lasting than the notes, It is too close in size to our 25 cent coin and people refuse to accept them (I got called a cheap SOB when I left one as a tip on a $2 bar bill I heard it and shouted do you really think you deserve more than a 50% tip for handing me a beer?) On the other hand you have done away with the penny and 2 penny coins which make cents; our mint admits that it costs 1.7 cents to make a penny while they turn them out by the ton. I really enjoyed the mints website! Well it has stopped raining but the temp is up to 32C so that means nap time Gday

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day gang,Well another day behind us ,and some more spraying finished ,although I still have one more day in this paddock to finish......On today's check I found a ewe (maiden ) that had prolapsed,when I opened her up she had a growth that was stopping the lamb from entering the birth canal,so its "fresh meat" for the dogs for a few days......We now have 3 lambs on the ground from the maidens,the one born this morning seems strong enough ,but is such a "whinger",if it does not learn to "shut up" the foxes will get it for sure......Next week we will start baiting with 1080 to reduce the fox population,the chap next door rang us to let us know that he is running out a second lot of "baits" today,hope he gets rid of a few.........The RCV has reduced the rabbit population to near nothing and" TOM the rabbit killer" is now getting the kittens as well in the burrows.

Q & A:..~GD.Yes I guess you can compare Magpie's and Geese,except that you can see the Geese coming and this is not the case with the Magpies.....
.I don't know the "model" that you are working on for the GST,perhaps you can put up a link so I can have a look?.....But anyway this is how ours works.
Its 10% on all goods and services ,except "Food and the dividends from bank deposits"
It does not "replace" income tax ,but just "broadens the net".As you would be aware the big end of town pay little or NO income tax,so if you purchase a "company car"(which is a tax write-off)with a value of more than about $80K, you cannot claim back the GST.
The Fed Gov has just raised the tax-free threshold to $18K per taxpayer,or $36K per couple,on the next $18K you each pay about 18%,on the next $20K you pay 30% and after that you pay 45%..Company Tax is 40% from memory.
Low income earners and The Grey Army(that's us old folks)get extra concessions and write-offs as well.
The larger net seems to catch the "big spenders"and they contribute an amount closer to their "rightful share".I suspect that's why they are fighting it so hard(over there) .I have heard it said that the reason that the US is in so much trouble,is because of its debt,"just maybe"if this system had been introduced 10 years ago,with its off-sets for "low income groups",it would have provided the brake on the "economy"it seems you needed.(does that make sense?)
There are a lot of"crocodile tears" being shed down here to about internet sales by retailers as well,but the ATO(our eqiv. of your IRS)states It costs more to collect the GST on $1k than they receive so they don't worry about amounts below this figure.They are much happier to get the 10% of a $20 k diamond ,than $50 on a $500.00 something.
Depositing funds into Superannuation Funds is taxed at 15% on the way in and "none" on the way out and when I left work you could access you funds at age 55,which is what I did,although nowadays you cannot apply for the "Old Age Pension" until you are 67 (I think that's right).

On the issue of voting,.Yes ! We do have a small "donkey vote or where people just write abuse",but I think its only about 1% of voters.Most other people stop and think about are they happy with the "lot" that's in power now ,they consider have they made my life easier or harder,if the answer is the latter ,they vote against them....Your system seems to rely on who can mobilize the most people and as the "rich and the better educated" are the most easily organised,they seem to be the winners....I think your current President was able to excite the rest with the promise of change and so he got in.But I think his support has waned because they do not see any great change from before (after all he is "just"one man against the establishment).I see our current lot getting the "chop" next time as the gov is being run by the "Looney Left"in a minority gov and its all about one woman's vision for the future(I have lived through Labor Gov before and they always seem to make a mess of it),When this lot came to power they had $80 billion in the bank and they just gave it all away,to save us from the GFC ,so they said and now we are $15 billion in debt.I for one cannot see they have made "my life" better.

we used to have 1C ,2C, 5C,10C,20C, 50C,$1 and $2 coins.The one and two are long gone and now they are saying that the five should go also,had they made the $2 larger that the $1 it would have been confusing with the 50C one so they made it smaller instead.I don't think the value of the coin has anything to do the value of the metal in it.

Well enough for tonight,but remember the views expressed are just "my" impression's of what I see going on up there ,I make "NO" claim to be any sort of "expert",your "views" on my comments are most welcome and I am more than happy to be corrected on anything you feel I have got wrong.So til next we chat ,stay safe and cool ,.......T.O.R...............................

