A $12,000 fine for the illegal use of cattle tags by a Victorian farmer is a heads-up for every producer as we all have to use Property Identification Tags on sheep and cattle before any sale transaction.
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Colour-of-the-year tags have been a revelation as they are clearly visible for sheep drafting and for paddock identification.
Care has to be taken in every facet of animal tag use and tags should be ordered at least two months before they are needed.
Gudair vaccination has revolutionised sheep trading across our nation and, on the tablelands, no-one would buy Merino sheep that do not carry a PIC tag with the letter V for Gudair vaccinate on it.
The Albanese Government has taken a pause on the banning of live sheep exports and this decision could seriously affect sheep breeding in Western Australia.
That state has a big shipping freight advantage over our eastern states at present and the live export trade is a real incentive to WA breeders.
Numbers game
INDUSTRY sources are discussing a lower set of values for breeding ewes as we look towards spring.
Following three good seasons in succession, it is becoming obvious that the supply of breeding ewes is starting to catch up with demand.
In the specialist corner of genuine traditional superfines, the reverse is occurring, with very limited supply and a lot of demand from Italian spinners.
Cattle call
THERE appears to be excellent demand for female cattle with most of eastern Australia experiencing a wet winter and a saturated soil profile.
A lot of farming country to our west and north may not be sown because of boggy soils; not everyone is interested in sheep and the cattle industry does provide some attractive alternatives.
Looking forward
A UNIVERSITY lecturer from ANU, Armidale outlined his weather predictions to a NSW Farmers meeting in Bathurst at the height of a drought some years ago.
He relied on magnetic solar fields that he believed would occur in 2019. Those who followed his theory would surely have a major income tax problem.
If my memory is still reasonable, the scientist also predicted a succession of typically very cold winters for Central NSW.
In brief
A START-OF-WINTER snapshot of rural news:
- The Best Wool, Best Lamb, Best Beef Conference at Bendigo has been cancelled because of the rising numbers of flu cases (not COVID, at last).
- 200 quiet rangeland nanny goats, joined to Boer bucks, are advertised for $160 each at Holbrook, NSW.
- A commission buyer from Albury bought 664 head of spring-drop weaner cattle (nearly all black) at a Euroa special sale for orders in northern and central NSW.
Sale tale
WE note the dispersal sale on Auctions Plus this week of 2500 Merino ewes, account Mr and Mrs Graeme Gordon, "Glendower", Vittoria, as the property has been sold.
These ewes are Kerin Poll blood and professionally classed - obviously a good quality flock that is hard to find in the present buoyant conditions.
Of interest to Merino breeders, the Gordons won a Bathurst Merino Association ewe competition some years ago with their Stockton blood team of elite woolled ewes that were a real credit to their breeders.
Baby love
THE next generation of drivers at our Gold Crown Paceway should be assured with the arrival of Hallie Maree Hurst on June 6, who is a precious daughter for Angela and Nathan Hurst.
Her very first toy may well be called Tulhurst Dolly.
Story to tell
FOR readers who enjoy a real-life tale of murder and intrigue that is written by the Nine Network's crime reporter, you will follow every word of The Widow Of Walcha.
This book follows every step of a murder of a farmer in the small country area of Walcha in the New England and you should find a copy at Books Plus, Bathurst.
Moviegoers will probably be impressed by The Drover's Wife, now showing in Bathurst. Some of the story is a bit gory, but the Monaro scenery is Australian countryside at its best.
Diary dates
- Tonight (Thursday, June 16) at 7pm: Perthville Development Group meeting at St Joseph's Conference Room. Good news on the hall repairs.
- Wednesday, July 20: Stud Merino Field Day; four studs at Keith Showground.
Wool report
WEEK 49 of Australian wool sales saw only Sydney and Melbourne centres operating and an offering of only 31,000 bales.
Traders and first-stage processors were hungry for the Merino types and, by the end of the week, the Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) had lifted 24ac/kg to close at 1438ac/kg and had also lifted around two per cent in US dollar and Euro terms.
The Merino micron price guides all lifted by 20-40ac overall as the market finished on its strongest point at the end of the week.
Australian wool is in demand and our customers want it!
Further to this, it seems that the very tough COVID restrictions in China may be gradually lifting.
You would like to think that Chinese consumers' ability to visit the shops once again will lift their consumer spending and their need for wool.
This could be an added bullish factor for the wool market.
The Australian dollar remains very volatile against our trading partners' currencies, which will play a part in the market movements.
Week 50 sees Fremantle come back online and an Australia-wide estimated offering of 37,998 bales.
Richard Butcher, Nutrien Wool
Laugh lines
THE stern old owner of a rural store was on his last and the family had gathered.
He groaned and asked if his wife was there, then son Joseph, son Teddy, daughter Rosa and daughter Esme.
"Yes," they all answered.
Dad shouted: "Then who the hell is minding the shop?"
***
"Who was the greatest man in history?" the visiting Irish priest asked year four.
One said Columbus, another said George Washington, but Tommy said Saint Patrick.
The priest rewarded him with a gold coin and asked how he picked Saint Patrick.
"In my heart, I knew it was Moses," Tommy said, "but business is business."
