DON'T forget the Bathurst Merino Association (BMA) Christmas party on Saturday, December 2 at 1pm. BYO drinks. Details from Kirby, 0401 402 351.
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We know that Christmas is going to be quiet, but it's always a great time to catch up with family and friends.
Our season may well be turning around, with some areas recording well over 50 millimetres of rain, while others are hoping for their turn.
The September forecasts of an intense El Nino event certainly caused a rush of livestock to markets and flattened market prices.
Perhaps the "experts" who made those forecasts may be doing us all a favour if they concentrated on street busking instead of weather forecasting.
Bathurst gains show
THE worst kept rural secret has finally been confirmed, with the Great Southern Sheep Show being re-located from Canberra to the Bathurst Showground.
The two-day event runs on February 26 and 27, 2024.
Committee president Rick Power says at least 200 sheep will be shown, with studs represented from the Southern Tablelands, Monaro and Central West.
At this stage no ram sale is envisaged, but the Canberra sale always followed the sheep show.
The staging of the GSSM event is a feather in the cap for the local Merino association, and we have several district studs that will fly the flag for the Central Tablelands.
A time to give thanks
WE must never forget the district sheep breeders who stood up to be counted during the NSW government's failed attempt to eradicate Ovine Johnes Disease in sheep flocks some 30 years ago.
Tony Toole and John Byrnes slowed the RLPB rush to destroy identified infected flocks; the late Peter Armstrong took the reins of NSW Farmers and brought stability.
Col Ferguson, Clive Drown, Richard Webb, Rob Nevins, Richard Bloomfield and Andy Kajons steered the BMA to a win, while Cliff Kelly and David Hoadley gave great support from Tablelands Stockcare.
The approval of Gudair Vaccine provided the answer for the sheep industry and it is now widely used in every state of the Commonwealth.
The arrival of a premier event like GSSM Sheep Show in Bathurst is the right time to thank the producers who fought for a practical solution.
Lessons from Deniliquin
AGENTS yarded 18,198 sheep of mixed quality at the November store sale at Deniliquin.
Elders auctioneer Jason Andrews said, "We had some big lines of sheep and that added to their value but it was noticeable there was a real discount on any sheep that was not mulesed."
Price discounts of $30 to $40 for unmulesed were recorded at key store sales at Hay, Bendigo and Deniliquin.
Rupert Fawcett, Ellis Nutall and Co, said, "There is all this carry on over wool, but we are not really seeing any price premiums, so why not mules as it is costing people a lot of money when they come to sell their store sheep."
Six hundred first cross ewe lambs at $40 discount shows $24,000 off our bottom line.
Mulesing with a quality pain killer makes a lot of sense.
A real success
BOWYER and Livermore's Special Female Cattle Sale at CTLX Carcoar on Friday is hailed as a real success and rises of $200 to $300 on recent values were seen on many lots.
Very strong support from AuctionsPlus and northern Victorian buyers was appreciated by vendors and the 90-day low interest offer deserves praise.
The quality of cattle on offer was described by a prospective buyer as "a credit to agents, vendors and the Central Tablelands".
Staying connected
COMMENT has been made of the value of old-fashioned farm clearing sales as they relate to the mental health of farmers who often work alone.
Online auctions certainly have their place, but the open-cry auctioneer with a sense of humour gives a farm clearing sale the appearance of a good day out.
Lots of people tell me that they don't go to church any more, organised sport is too expensive, and the breathalyser has ruled out the pubs, so that leaves a long drive to the sale yards or a half-day and a yarn at a clearing sale.
A song line tells, "All the bidders have their bargains, and the auctioneer is paid, and the silence leaves the old house with its dreams of yesterday."
Buzzing attraction
WE were fortunate to meet with family members at the Beekepers Inn at Vittoria for a Sunday brunch recently, and were impressed by the venue and staff that have made this an excellent tourist attraction.
The business is centred on the production of quality honey.
Their museum houses lots of tools, small machinery and preserved written articles about the lives of those who have gone before us.
As a small boy, I well remember my dad spreading superphosphate by a horse-drawn, ground-drive Crump Super Spreader.
The noise of the drive pulley on a dry steel wheel always spooked the draught horse in the late 1940s.
A similar machine is in the Beekeepers Museum and brings many memories.
Laugh Lines
THE anaesthetist was settling her patient with, "Now I want you to breathe in and out slowly, in and out slowly, in and out."
Old mate opened one eye and asked, "Is there any other way?"
***
The dental nurse went through the procedure that would occur as the dentist extracted the policeman's tooth.
It must have sounded graphic, as the copper asked: "I've never given either of you a speeding ticket, have I?"
