Rural Notebook | Cheque out the reward for sticking it out

Prospects would be for an excellent sale with almost every lot being Gudair needled and many listed as mulesed with pain relief.

Some sales are now being advertised as MLSD/PR and GV.

Some lines are listed as having two needles of Campyvac and their merino mother's bloodlines are mostly listed.

Even the vendors who offer a line of 100 young ewes should have a nice cheque for above $30,000 to help make Christmas much merrier.

It's obvious that the specialised first cross breeders use the big framed, plain bodied, Peppin type ewes that are renowned for being good doers and have great constitutions.

Buyers at these sales have battled through some mongrel years, but are now enjoying lucrative lamb and mutton sales and they can see viability in $400 replacement breeders.

THE exodus of breeding ewes from Western Australia to the eastern states continues with a reported 40 B-doubles per day crossing the Nullarbor and a total of two million ewes to be reached by Christmas.

Agents in WA say that a lack of surface water is the main reason for the sell-off, with about $140 per head for six-year-old merino ewes making deals more tempting.

Mention is made that farmland expansion has reduced the number of actual farmers by 40 per cent.

As in our state, a lot of our younger generation don't want to be involved in sheep work and they see much more use of chemicals will be needed in the near future.

OTHER RECENT RURAL NOTEBOOK COLUMNS:

THE weather gods have smiled on the harvest season as rain has held off to give cereal, oilseed and hay producers great conditions to bring in one of the best harvests on record.

Forecasts of a La Nina weather event and a soggy start in late October caused concern and the early harvest of chickpeas had problems.

With the majority of the NSW grain crop in storage, livestock graziers are starting to look for the La Nina pattern to arrive.

Parts of western Queensland are still in near drought conditions. A large area centred on Winton is seriously destocked, with feed and water being a real concern.

INTENSE storms over relatively small areas have been features of this year's spring.

The little village of Wirrinya to the south of Cowra suffered severe damage in a freak storm last week.

House roofs, sheds and silos bore the brunt of the storm and windrowed lucerne and cereal crops were actually blown off their paddocks.

Memories of 150 millimetres in a 90-minute storm to the south of Bathurst in the early 1960s and many hundreds of shorn sheep being killed by storm rains in the same year are a reminder that hot summers and plenty of atmospheric moisture can make our lives interesting and sometimes dangerous.

PREMIER Gladys Berejiklian and her Coalition Government seem to have swung to the left with Minister Matt Kean gaining majority support on several issues: a greatly enlarged national park near Cobar and carbon neutral settings that are new policy.

National Party members must be concerned at the threat from capable Shooters and Farmers candidates for the next NSW election in March 2023.

To be fair, can members really expect a young woman with a little family to vote for an SFF candidate?

Surely the party could come up with a modern name and still retain its policies.

It always amazes me that politics is split 50-50 in nearly every country.

THE booming cattle market may have reached its peak with the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator easing slightly to 789c last week.

Analysts tell of the expected La Nina event being fully factored in and AuctionsPlus' Tim McRae says that this year's prices are exceptional but unsustainable.

He says that if the La Nina underdelivers, the cattle price retreat will happen steadily but would be considerable by mid-year.

NAB's rural commodities forecast says the lack of processor profitability, the disparity between Australia and the rest of the world's beef prices, and the potential for drier conditions will make for downward pressure during 2021.

Agents say Queensland producers who had been hanging on for La Nina rain will have to make tough decisions during the next two weeks.

AuctionsPlus' Tim McRae puts the potential market decline by the end of 2021 at 30 per cent.

A reminder for Christmas stocking fillers:

Former Governor-General Peter Cosgrove's memoir You Shouldn't Have Joined must appeal to readers who appreciate a great Australian.

A review of the book mentions a man of humility and grace who dedicates the book "to those who loved and nurtured me through my early life, who gave me the opportunities that came my way".

This should be a great read at around $50.

For Bathurst people who enjoy a bit of local history, Dennis Tyson's book Going, Going, Gone is a tale of the former Bathurst Saleyards and the many people who made it a great business and a weekly meeting place for country people, livestock traders and their agents.

If you haven't already read this book, you'll find a copy at Books Plus and someone will appreciate your Christmas gift.

THIS Saturday, 10am start: Nutrien's clearing sale at "Glenlea", 486 Martin Bird Lane, Rock Forest. Included will be items of farm and woolshed machinery and many collectable items. Access is up the highway to Vittoria and turn right down Cashens Lane. Alternatively, take Ophir Road from Bathurst and turn left at Cashens Lane T-intersection.

GEORGE said he fell in love with his wife at second sight.

He said it would have been at first sight if he'd known her father was 84 and had 15,000 basalt acres.

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"IF I were far away, would you still love me?" he wrote to his beloved. "Yes dear," she wrote back, "in fact, the further away you were, the more I'd love you."

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"YOU never tell me how much you love me," she said.

"I know, dear," he replied, "but I wouldn't want to upset you at Christmas."