Terry
Don, how are you actually finding it as chair when you actually mix as you do in rural communities as to the situation at the present time?

Don
It’s a privilege to be able to meet people across the state even though the people we meet are either in financial difficulty or representing people having financial difficulty, it’s still a privilege to see farmers and farm businesses but mostly farmers operating in such a range of ways and they are so innovative, and yeah that’s a privilege. 

Terry
Have you seen you seen a cycle yourself in your own life time, is this any different to how you spanned 10 years ago, 20 years ago are we in a worse predicament than what we were then?

Don
Ah now you’ve struck me haven’t you, I can recall 68/ 69 when a slump hit the wool and wheat industry and people didn’t deal with it very well because the farm sector was literally poorly educated and trained compared to today and that was a problem in the early 80’s or mid 80’s that there was a slump in land values, there were slumps in wine prices and therefore grape vine / farm prices, this slump at the moment is the worst I have struck and well it’s a 100 years declined because of the major drought we are in.

Terry
So do you see education as being very important in the future from where we are right now?

Don
One of the speakers today has said that, education is a way traditionally used for  people to give themselves options to either, improve their life in farming or to move out of farming or partly move out by getting a job off farm so education gives options.