BATHURST Merino Association's Ewe Competition is on Friday, March 6, with eight and possibly nine teams to be judged in an area that covers Glanmire, Rydal, Tarana, Oberon and O'Connell.
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Judges are Katrina Blomfield and Chris Stapleton.
Two buses will leave the McDonald's car park at 7.30am and return there in time for a 6.30pm dinner at the Harness Racing Club.
Ticket bookings and details from Rob McLeod on 0427 311 973 or Warwick Larnach on 6337 9335.
Two small buses and a few following cars will visit the properties to the east of Bathust City and spectators enjoy the mini tour and the chance of a yarn.
Interest in the wool game has certainly declined since the early days of the BMA and dual purpose merinos now create much interest with most of their wether lambs going straight to the prime lamb trade.
Store merino lambs to the feedlots need to be stretchy, plain bodies, polled or horn tipped.
Traditional bread and butter merinos are still giving excellent returns but very few wethers are being retained past the weaner stage.
Stormy weather
SLOWLY but surely, the late summer storms are greening our district and no-one is complaining.
Surface water storages are full in some areas and bone dry in others, but spirits are lifting everywhere.
Bathurst's Chifley Dam is still at a level that is concerning and council has to plan for the worst and hope for the best.
With present stormy conditions as I write (Tuesday), Chifley Dam could be three-quarters full by the time you read the column.
Some producers have already gained from the climate change with a leading agent saying that he hasn't seen a dearer cattle sale than last Friday's store sale at CTLX.
The lamb and mutton markets are at really strong levels, but every producer has spent a lot of money keeping his livestock business productive.
OTHER RECENT RURAL NOTEBOOK COLUMNS:
Read the signs
LATE February sees many signs of a turnaround:
- A trillion litres of water added to Sydney's water storage in 10 days.
- The wonderful sounds of crickets singing from under house lawns.
- Sub clover germinating near Barry with other areas to follow.
- Old-timers predicting a major flood in the Macquarie and Vale Creek very soon.
- A claim that Bathurst is overstocked; too many people for its water supply. Is a huge dam on the Fish River an answer to the future?
Chad's back
THE little town of Burraga is again hosting the Chad Morgan Show on March 27 at 6pm.
Tickets will be available at the hall door or buy bus/show tickets for $40.
Book for the bus on 0427 269 490 or 0423 409 277.
On Chad's last visit to Burraga, he drew a great crowd which enjoyed lots of mischief, fun songs and real value for money.
I hope the old villain sings Double Decker Blowflies just for Burraga.
"Chad is going to keep laughing all the way to the undertakers," someone posted recently.
Tying the knot
CONGRATULATIONS to Bernadette Cullinane and Ian Meek on their recent engagement. Best wishes for many happy years together.
Please look after him well, Bernadette, as we all recognise Meeky as the Minister for Pumps in the Central Tablelands and we all rely on his expertise.
Busy Norman
HAPPY 91st birthday to Norman Stonestreet up near Blayney. I'm told Norman keeps busy on the farm and that his chooks have gout from being fed pizza.
Grim toll
KANGAROO Island, South Australia is a long way from our district, but we are concerned at the damage that recent bushfires have caused on the island, with about half the area being burnt out.
There are several of SA's top sheep on the island, Ella Matta being recognised as a leading merino stud.
At another quality stud, the 75-year-old owner lost his home, most sheds, all his stud rams and some thousands of breeding ewes.
Reports tell of about 30,000 sheep dying in the fires.
Drone day
FOR something outside the square, Andrew Coughlan tells us that he is arranging a free course on drone operation and this should be of value to farmers, photographers, contractors, etc.
Details from Andrew on 0447 393 092.
Diary dates
- Sunday, February 23: The 43rd Annual Sofala Show.
- Friday, March 6: BMA Annual Merino Ewe comp.
- Friday, March 27: Chad Morgan at Burraga.
Wool report
THE wool market started the week with soaring premiums paid for Tasmanian fine wools, but corrected a little when the lesser-style wools with poor additional measurements came on to the market.
By the end of the week, all fine merino types were around 25c/kg cheaper. The medium to broad merino types only lost a couple of cents a kilogram.
Crossbred wools gained 40c/kg, driven by the finer types. The Northern Market Indicator finished the week on 1604c/kg, down 8c/kg.
With all the negative predictions, the coronavirus has had little effect on the wool market at this stage. Whether it will down the track remains to be seen.
Next week will see 42,950 bales on offer nationwide.
Mark Horsburgh, TWG Landmark
Laugh lines
GRANDMA to four-year-old granddaughter: "What do you think you'll do when you're as big as me?" Little miss: "I think I'd better go on a diet."
***
OUR farmer friend in the big city beamed at a woman in the club.
"You're the reason men fall in love," he told her.
"And you're the reason why women don't, hayseed," she replied.
***
HIS brother also befriended a young city woman.
"We should rearrange the alphabet and put U and I together," he said.
"I'm happy to just leave N and O right where they are," she told him.
