Graeme Fullgrabe - Sharp Fullgrabe & Co

Graeme Fullgrabe  
Director
Sharp Fullgrabe & Co

Hanging over East Gippsland, Monaro & south Coast is a big carrot.

This year has been one of trying times weather wise but thank goodness for what we can get at the other end being east of Traralgon and south of Cann River.

The season is bad and with 3 months of summer to get through we look forward to an autumn break. Any private agent who has not got a grin on their face then there is something wrong! The ratio of man to money compared with the huge staffing of Elders, Landmark & Rural Co is not comparable so we have done well, my congratulations to all my fellow private agents.

We have had wonderful support from you to get rid of our vast numbers of Store stock rather than Fats. Thank goodness there is an export floor with cows and bullocks propping the job up because the domestic side of the market is very shallow which brings me to the outlook for the next 12 months.

Disregarding seasonal factors Australia “has a problem in costs”. The fishing industry looks good from the outside but their fishing waters are being locked up therefore they have to steam further to fish, the regulations on catch and quantity are foolish, the staffing problem is an issue in the vegetable industry as some Australians don’t have to or want to work so they revert to Asian and Islander workers who are very good but the Government regulations are crippling them, this will rub off to the beef, sheep, wool and cropping industries, our costs are too high making our finished product not competitive locally and worldwide.

Unfortunately one can’t control age and weather, we are in the lap of the Gods and if you can’t get someone to work it falls back on the boss. Water controls a lot of things, myself and David Walker sat on the bedside of an old dying Dargo legend Jim Treasure and he said, “mark my words young men, the next war will be fought over water” not far wrong, it controls a lot of things.

Merry Christmas all