The highest priced dog was offered by Peter and Kay Moore from Tarana and sold for $4300.

Overall winners in the Super Six Ewe competition were Peter and Kay Moore “Blink Bonnie” Tarana, while the fine wool section went to T & K. Dolbel; medium to P & K Moore; and S & D Seaman won the superfine section.

Peter and Kay Moore almost swept the trophy awards with wins for champion individual ewes.

Fifteen juniors competed in the junior sheep judging event with placings being Matilda Ryan, first; Felicity Webb, second; Leticia Milne, third; and Andrew and David Messner highly commended.

Richard Butcher, John Dwyer and Brian Seaman were thanked and praised for their help and advice to all the entrants in the junior judging event.

RESIDENTS who are interested in country life and the sheep industry would enjoy a day spent at South West Slopes Merino Breeders field day on Thursday, September 1 at Galong, with a 10am start.

There are lots of industry related trade displays with a great day for the whole family with 56 Merino studs displaying sheep. 

This field day has grown from humble beginnings and now attracts more than 1000 spectators each year.

SHEARING operations are now in full swing across the district with most ewes in the Taralga/Goulburn area already shorn and  commencing annual lambing.

Producers are appreciating a few weeks of frosts and sunshine as they get the wool off and away to sale.

Comments from woolbrokers show concern at a number of wool clips that are arriving for sale without being skirted.

A general shortage of capable wool handlers has added to the problem, but it seems a shame to risk the reputation of our wool industry by forwarding unskirted clips to the auction floor.

A CURRENT edition of Country Style Magazine carries two articles of real interest to country people.

One story details the involvement of the Inwood family of “Toulon” Glanmire in the wool producing industry in our district.

Their fine and superfine bloodline comes from the Karori stud at Walcha and three generations of the Inwood family have farmed at Glanmire.

The second article discusses the sheep and wool production strategies of George Haylock and his family on a broadacre holding near Berridale on the Monaro.

While George was a student at The Scots School, Bathurst his dad entered hospital for a hip replacement, was given an epidural and never walked again.

This family were major clients of Severn Park Cooma and highly regarded as wool specialists.

CONFIDENCE in rural industry by three local families has led each of them to significantly increase their rural holdings both in and outside the Bathurst district.

Each of the families intends to retain their involvement in the wool industry and two of them mention the “chance of a lifetime” to purchase large acres in a good season and at record low interest rates.

With constant threats of ongoing droughts and scorching temperatures in the future, it’s great to see rural families prepared to make their own luck and let the prophets of doom worry about their own problems.

I wish each of these families all the good luck in the world, and good on them for having a go.

A MEDIUM scale livestock producer tells me that he has 300 dorper cross lambs ready to sell if he can find them.

The dorper is a profitable, quick maturing, shedding animal that is good at finding kangaroo holes under boundary fences.

MAJOR roadworks on the highway at Kelso will provide us all with a great new access road into Bathurst and on into the Central West.

Users of the “temporary” access via Lee Street towards Blue Ridge, Oberon and many of our industrial businesses have greatly appreciated this alternate access road and they have experienced only minor hold ups across the Great Western rail crossing.

No doubt the council’s traffic committee had discussed the future of the Lee Street crossing after the highway restructure is completed, and users of the crossing must be hoping that the railway traffic lights will become permanent.

THE wool market opened just a little softer this week after a three-week recess.

The northern market indicator finished the week on 1321c/kg, down 12c/kg.

Although it is disappointing to see a loss, it was on the back of a big offering of 52,000 bales. The market should firm next week with the offering coming back to 42,000 bales.

Merino fleece lost around 5 to 10c/kg while merino cardings with high VM lost up to 50c/kg.

The XB wools lost a little ground on the first day of selling but regained most of the loss on the second.

Next week will see a nationwide offering of 42,851 bales in Sydney Melbourne and Fremantle

- Mark Horsburgh, TWG Landmark