Producers who are interested in this competition will want to look after their team of young ewes and remember that teams should comprise the maiden ewes from which we intend to breed.

Industry aims have changed a lot during the 28 years of this event. We saw six-tooth maiden ewes in the early days, and now we see some young ewes joining at eight months.

Interest in the merino industry is hard to gauge as the interest in a recent Super Six event at Bathurst was sluggish.

LOTS of industry stud sales and open days will feature in coming weeks and at the top of the list for merino breeders is the 12-mile tour near Wellington.

Set for Tuesday, September 10, and displaying some 700 sale rams on seven studs, this event is a "must see" for keen sheep breeders.

Many of these studs will display plain bodied, quick maturing sires and we wonder where the formerly popular heavy skinned sheep have gone.

Our younger generation of shearers have entered the industry at a time when body wrinkles have almost disappeared from modern sheep as most studs have bred towards really plain breeches.

The networking and friendship that happens at stud open days can be compared to a rural Men's Shed and this is a great chance to forget our day-to-day problems.

THE death of one of Bathurst's best-known service providers, Max Collins, has taken away a valued friend to many people across the district.

Max operated Collins Pest Control for many years, raced some pretty handy greyhounds and was always in a good mood.

He is remembered as a good friend to all, except white ants and spiders. Vale Max.

SALES of rural properties continue to be achieved and values have been really satisfactory.

The Bathurst, Oberon and Blayney areas are benefiting from the greatly improved highway to coastal areas and real estate values in these towns continue to improve.

To set up a viable property in our district will probably involve $3 to $4 million and livestock will be hard to source when pastoral conditions return to normal.

WE don't often see the Meadow Flat to Oberon section of our district look so forlorn as it does at present and we hope that general rain will change the district's outlook very soon.

Of course, all areas look awful and a lot of livestock have vacated their property, but we are at a time of spring when pastures will grow when rain does fall.

Media reports of the ongoing drought across vast areas of three states are not attracting the readers' attention as they did in latter years.

Dwindling water supplies in country towns are now in the spotlight as farmers have had to batten down, virtually destock and make plans for their futures.

In most cases in our tablelands, at least one member of a family works off farm and often both husband and wife join the endless stream of cars that carry them to work in town.

In my time as a specialist sheep contractor I saw two farm wives who drove from near Gunning to Canberra for work in separate cars on five days of each week. They said they were very grateful for their jobs.

SEPTEMBER is the month for mayoral elections and if I were a capable bookie I would have Scott Ferguson, Kathy Sajowitz and Graeme Hanger as short-priced favourites to retain their positions, while Lithgow's election may be a toss-up.

If mayors were elected by the community, would all these mayors retain their positions?

CONGRATULATIONS to the St Pat's hockey team on their big win in their first grade final.

One of the veterans in this team was Brent Naylor, who is also regarded as one of the great lamb catchers for the former Perthville Sheep Services.

When Doug Hewitt's Bathurst Panthers win their Group 10 grand final, all the silverware will belong to the south of Orton Park.

THE wool market saw another week of substantial falls as all micron categories suffered significant losses.

The fine wools lost another 100c/kg, while the broader merinos lost around 150c/kg.

The crossbred wools, which had been holding their ground, also slipped this week, losing around 30c/kg.

The Northern Market Indicator finished the week on 1405c/kg, down 116c/kg.

Buying confidence has been eliminated as talks of renewed tariff rises, the Brexit shambles and inverted bond yields potentially cause harm to intended spending by consumers.

Until we see some confidence restored, the market will be weak.

Next week will see 29,061 bales on offer nationwide.

JACK and Jill were elated when their sixth child was a little boy, after five girls.

Granny on the phone was also thrilled. "Does he look like you or Jack, dear?" she asked.

"We haven't even looked at his face yet," Jill told her.

***

TWO old mates were at the hairdresser.

"Please don't sprinkle cologne on my head, love, the missus will think I smell like a call girl," the first old mate said.

The second old mate said a bit on his hair wouldn't matter because "my missus wouldn't know what a call girl smelled like".