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

HELLO,HELLO,I know you are out there,I can see you have stopped by but its all silent?.........Was the subject matter that bad?.............I had better re-read it to see if it could have caused "offence".Hmmmmm.....Cant see any problems ,Magpies, GST,Voting and our money...

So g'day and welcome back,well it got to 21C today and so I got an early start on the spraying,nearly finished that paddock (about 2/3 hrs to go I guess.)..........

This afternoon I took the camera to take this months pic's of the paddock and ground-cover shot's.This month makes it 12months of recording and now we can compare year on year for the month of August.So for the last couple of hours I have been downloading and sorting them out for their folders.I have had a quick look as I did them and the results are very interesting,as you know I take a pic of the paddock and a ground-cover shot every month over the whole property.(it takes a couple of hours each month ,but now we have a years worth, it's great stuff)......Does anybody think it would be of interest to post some of them ,along with some text?

That "whinging" lamb got through the first night OK and I noticed another "new one" when I did a "rough check" at lunch time,while I was doing the pic's I came across a "wet patch" on the car track down the hill,this is the first sign I have seen that the water table is being re-charged,hopefully with the next rain we will get some "good" run-off into the dams.

Nothing else to mention so we will make it a short one tonight(thinking ,thinking)I know what else you might like ,how about this.

"During a visit to my doctor, I asked him, "How do you determine whether or not an older person should be put in an old age home?"
"Well," he said, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the person to empty the bathtub."
"Oh, I understand," I said. "A normal person would use the bucket because it is bigger than the spoon or the teacup."

"No" he said. "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"


ARE YOU GOING TO PASS THIS ON OR DO YOU WANT THE BED NEXT TO MINE? :

Hope you managed a "smile",til next time,hope it cools down a bit for you all......................................T.O.R..........................
____

 

[calendula]

 

[dragonlaurel]

No offense in that thread.
I just had lots to deal with in the last few days. Sick hubby and the weather went up to 105 F (115 when they figure the heat index) here yesterday. The heat has been roasting a pretty big area lately, and is a bigger headache for people that are already farming.
Your tax system doesn't make much sense to me, but neither does ours, so that's to be expected.

I don't know the term "whinging". What is it?
Congrats on the water table. That's a really good sign.
Liked the bathtub joke. I've been way too serious lately.

 

[~gd]

Gday Old Ram, Yes I would love to have a bed next to you, but unless I become one of your boat people I dont think it would happen. Unlike some countries Australia does not seem to welcome Senior Americans, saying or implying that we would be a drain on your Health System that would not be offset by the money that we would be bringing with us or the pensions that many have earned here and would be following us there. As far as I know they may be right!
Come on now you skip a couple days now and again but wonder where we are when you post 2 straight days? I dont know how you know when we read or the number that read this thread, but I checked my email before turning in for the night last night and come to see what you had to say. It looked complex so I saved answering it for when I was fresh like now, only to find that you had posted again. So back to your other post.
Were you able to save the lamb or did it become dog meat too? Another non sheep man question do you usually have twins or single births? I hope you are careful with that 1060, a great killer but it can be passed down the food chain. It was restricted here to top predators and then banned when they found the carrion feeders were being wiped out even faster, (also a policy change that claims that top predators are needed to control the lower orders, so we have wolves or coyote controlling the foxes who were hard on poultry or baby livestock. No matter that the bigger animals will eat adult livestock and dogs and still eat poultry or baby livestock for snacks. Many of our stockmen have become poachers where they can get away with it.)
You would be surprised how quiet a goose can be when they are playing with you and they do have a sense of humor when not defending territory. They love to sneak up on me give me a poke and give their victory call while I am trying to catch them to wring their neck. If you are interested in the FairTax try FairTax.org . One of the biggest complaints is that our tax code is so complex that you NEED an accountant or an expert to file your tax returns and hundreds of pages are added to the rules each year. I am not up to a full discussion right now

Deposits into Superannuation Funds are limited each year and tax free they collect taxes on the way out which includes any profits or just plain inflation. You can withdraw at any time if you will pay a 25% penalty Plus the taxes. At age 59 the pen tally is dropped and you must start withdrawing at 70 at a rate depending on how long they expect you to live. Heaven help those that live longer than expected.

