Rewards for the ram sellers as breeders embark on the rebuild

Mumblebone Merinos at Wellington sold almost 400 rams at auction and 20 of them came to the Dutton family at Duramana.

At the major parent stud Banavie, Marnoo (Vic), Chris Stapleton paid $32,000 for a new sire at his Capree stud at Newbridge.

Our local ram sellers should each have a successful sale as sheep breeders are intent on rebuilding the national flock.

THE mandatory use of electronic ear tags for sheep will happen in all states, probably during 2023/24.

The downside of the use of every brand of ear tags is retention and many of the lost tags are found in the vicinity of self-feeders, where heads and ears are put under a lot of pressure.

I'm told that a tag with readability that sits along the ear, instead of the EID being in the pin, works better when automatic drafters or stick readers are being used.

Hopefully our local NSW Farmers Branch of Local Land Services could hold an information workshop for sheep producers who are asking lots of questions on the use and price of the different types of EID tags.

There are quite a few landholders who have been using electronic tags for several years and their experiences would have real value at a workshop.

EVERY landholder knows what a struggle it has been to get flocks of sheep shorn with rain events occurring on a weekly basis and hanging around for several days.

Church-goers prayed for good soaking rains for four decades but no-one is brave enough to ask for the rain to stop.

Shearers and wool handlers are not easy to find and shearers from outside our district will not work with out-of-date machinery.

Prospects of possible insurance claims are a real cause for worry for every farmer and contractor.

Of real interest is the fact that many shearers already own a compliant model shearing stand and a grinder and these machines can be hired.

TONY and Bettie Toole, long-time livestock breeders at Limekilns, are selling the last of their landholdings in the near future.

With their family they conducted the Clearvale and Alice Dale properties where they produced some of our district's best fine wool.

Tony served terms as Bathurst Show president as well as several terms as a director of Central Tablelands Rural Lands Protection Board.

It was in the latter role that he was instrumental in importing the OJD vaccine Gudair for widespread use in sheep flocks in five states.

As Tony and Bettie adapt to a slower pace, I believe that it's "time to pay the fiddler" and say thank you to them for their input into agriculture in our area, and for standing up to be counted when common sense was badly needed.

Enjoy your retirement, Tony and Bettie.

IT was good to see two stalwarts of Bathurst harness racing have a nice win on their home track last week.

Trained by Arthur and Carmel Clancy, The Ringmaster put his best foot forward and he was well driven by Sir Arthur.

IN this year of the floods, it's easy to forget that we must always be careful of water use as our city and suburb villages are housing many more residents than before and new housing developments continue at a rapid rate.

Landholders need to be in regular contact with their local groups such as Rural Fire Service, school Parents and Friends and sporting clubs and church groups.

All of these organisations help to bind our community together and give us an opportunity to exchange ideas such as water usage.

Attempts have been made to bring farmers together on a fairly regular basis, but support for these functions often dwindled.

After disappointing support on several occasions, no-one seems willing to put in an effort to organise any sort of get-together.

WITH an offering of 33,393 bales in week 14 of Australian wool sales, we saw the market get cheaper once again.

The Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) lost 20ac/kg to move down to 1235ac/kg.

There was a clearance rate of 87.7 per cent; crossbreds and oddments were the highest rate being passed in.

The 17.5-micron and finer were affected the most, being up to 60ac cheaper, and the 18-micron and broader were 20-40ac cheaper.

Global inflation, energy prices and the poor domestic market in China are still bearing the market down.

However, there is a cautious optimism by exporters, who feel buyers may not be far off stepping in and buying some wool.

This is yet to be seen.

Supply will continue to be hampered by wet weather.

Week 15 has an early offering of around 35,000 bales Australia-wide.

THEY had married off four daughters over several years.

Mum sighed. "Oh well, dear, the expense of all the weddings is over," she said.

Dad brightened up. "That's good, love; the confetti was starting to look a bit grubby," he said.

***

THERE is always at least one woman astronaut in a spaceship. The reason? If they get lost in space, the woman will be willing to ask for directions.