As Chifley Dam gets close to overflowing, we can appreciate the great rain and snowfall that saturated the catchment and caused most of the run-off to be clear water.

Several topical comments should be made:

WITH plenty of soil moisture and the first warm days of September, we are seeing quite a surge of new growth in pastures and crops on many properties.

First priority for breeders of young stock is vaccination for pulpy kidney because of exposure to lush pastures for the first time.

Most producers will vaccinate at the first opportunity and follow up with a second injection within weeks.

Foot abscess in heavily pregnant ewes has already caused lots of problems in some flocks and sheep should be kept out of muddy yards wherever possible.

Of course, we have to be ultra careful if buying in stock: triple check for foot problems, double check for lice in sheep and cattle and only buy restocker sheep carrying V Tags for OJD vaccinates.

Landholders are urged to be extra careful of boggy areas, even on well-worn paddock tracks, as our district soils are carrying a full moisture profile and many of the granite soils don't have a bottom.

There are some areas where you won't ride a horse and we haven't seen conditions like that for years.

We know that good times don't last for long and every producer is enjoying a lovely start to spring.

It's really noticeable that some pastures have recovered much better than others and that paddocks with good ground cover and a sound super history are at the forefront.

Perhaps the days of year-round heavy stocking with self-replacing merinos are becoming a distant memory and I'm often told "75 per cent of our sheep income is from meat and surplus sales and 25 per cent from wool".

Until Chinese wool processors can find markets for their products, recovery in Australia's wool auction markets will be slow.

OTHER RECENT RURAL NOTEBOOK COLUMNS:

ONGOING high prices for beef cattle, stud bulls and restocker stores have illustrated the confidence that producers have in their industry.

Online and on-property bull sales have been rewarding for stud owners with good top prices, clearances and averages.

Agents tell me that bidders will need a fair amount in a cheque account when they arrive at a store cattle sale.

IN the sheep and wool corner, we see excellent returns from sales of store sheep, satisfactory prices for lamb and mutton and a wool market that has fallen from the $20 kg of 2019 to a market indicator that is getting close to the 870c kg reserve price of 30 years ago when the reserve price scheme collapsed.

LOTS of us have heard Bathurst businessman Peter Rogers discuss with Radio 2BS the importance for all of us in shopping locally in our cities, towns and villages.

The COVID restrictions have put lots of pressure on every business and these businesses provide lots of job opportunities to local residents, especially our young generation who are developing their work ethic and need to see their efforts being rewarded.

No-one knows where the virus pandemic might end, so we must support each other in any way that we can and hang on tightly.

THE imminent release of the new model Mazda BT50 ute signals a major change to this vehicle's DNA.

Where the Mazda ute shared motors and most of its mechanicals with the Ford Ranger, the new model is sharing mechanicals with the Isuzu ute.

Isuzu has established a great reputation for long life and reliability and this should rub off onto the BT50.

FRIENDS who yearn for an everlasting afterlife are usually the same ones who get bored witless on a wet Sunday afternoon.

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GEORGE bought a badly rundown farm in a marginal district and got his parish priest out to bless the place.

"Now you and God may work together and restore the property," Father said.

Five years later, Father called in to check.

"George, you and God have done a wonderful job and your farm looks magical," he said.

George added: "God wasn't going real crash hot when He ran the joint by Himself."