Michael and Katie Beecher with their children Miguel, Navy and Luie. They love the farming life in south-west Victoria; they just need a reversal of fortunes.
Photo by
Rick Bayne
You could say that Michael Beecher has moved from the pot to the frying pan.
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Michael sold his farm near Shepparton to avoid northern Victorian droughts and moved to south-west Victoria in August 2023.
Returning to the region where he grew up seemed like a perfect fit, but little did he realise he would be moving into the worst drought in memory.
Coupled with a big drop in milk price and a lull in his excavation business, Michael and his wife Katie and their three children have endured a heartbreaking transition.
“For the last six months, I’ve just traded my time for bills,” he said.
“You’re working 90 hours a week and getting nowhere. When things start breaking, you can’t afford to fix them. It’s stressful to be honest.”
Despite all the challenges, Michael manages to keep a smile on his face, and things are starting to turn.
“Rewind two months ago, we didn’t know what was going to happen, but now there’s some light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
The new season milk price has recovered most of the ground lost last year, and his excavation business has a new contract starting in October.
“It was just bad timing for us, with a mixture of things happening all at once. If we get through this, I reckon we can get through anything,” Michael said.
The rotary dairy, plus the relatively new sheds and house, were part of the attraction for Michael Beecher and his family.
Photo by
Rick Bayne
A plumber by trade, Michael got into civil construction and started an excavation business in 2018 when their first child was on the way.
He grew up on his parents’ dairy farm just minutes from his current property on the edge of the Otways National Park at Cooriemungle.
“Dad got out during deregulation in 2001 and we moved to Ballarat when I was 13 or 14, but I was very hands-on and was hosing the yard out before school,” he said.
“I loved it, breathed it, and always wanted to be a dairy farmer.”
With the excavation business humming along nicely, Michael decided to pursue his first love — dairy farming.
“I realised I was never home, travelling up to two hours each way and 10-12 hours on site.
“I probably work longer hours now, but I’m at home, and that means a lot,” he said.
The family had planned to use excavation business profits to fast-track their dairy plans.
“It was extra security; that was my base and the dairy farm was on the side,” Michael said.
They tried to buy a farm in south-west Victoria, but were put off by high prices, so instead invested in a “renovator’s delight” at Invergordon, near Shepparton.
“It was a good farm but a steep learning curve,” Michael said.
“We had to get the paddocks and pasture up to scratch, new fencing, fix the dairy and irrigation, but we got it up to an operational state within a year and a bit.”
It was going okay, but Michael wanted climate security.
“Everyone talks about the drought up there, so I thought we needed to get out.”
With support from his father Graham, Michael inspected several potential properties before deciding on his Cooriemungle farm.
“This was a dream showcase farm,” he said.
“It has good sheds, a good dairy, a good house and everything was ready to go, but it also came with a big price.
“I went out on a limb and took on a lot of debt, but the milk price was good and the excavation business going okay.”
The first few months were smooth sailing, but soon things went “pear-shaped”.
Michael Beecher has been forced to reduce his herd but his milkers have been performing exceptionally well during the drought.
Photo by
Rick Bayne
Melbourne’s construction industry went into a downturn, and the farm had to fund the excavation business while waiting for contract payments — the opposite of what they were expecting.
“The excavation work fell in a heap and we sold the machines at auction for less than half price and then the milk price went from $9.40 to $8.10 — which was about a $400,000 pay cut,” Michael said.
“Combined with the excavation business closing up, it’s about $2 million down in income. Our debt levels are too high to operate the farm on its own — I wouldn’t have bought the farm without the excavation business.
“Both combined was a big hit for us. We could work through it, but then we had the dry summer and autumn, and now we’re in a situation where we’re just scraping through.”
They brought about 250 cows from northern Victoria, but needed to be around 350 to 400 to service debt so had to buy more, resulting in more debt.
“We thought we were doing the right thing to maximise production,” Michael said.
“We didn’t factor the milk price dropping as much as it did, or the excavation business going into a downturn, and then the drought — it’s all external stuff.”
The financial stress has taken a toll on the family this year, but Michael Beecher can now see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Photo by
Rick Bayne
They are paying 10 per cent on the farm loan after seeking bridging finance from a non-mainstream bank when the northern Victoria sale was delayed, and also have to repay a loan on the cows.
Looking at the big picture, Michael sees the high interest rate is a big contributor to their difficult position.
On the bright side, the milk price being paid by his processor ACM went back up to $9.35 and an early July step-up took it to $9.45, there’s a new contract that will see the excavation business resume in October and the drought hasn’t impacted as badly as some.
“The big dam was completely empty. The previous owners were here for 35 years and that never happened to them, that’s how dry the season has been,” Michael said.
“We had to pump water to get through, but we’re lucky compared to some with the drought. I sowed a lot of annual rye grasses, aiming for early feed, and we’ve been grazing now for six weeks.”
They had hit the sweet spot of 360 to 370 cows, but are now down to about 250.
“We kept our productive fresh cows fed well and they have been milking terrific, about 2.3 kg/MS per cow.
“It wasn’t viable to keep any carry-over cows so we had to sell some to release funds to buy hay.
“It worked out because we couldn’t ask any more of the cows we’re milking, but it’s going to be a long road to build up again.”
Michael Beecher was looking for climate security when he moved from northern Victoria to south-west Victoria. Then drought struck.
Photo by
Rick Bayne
Michael and Katie do as much work as possible while raising three children, but two backpackers help, and they hope to appoint a farm manager to allow Michael to get the excavation business back up and running with a new water mains crew.
They also sought help from ACM field officer Lionel Clayton and Geroge Leishman from Rural Financial Counselling and consultants who have helped them through the tough times, and have benefitted from industry generosity.
“We registered with Aussie Hay Runners and got a semi load of hay,” Michael said.
“It was enough to keep the young stock going for a bit longer. It was unbelievable timing. It really saved us because we don’t have any fodder on the farm.”
Farming remains Michael’s first love — but he never wants to endure another year like this.
Katie, originally from Geelong, has grown to love the farm life, as do their children.
“The financial stress we’ve had this year has taken a toll on me mentally and on my wife,” he said.
But he’s going to see it through.
“When I was 30, we were just renting a house and had nothing to our names, so we’ve fast-tracked the system over the past seven years,” he said.
“We really enjoy the job and you couldn’t get a better lifestyle.”
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