Finance with Don Fraser Fraser Farm Finance

Remember when you were three and you wanted to be a farmer? Now you are five and off to school, telling everybody that you want to stay home and help dad on the farm.

You are now eight and have got your first calf at calf club and clean up the dairy section on the day.

You are now 10 and your parents are splitting up and your head is smashed in little pieces on the ground. It is the worst thing that’s ever happened to you; except now you are 15 and you can see it was the best thing.

You are now 16 and making plans to be a farmer but resisting studying hard at school. You are 17 and have fallen in love; then you’re 18, leaving school and your first love, and it hurts.

You are now 20, working crazy hours on a dairy farm. You’ve been playing a lot of rugby and at 21 you’ve fallen madly in love and want to marry.  Now you are 23 and you’re 10 feet tall and starting to tell the boss what to do.

You borrow to buy cows and leave a farm and you have a kid on the way because you’re now 25.

You are 35, have paid the herd off and Dad helps you to buy your first farm.

You’re 45 already and a recession has bitten you and you learn fast how to manage your cash better. You hit 50 and wonder how everybody else is sane because you’re having a mid-life crisis – you think you’re going crazy but you manage to hang onto everything with the skin of your teeth.

Now you are 60 and on the Drainage Board and not as fit as you were; then you’re 64 and wondering what happened?

Now you are 65 and sitting up in the Heart Unit having a stent installed and you realise you’re not immortal.  It is a miracle that the world has not exploded or shaken to bits and you are 70 and not feeling as sharp as you were. Your joints ache and your head hurts.

The world is going so fast you wish you were five years old again and telling the teacher you wanted to be a farmer, and all you can do is sit in the chair and tell your grandkids what life was like then.

Now you are 80, Covid has arrived and you wonder how long you’ve got to live if you get the new virus? Now you are 85 and things are actually starting to make sense. Now you are 86 and dead, which is very annoying.

These are the opinions of Don Fraser of Fraser Farm Finance.  Any decisions made should not be based on this article alone and appropriate professional assistance should be sought. Don Fraser is principal of Fraser Farm Finance and a consultant to the farming industry.  Contact him on 021 777 675.