There'll be fresh air and fellowship at the expo | Rural Notebook

The Ram Expo is a quiet exhibition of stud rams of various bloodlines, Merino, terminal and cross breeding sires, and is another networking opportunity for country people.

Along with the stud exhibits is a commercial Super Six Event for teams of six young merino ewes and this gives the non-stud producer a chance to show their wares.

The expo will be open from 10am to 2pm and will be held in the fresh, open air at Bathurst Showground.

LOCAL Land Services (LLS) is asking for landholders' opinions on the drought assistance measures that were offered during the recent drought.

It seems obvious that some producers accessed a lot of cash funding from LLS, others received some assistance, while others did not have any financial help.

The cancellation of LLS rates for several years was a significant saving for every landholder and the drought discussion days were valuable, particularly as a networking opportunity for worried farm families.

This is a great opportunity to make suggestions to LLS on future drought assistance strategies.

Please Google Local Land Services and follow the links.

THIS week's sunshine has given every farmer an early glimpse of spring time and made the keenest of the bees start moving about.

Freshly shorn sheep are obvious in every area and a lot of them are only in light condition.

Cold, wet winters are tough on grazing animals, but every animal will appreciate this spring that should be a good one.

Agriculture is going to be of real assistance to the national economy as we shake off the COVID shackles and country towns and cities should share in the cash flow.

A lot of businesses that struggled through decades of near drought should benefit from decent sized cheques for nearly every rural commodity sale.

We must never forget all the small businesses that supported the community projects, school events and sporting teams when every dollar was needed.

Perhaps it's time for us all to realise that "it's time to pay the fiddler" and spend our money at local businesses. I think we owe them.

RECENT RURAL NOTEBOOK COLUMNS:

A CHAIRMAN at a men's group event in Bathurst recently stressed the importance of keeping in touch with family and friends during the many alerts from health authorities as the pandemic stretches towards its third year.

Vaccination queues are long and busy, but in our country towns we are being offered a great service and lots of people have had at least one AstraZeneca injection.

It is really important for all of us to keep in regular contact with our five closest friends, the ones that we discuss politics, religion and finances with.

While we mention good friends, I must send a cheerio call to BMA president Warwick Larnach, who is going well after a health problem.

FOR those who enjoy a book with a real Australian background, I think Kate Kelly is close to the top of a bucket list.

This is the well-researched and nicely written tale of the famous bushranger Ned Kelly's little sister, and details their early life, the siege of Glenrowan, the battle to save her brother's life, and her sad end in a lake in Forbes.

This is an easy book to read; take your time and enjoy some Australian history.

You should find a copy at Books Plus in Bathurst.

Father's Day is less than four weeks away.

AN article in a Melbourne newspaper outlines a 15-year struggle that has ended with 11 wind turbines being installed on a Skipton farm.

The farm's owner and his family run 5000 Merinos on 2000 hectares of owned and leased country and receive $220,000 per year in lease payments for the turbines.

The elderly farmer says he and his family felt ostracised and he has been quite depressed, but he feels that the towers look quite elegant and the turbines remind him of the sound of a jet plane in the distance.

The nearest tower to his house is 500 metres away.

THE farmer's wife was 60 and decided to get her body into better shape, so she joined an aerobics class in town.

"I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down and sweated for a full hour," she told her friend. "But by the time I got my leotard on, the class was already over."

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DAD and mum booked at the lovely old hotel in the mountains where they had spent their honeymoon 60 years ago.

When they arrived, they were ushered to the honeymoon suite, but dad said "we're gone a bit past that".

"Never mind, sir," the maid answered. "If we'd booked you into the ballroom, we wouldn't expect you to dance all night."