Creeks and rivers have carried muddy streams for months and have the potential to flood as we move into storm season.

Some farms are unable to truck cattle or sheep to sale as access tracks to stockyards are too saturated to support heavy transport vehicles.

Lame sheep are obvious in many flocks and foot paring with varied treatments is costly.

Common advice would be to keep sheep out of muddy yards as much as possible and seek veterinary advice if you suspect virulent footrot in your flock.

GREAT results are being reported with the use of the product Regulin, a fertility aid in female sheep.

Increases of around 20 per cent are claimed in some instances and this seems a good result when it is registered in a productive growing season.

A lot of breeders have used poll Merino genetics, freed up a lot of tight, thick skins and are recording weaning percentages of 110 per cent or so.

If we use a fertility enhancing product, wean 130 per cent Merino lambs and run into a dry, windy November, the sight of a lot of old ewes with hungry triplets will not be happy.

Please make plans for lots of feed supplements, just in case.

STUD cattle sales across the state have been rewarding to breeders and ease of calving, attractive breeding values and docility are high on every buyers bucket list.

Prospective buyers now walk among the bulls at many sales and this denotes the quiet disposition of the animals.

While we notice the apparent safety of this practice, every livestock handler knows to never trust any bull and keep eye contact.

THE Tukidale Sheep Society of Australia held its annual general meeting in Bathurst last weekend and a list of attendees (or apologies) will revive memories to long term district residents.

Tukidale sheep were popular in parts of our district in the 1970s and 80s and former Department of Agriculture sheep and wool officer, Andy Kajons, is in regular contact with the group.

Breeders who are still involved in the breeding of Tukidales include Tony and Deanna Still, Doug and Fay Bradley, Neville and Lesley Kurtz, Frank Tobin and Simon Broad, as well as a long list from outside the Central Tablelands.

Our contract team worked with Tukidales at Robert Hood's property at Meadow Flat during the 1980s.

THE new prime minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss, has taken on the reins of government at an awkward time, just as King Charles III ascends the throne.

Her comment on the cost of living and energy crisis was: "Great Britain should not have to decide whether to eat or heat and my government will take urgent action."

The death of Queen Elizabeth II marks the end of a 70-year reign of one of the world's greatest leaders.

People of my generation sang God Save the King as young children and will sing it again after all those years.

Former Prime Minister John Howard's latest book, A Sense of Balance, covers many political happenings during the past five decades in Australian community life.

To my mind, the Mr Howard and Labor's Bob Hawke were the significant leaders of our country during these years and both spoke clearly and openly on the subjects that mattered most to us.

This is a book that needs to be read slowly, many paragraphs re-read, to let the meaning be absorbed and should be passed around to friends.

If your partner enjoys a book that is easy to read and clearly outlines a lot of decisive changes, you should find a copy of A Sense of Balance at BooksPlus Bathurst.

Much comment was made on a paragraph that was contained in last week's Rural Notebook that mentioned the importance of checking men for increased indications of prostate cancer.

We know that the incidence of this disease seems to be much more widespread than in previous times and that very few men experience any symptoms in early stages.

Early detection gives us a good chance of getting a satisfactory result from treatment and no one is regarded as a sook for having at least a bi-annual prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test with your trusted doctor.

WEEK 10 of Australian wool sales saw an offering of 34,925 bales Australia wide.

This was a week with two tales with 18.5-micron and broader gaining territory as Chinese operators moved back to their safe ground.

Unfortunately, the 18.5-micron wool market digressed with reported losses of up to 200ac/kg for 16-18.0-micron and some sub 16.0-micron wools were up to 400ac cheaper for the week.

Wools with over two per cent vegetable matter were very irregular as buyers picked and chose what they wanted to purchase.

By the end of the week the Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) had dropped 0.8 per cent to 1319ac/kg, the biggest drop, however, was in United States dollar (USD) terms where the market finished down 3.57 per cent.

Let's hope the cheaper USD price for wool stimulates some demand.

Shipping, finance and energy costs are still concerning to our global customers.

Next week shows an offering of approximately 38,000 bales.

HE said, "My wife's new outfit made her look like a million dollars: all wrinkled and green."

***

THE old man was always unshaven, untidy around the house and smoked inside if not stopped.

The young hubby said, "We've been married for almost a year. I think your father should go now."

The little wife said "My father? I thought the old beggar was yours."

***

WHAT do you call a man who has lost 95 per cent of his brain?

A widower.