- Try to avoid extra debt, particularly interest-bearing debt
- Put down on paper what would happen if you sold all but the very best breeders then bred back stock rather than buying in.
- Write down your fixed costs that have to be covered eg rates, insurance, loan repayments, vehicle rego, electricity.
- Apply to everyone for time to pay.
- Write a plan for the next drought based on what has happened this time.
- Mine was “Go debt free asap; when long lush feed disappears start reducing stock numbers; stop spending on non-essentials; seek advice”. Last year it was good external advice that made me change direction in one particular that made a big difference.
- If you have a dispute with your bank give GBAC a call and see what we can do about it .
- Access every bit of government assistance on offer. Don’t be too proud. They are going to spend it anyway so it may as well go to you.
- Be careful about spending big money on feeding stock, particularly if borrowed. Do figures to compare that to selling the stock, if possible. I bought a pole saw and walked the place cutting leaves for feed.
- The thing that worked best for me was reducing stock numbers. It was heart-breaking but made sense in retrospect.
- Watch out for the banks. They can be deadly. GBAC takes a very hard line with banks who do the wrong thing by farmers, which is most banks because they know the farmer knows farming a lot better than finance. You can always give me a call if the bank is not playing fair with you. I run FairGO and that can help plenty of farmers deal with their banks.
Don't blame yourself for debt default. Get help from the master debt negotiators greg@gbac.com.au