Hi,

I've been thinking about purchasing about 40ha of land between Mudgee and Wellington. The land backs onto the Cudgegong river, but the pasture doesn't look to be improved at all. Unfortunately, I come up about $20,000pa short on repayments with my current income, so I was hoping a small farming enterprise might be able to make up the difference.

My plan was to fatten cattle for feedlots; Buying them in at around 240kg and selling them at around 320kg over a 6 month period, so twice a year. I've assumed 40 head at a 1kg/day growth rate from the current pasture, but I do intend on improving it over time. Do you think this would be viable? What kind of growth periods, rates, etc, should I expect? Could I stock at a higher density or grow them out quicker? I thought this would be a better way to go as it would be low maintenance and allow me to still work in town, but if anyone has any better/more profitable ideas, I'm all ears! Ideally, I'd love the property to be able to support me full time, but I don't think it has the economy of scale for it.

Also, are any farm losses, including the loan repayments, tax deductible? I figure if things don't work out for the first year or two, at least there might still be some benefit.

Thanks!