She kept asking how my business plan was progressing. I said I was working on it mentally. It was pretty obvious that if I could be considered a Primary Producer by the tax department we would save heaps of money because our loan would be tax deductible. This was well before GST during the time of cheap diesel and the superphosphate bounty for farmers. Farmers also got huge tax reductions on purchases of recognised farm machinery. Some four wheel drive cars fell into this category, though the pansy 4WD vehicles that rich people parked on their front lawns to test out their off-road capabilities were excluded. The list of potential benefits was long.
I did a bit of reading. We would need a largish flock of sheep, or cattle, or we could plant lots of pines or grow lucerne for stock feed. These were all recognised tax-deductible activities for our area. None fitted; the part of the property that could be used for these activities was too small. Most of it was native trees and bush and even if cleared it would be too steep for arable farming.
Leo, Spanish by birth and always lateral, reckoned I should grow chestnuts. Australia imported the vast proportion of its chestnuts so there was lots of space in the market. A decent chestnut tree at 10 to 80 years will produce far more than 100 kg nuts each year. Nuts sell at $4 per kg, towards $10 for best quality material, so each tree would yield at least $400. 100 trees would bring in $40,000 annually for almost no work. The investment required was only $15 to 20 per grafted tree.
Because the lead-in time for profit from chestnuts would be 10 years, I would need a small flock of sheep to provide cash flow in the meantime. A small flock meant at least 30.
The Tax department liked this plan and approved my detailed 5-year schedule as being suitable for the area and the size of the property. Suddenly I was a Primary Producer with the world and a real farm at my feet. She reminded me a few times I didn’t know anything about chestnuts or sheep. She was right. I looked pretty stupid later when her brother asked me the DSE for my property. What’s DSE? He looked concerned too in a ‘my sister married a black sheep’ way.
I did a bit of reading. We would need a largish flock of sheep, or cattle, or we could plant lots of pines or grow lucerne for stock feed. These were all recognised tax-deductible activities for our area. None fitted; the part of the property that could be used for these activities was too small. Most of it was native trees and bush and even if cleared it would be too steep for arable farming.
Leo, Spanish by birth and always lateral, reckoned I should grow chestnuts. Australia imported the vast proportion of its chestnuts so there was lots of space in the market. A decent chestnut tree at 10 to 80 years will produce far more than 100 kg nuts each year. Nuts sell at $4 per kg, towards $10 for best quality material, so each tree would yield at least $400. 100 trees would bring in $40,000 annually for almost no work. The investment required was only $15 to 20 per grafted tree.
Because the lead-in time for profit from chestnuts would be 10 years, I would need a small flock of sheep to provide cash flow in the meantime. A small flock meant at least 30.
The Tax department liked this plan and approved my detailed 5-year schedule as being suitable for the area and the size of the property. Suddenly I was a Primary Producer with the world and a real farm at my feet. She reminded me a few times I didn’t know anything about chestnuts or sheep. She was right. I looked pretty stupid later when her brother asked me the DSE for my property. What’s DSE? He looked concerned too in a ‘my sister married a black sheep’ way.
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