Strange, we find the rich and better educated harder to organize than the rabble President Obama was a professional community organizer before he entered politics so he knew what to sell, namely Hope and Change; problem was that he didnt deliver. People lost Hope and all the Change was to the worst. Remember we are basically a 2 Party system minor parties have no real chance to do anything like forming a minority government. He has upset both wings of his party but they will back him because they have nowhere else to turn. Meanwhile the other party is leaderless due mostly to religion so I expect Obama will be reelected but it might be tight this time (2012)

Our 50 cent is the biggest but really doesnt circulate, too big, and they are all base metals selected for long wear and low cost.
Next day. If there is a real difference that you can account for I would look at pictures. ~gd

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day gang,Well after being put in my place by~gd,I will en-devour to post each night.After reading his "novel"(lol)I can see there is a "heap" of stuff to get through ,so I had better get on with it.

Thursday: As you know by now its "retail therapy",left home in the dark and returned in the dark,so I will have to wait until the morning to see if there are any surprises.

Q & A:..~GD.....OMG it would appear that you have "no" regard for the "mental health "of the staff,you and me in the one place would be "bad" enough ,but in the same room,they would all need therapy. ....Regarding Senior Americans,I would think that if you undertook to have your own Private Medical Insurance they would be OK(but don't quote ME).

I way I know is, I make a note of how many people have "opened" the thread each time I log in,in the last 24 hrs just short of 100 people have opened the "thread".I have the "feeling" a lot of them are visitors(wish they would sign up and join in).

I'm sorry I confused everybody with the Tax Scales,so tonight went to their site and put up a link for you all(its worth saying that I only made it to 1/2 way through Year 8 at school,the rest I have learned through "the school of hard knocks").

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...swnx4G&sig=AHIEtbQTtC6aO-0L6rd8Swxabc2M1kIIlQ

I did make a mistake on the company tax scale its 30% and is to fall to 29% next year,The Super part was right 15% in and nil on the way out.I think its about 10% min deposit from wages 5% from the boss and 5% from you.

On the lamb ,you mean the one from the ewe which had prolapsed?No it was dead inside her when I found her.......I prefer our maidens to have just one the first time,that's enough of a shock for them I think.With the older ewe's I suppose we get about 50/50,it seems to depend on the season at joining as to how many eggs they produce......................On the subject of 1080,it is not a fast killer and according to the ranger they usually make it back to their "den' before they die.If they die in the paddock ,I have observed that nothing will eat a "fox body",even the Crows avoid it........We have groups down her saying that the Dingo must be protected,well my view is that they should "pay" to make sure that they "stay" in the National Parks and if they "stray" its a "lead Aspro".I have no "time" for people who with there safe jobs in their air-conditioned offices,who drive home in there company car's have got a "damm" hide to try and tell farmers what should be allowed to "kill and maim" our stock and endanger our lively-hood..(don't let me get started on this one as it is one of my "pet hates").....................I will have a look at that Tax site when time permits ,thanks................On the President/Gov,I'm glad my feelings on how it was going was about right(we get a very limited exposure to US news),I like to watch PBS News-hour when I can.I would have thought any threat to increasing taxes to the better-off,would have had them on the "street" quick smart......In our last election the Aussie voter "flirted" with the "minor party's",that's why we are in the position we are.Next time I think we will go back to a Liberal Govt for a few "terms".

DL:...Don't take any notice of my "ravings ,mostly its just my "twisted" Aussie humor."Whinging"is best described as continual complaining,in this case the lamb at all times could see its mother but just kept on "bleating".Hope your hubby is feeling "better"now,please pass on our best wishes.I hope the link helps with the tax system......The rise in the water table is so welcome as several of our dams rely on it to stay full.

Calendula: Thanks for that (I think)as I am a little unsure of its meaning.


I think we will leave the paddock pic's for tonight as it involves quite a bit of text (remember I'm only a 2 fingered typer).The impacts and consequences are quite involved and reflect on the pasture make-up and its ability to come away once the warmer weather arrives.Hope to get some more spraying done tomorrow as they are saying (again) that we can expect some rain over the week-end and quite a bit cooler temps..........Wow !Just look at the time its after midnight again,so til next time our best wishes to you all ................................T.O.R.........................................

 

[calendula]

I was just laughing at your joke.

 

[dragonlaurel]

You didn't make the tax stuff confusing. The gov'mint people did that for you. Good link- thanks.
Whinging was just a new term to me. We call it whining so there may be a typo or just regional spelling difference. But being too noisy would draw their attention, so it makes sense.