Respected industry figure Stuart Hodgson will conduct the workshop and Sally Coddington will present a talk on retirement and succession planning.

The event should conclude around 3pm.

RSVP by January 27 to Kirby on 0401 402 351 or David on 0427 399362.

A RECENT tragic accident in Sydney’s western suburbs made all users of ratchet load binders think carefully of how we use these important articles.

We should never attach these units where the ratchet is on the drivers side of the secured load as the operator will have his back to passing traffic that may be travelling at freeway speeds.

Please take care when using load securing ratchets.

JOHN Payne, author of the Bathurst Movie Lovers newsletter recommends a movie with a strong country flavour that starts at Metro 5 on February 2.

 John, whose family was in the shearing game around Wellington NSW and who did a bit of wool handling in his youth, tells me that the New Zealand movie Mahana is a fictional story of the powerful rivalry between two Maori families who make their livings as shearers around Gisborne on the North Island in the early 1960s.

John likens the movie to our classic Australian movie Sunday Too Far Away that featured our shearing industry in the 1950s.

Thank you, John.

THE recent death of Jack Reedy, formerly of Sunbright Orchard at Kelso, takes away a member of one of our city’s most respected families.

The Reedy family were at the forefront of the orchard fruit growing industry in our district for many years and Jack is remembered for his involvement in his family, his church and his industry.

ORDER books for bulk fertilisers are starting to bulge as long-term pastoralists know the returns that are produced from a proper top-dressing program.

Properties that have ceased to add fertilisers to pastures are becoming more obvious as they slowly revert to more native grasses and much lower stocking rates.

There must be a happy medium between high fertiliser rates, varied stocking rates and full holistic property management.

We must be careful that stock owners are not merely “mining” the soil.

A FEW weeks of typical summer conditions has quickly dried off many dryland pastures and produced bushfire danger.

Stock markets have reopened with a welcome $10 or so rise in both lambs and mutton and a nice lift in finewool auction levels.

Surging demand is reported from South Australia and Victorian weaner cattle auctions and steer fatteners must be running their calculators hot with 370-400c/kg buy in levels and present prime bullock prices at around 310c/kg.

Grass fever always fuels weaner cattle auctions but cool hands know how much influence changing seasons can have on bottom line results.

MERINO wool surged this week after the three-week Christmas recess with the prices in all microns 60 to 162c/kg higher.

The 21-22 micron saw rises of around 70c/kg while the 16-17 microns were up 155c/kg.

Unfortunately, the crossbred wools didn’t follow suit, still struggling to find any real demand.

The northern market indicator finished the week on 1490c/kg, up 78c/kg. General feeling is the market will firm this week after such a big surge.

Sales next week will see 15,479 bales offered in Sydney, 11,240 bales offered in Melbourne and 11,050 bales offered in Fremantle – a total of 55, 394 bales nationwide  

Mark Horsburgh, TWG Landmark