Here's the tip: Don't be late to Borenore as field days kick off | Rural Notebook

Since COVID restrictions are almost just a memory, we have seen full houses and gates closed at Randwick races and Henty Field Days, and visitors may be wise to go to the Orange Field Days at the first opportunity.

This is a great chance for the farming community to mix with peers, compare rainfalls and enjoy the interaction.

It's obvious that lots of people are coming out of hibernation and getting back to what we used to call normal.

SEVERAL inquiries have been made in recent weeks about the likelihood of eradicating virulent footrot during the present conditions.

To see films of water lying on flat country on the Bland near Quandialla and of floods at Warren and Nyngan, it's obvious that any foot problems can only be controlled at best.

Not many livestock contractors are interested in this type of work and I guess that three men and necessary gear (including sheep handlers) will cost about $300 per hour plus travel.

Perhaps the meat trade will be an obvious answer.

RECENT RURAL NOTEBOOK COLUMNS:

OCTOBER 2022 is surely giving us one of the best seasons in a lifetime and care is being taken with pulpy kidney vaccines for both cattle and sheep.

There are often more deaths in all livestock in good seasons than in bad and these losses can be costly when animals are valuable, as they are at present.

Red sorrel is showing up in improved pastures and this was always looked on as a sign of potassium and phosphorus deficiency.

Not much of this country will be top-dressed to address the problem as ground spreading will be risky in the medium term.

CHRISTINE and Greg Healey report a very good sale of Poll Dorset rams at their Mount Bathurst Stud sale last week: 65 hogget rams averaged $1680 and topped at $2750.

This sale again shows that this young stud now has a well-established clientele who have plenty of faith in the prime lamb industry.

The Oberon, Black Springs district is right at the heartbeat of the prime lamb industry and the Mount Bathurst Stud is now a respected member of the Poll Dorset sector.

THIS is certainly not the time to repeat mistakes that leaders of our country made in previous years, such as predictions of dry rivers, never-ending drought and empty dams.

Instead, the world rolls on and, at present, all the rivers run.

To me, it seems a waste of our scarce resources to let trillions of litres of fresh water simply run away when our modern engineers have access to everything needed to build giant new dams.

We know that some Australians will object to any new development, but surely our water resource management is too important to be ignored.

JUST a little bit of politics:

AFTER a downward slide for the past three months, the Australian wool market's fortunes reversed last week in the week 15 sales series.

With much lower quantities and a week where the US dollar strengthened markedly against its Aussie counterpart by four per cent, the wool market lifted 36ac/kg (up 2.91 per cent) in Australian terms and dropped 10usc/kg, thus showing the impact a strong US dollar can have on our wool market.

Our wool looks cheap in US dollar terms, and this is ultimately buying in demand from China.

The main movers were 17.5 micron and broader, which were 20-50c/kg dearer for the week.

Better style, low vegetable matter wools were most affected.

Crossbreds showed a green number, lifting around 10c/kg for the week.

Wet weather and flooding continues to have an impact on supply.

Week 16 sees an early estimated offering of 35,000 bales Australia-wide.

TWO little farm boys, both five, were checking their navels.

"When you are born, they cut it short, tie it, and tape it flat," one said. "That's so you don't go pssssst and go flat."

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DAD watched his neighbour digging a huge hole and was told it was for a deceased cat.

"Why such a big hole for your small cat?" he asked.

"Because it's inside your damned Alsatian," he was told.

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