This event is always the showcase of agriculture in our district with some of the very best of rural production on show.

There has been a huge amount of time and planning for every exhibit and competition section and an array of volunteers has been busy for weeks, making sure that our show retains its reputation as the Royal Show of the West.

Credit is due to show president Col McPhee and secretary Brett Kenworthy for their leadership and to every volunteer worker for their untiring efforts in making our annual show such a success.

If ever a man looked just like a show president, it must be Col McPhee. Thank you for your involvement, Col.

FROM the Royal Easter Show, Sydney, I note the achievement of Bathurst's own Nola Ramsay.

She was recognised for her 25 years' involvement with the Western District Exhibit at the Sydney Show. I raise my cap to Nola.

RECENT RURAL NOTEBOOK COLUMNS:

IN the field of Local Land Services (LLS), I see that Ian Rogan has finished a 10-year term with the LLS board, eight of those years as chair.

The late Ian Armstrong was the chair of the Central Tablelands board in its infancy and Ian Rogan replaced him on Mr Armstrong's retirement.

I know that a lot of country people will join me in thanking Ian Rogan for his efforts in making our agricultural horizons stay bright and forward looking.

I WRITE this column a few days earlier than usual and prospects were for heavy rain early in the weekend.

There should be ideal conditions for sowing of fodder crops such as rye corn, Italian ryegrass, winter wheat, barley and oats.

Oat crops that were sown by early February are providing nice green feed for sheep and cattle and, in many instances, hundreds of kangaroos.

In the 1970s, local families stopped in Lucknow to show their kids some pet kangaroos in a backyard as the kids never saw a roo otherwise.

Fast forward to 2024 and the roos are in near plague numbers in many parts of our district.

TOMORROW'S edition of the Blue Ribbon Weaner Sale at Central Tablelands Livestock Exchange (CTLX) Carcoar features a wing of about 300 Hereford calves account Cocco Herefords, "Kanbara and Grand Vista", Oberon.

These calves are rich in our local Wattlegrove and Llandillo blood and carry the deep red skins of the very best bred Hereford cattle.

The former manager of Cocco Herefords lives quietly in retirement in Bathurst and I hope he reads today's column.

We mulesed a thousand trading wether lambs at a Cocco property many years ago and Joe Casey presented them in great order, looked after our staff and did the things that the best farm managers do.

Thank you Joe and take care.

IN another life, I spent a bit of time in stud bull pens at "Dalkeith", Cassilis, where the classic deep red colours were obvious.

That property is where Jeanine Kimm will attempt the world record for a woman shearing Merino ewes.

That attempt will take place on Saturday, May 4 in the excellent nine-stand woolshed.

A BATHURST couple who return to Ireland on a regular basis tell me that a quality leg of lamb is on sale at their Irish butcher shop at $180 this week.

In the same week, a leg of New Zealand lamb retails for $40.

Enjoy your stay with the Shamrocks, Karen and Gerry, and you may have to find a KFC outlet.

LOOKING back several decades, we remember the serious effect that white muscle disease caused in sheep breeding flocks that ran on properties that were proven to be selenium deficient.

Our first problem appeared on properties in the area around Vittoria and later became obvious in the Bathurst basin and to the south east.

Addition of trace selenium to vaccines, drenches and fertilisers seemed to stem the seriousness of the problem and an injectable supplement called Multimin became widely used for its inclusion of selenium.

At around the same time, a number of producers suffered quite serious losses of lambs that had been marked and mulesed.

About six weeks after the surgical operation, some lambs would tail off a mustered mob and lie down while showing all the symptom of Barber's Pole Worm.

Veterinary diagnosis often identified a bacteria called E-Ovis and the advice was always to not disturb the "down" lambs, cease the muster and let time heal the animals.

If we Google "white muscle disease" and "E-Ovis", we can learn about these problems.

AT age 82, George was applying for his first passport.

He had no birth certificate, as his birth was never registered.

The young lady agent told him: "Don't worry, sir; in lieu of a birth certificate, you can obtain an affidavit from the doctor who delivered you."

***

AN old friend got an Easter card.

"Our bodies may be getting older," it said, "but our minds are tarp as shacks."

***

A 50-YEAR-OLD friend was planning a second marriage and was down on one knee to propose.

"Are you serious?" the lucky lady said.

"Of course I'm serious," he gasped, "I'm on my gammy knee."