I won't be continuing this blog as we have moved on from the search for a new co-farmer.

There are two other blogs related to my farming journey, one that was created during our time in Dubbo at Oaklands Farm at " Oaklands - A Vertical Learning Curve ".

The other is the new blog of day to day happenings on Highclere " Highclere Diaries ".

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A thumbnail summary of what happened with the search :

* Just as we were looking at hitting the go button on DomaCom, COVID hit and all the proposed investors suddenly got worried about the market and pulled out.

* I had managed to get the mortgage down far enough that with the two rounds of superannuation withdrawals allowed during covid, maxing out the mortgage redraw, a loan from friends and a rollout of Geoff's super into a SMSF I was able to put together the money to pay out the exiting owner.

* The ATO then decided the use of the SMSF was ineligible despite the property being purchased being a rental house and therefore an income earning investment.

* I arranged to sell the 75 acre section to a neighbouring farmer. This required a subdivision that has taken over 18 months due to delays by third party contractors, but we are in the last stages. 

* Once this has finalised the borrowed funds will go back into the SMSF, it will be rolled back into an industry super and finalised. The mortgage will be substantially reduced and a large payment made towards the loan from the friend. With the cottage now rented to a stable and employed tenant we can start paying off credit card debts and the remaining loan and mortgage debts without the potential forced sale of the farm hanging over our heads.

So it has been messy and drawn out and far more complex than necessary, but the end is in sight. 

It felt like a defeat to sell the 75 acre section when I had fought so hard for the farm, but in reality it was the focus of all the work and none of the joy. I can run all the stock I need for my own enjoyment and self sufficiency on the 25 acre section and it is alot easier to work and maintain. All the sheds and houses are on the 25 acres.

I will have to rethink the management of the pastures to allow good rotation and rest for the grass and do some internal fencing and water points. Always a project waiting when you have a farm :-)

Brace Yourself - Winter Is Coming !

Most people consider Tasmania to be cold, snowy and bleak. Some places can be, most places aren't. Scottsdale, in the northeast, rarely gets below 0 and hasn't had snow in living memory.

Winter is, however a real thing. Whether you're in Brisbane, Melbourne or Oberon, it's a colder time of year and the days are shorter.

In the local farming community the dead of winter is known as "the hungry time". If you've had a good autumn break (the rains have come while the ground is still warm enough for grass to grow) you can graze stock through the early part of winter. Eventually, as the frosts set in and the ground cools off, the grass stops growing and the stock catch up and then eat it down.

This is where the psychic ability of farmers starts to struggle. Is there even going to be an autumn break ? How long or cold will spring be ? Is it going to be a wet and windy winter (stock will need more food to keep warm) and what direction will the winds and rains be coming from (westerly rains come and go, easterly rains set in). No-one knows, not the BoM,your uncle's dicky knee or the confused plum tree in the next paddock over tossing out a couple of speculative leaf buds just in case summer isn't really over yet.

So you count your stock and the hay you have on hand and guess how many weeks you'll need to feed and how many bales you'll need for that time. Then you double what you think you'll need and buy in enough hay to cover that. My husband always comments that he wished I looked at him the way I look at a load of good sweet grass hay being unloaded into my shed.

Here on "Highclere" the plants and animals are getting ready for winter. The cattle are growing a fuzzy coat and the sheep have laid down a layer of blubber. Well, that's not technically true about the sheep as blubber is a marine term... but there's not a visible angle on any of them. The chooks have gone through moult and stopped laying and their new feathers have come in, and the trees have turned yellow ready to throw their leaves to the wind.

And this weekend we do have plenty of wind. The dogs are reveling in it, standing tall and sniffing the air while their ears flap. Maremma don't especially love heat but they do enjoy a good clean, cold wind. Their ancestors did come from the Italian Alps. The cats, however, have staked their winter places in the loungeroom and will probably spend the best part of the cold weather comatose there. They value comfort over wild ancestry.

If you have ever considered moving to Tasmania, midwinter is probably the best time to see if it's the place for you. It's prettier in spring and autumn, downright sigh-worthy in summer, but you'll know in winter whether you can stick those short daylight hours.