The Domino Effect

Farmers aren’t people who ask for help. We are an independent, self reliant industry. We always have been and I suspect we always will be.

However, today I’m coming to you to ask for help and I’ll explain why. As you read, please remember I’m talking about people, real people who are about to have their lives upended if we can’t get fuel.

Australia runs on diesel. I know there is a huge push for renewable energies and for Net Zero. We a farmers have known this is a pipe dream and here is why: the huge distances and vast length and breadth of our country does not make it possible not to use trucks. The trucks you see on the road are used to distribute food and fuel and freight . The massive machines we use in agriculture need diesel to power them. The tractors that are used to mix a sheep or cattle or pig feed ration or power pumps to push water around, do not make this possible. The pumps that are used to run irrigators do not make this possible. Perhaps in years and years to come when we have had time to work out how to change our engines to have the SAME amount of power doing the SAME job as with diesel, that will be the case, but not now. And not in the ridiculous time frame the government wants to do it in.

Three weeks ago, it cost a triple road train carrying food and frieght, driving from Victoria to Western Australia $16,000. This week it cost $21,000. For the same amount of fuel to power that truck, it’s just that diesel prices have skyrocketed thanks to the war in the Middle East. Bear in mind, this is just for one truck. There are over half a million trucks registered in Australia. Do the numbers on that.

We know there is some price gouging going on; the ACCC seems to have no bite to it’s bark and is doing sweet F all about that, so I guess that’s something we have to live with.

But the domino effect is that this extra $5,000 cost is going to have to be passed on somewhere. And let’s think about it for a moment. That triple road train won’t have just freight and food for one town or city on its trailers. It will have to go to Perth, be unloaded and the freight distributed to other towns and cities and then put on another truck and driven to where it’s going. Again at a higher cost to what it was three weeks ago. That cost is going to be passed on to every single consumer in Australia, whether you live in the city or not.

So back to farmers and where we need some help.

Seeding is due to start in Western Australia during April. I’m going to use WA as an example because I’m not sure of the figures in other states. During the 24/25 season 9 MILLION HECTARES were sown to crop. On averagefor every hectare planted to a crop, the use of diesel is 35l/hectare. 9,000,000 hectares times by 35 litres of diesel per hectare works out at 315 million litres needed to sow the WA crop.

That’s just for seeding. We’ll need something like that again for harvest. There is other big jobs on the farms that need diesel at other times of the year. Carting gypsum, lime and fertiliser to care for our soils, deep ripping, spraying. The list goes on.

And that’s just for the cropping side of things.

Farmers also run stock and feedlots. They need fuel to run the tractors, the mixers, the pumps for water, the Utes to check the stock. Irrigators… The list is too numerous to mention. No fuel? All of this will stop and then there will be an animal welfare issue.

Then there’s the farmers themselves. They usually live out of town. A long way out of town and still have to be able to drive to pick up supplies so they can eat. No fuel, no trip to town.

Also, some farmers don’t have access to mains power and run diesel generators to run their houses. I wonder how you’d feel if someone turned off your power and suddenly everything in your fridge and freezer spoiled and you couldn’t charge your phone. And it went on for weeks.

So I can’t tell you how angry it makes me when I see our general population fuelled (pardon the pun) by the media, flocking to service stations and stock piling fuel.

If you take more than you need, it’s the simple domino effect that someone else will miss out. Have we become so selfish as a society that we don’t care about our neighbour?

So please, I’m asking on behalf of every farmer in Australia. DO NOT take more fuel that you need. If we are unable to grow a crop, or the market farmers are unable to harvest their fruit and veggies, you will not have food. If you take more than you need, over time, our trucks will stop and that will also affect you; perhaps that parcel you ordered from Amazon won’t be able to be delivered. If you take more than you need, the ambulance which might be needed to save your loved one might not be able to attend.

There is a domino effect from every action and stock piling fuel will affect everyone.

I don’t think there is anyone in the world right now, who isn’t scared of what the future is. I know I certainly am. And all we can do from here is be kind to the person who is standing in front of us, empathise with people and act with love for other humans.