Anna Brien at Bella Lana, Dripstone reminds me that the stud’s field day will be held this Friday, August 11 from 9am.
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Specialist sheep classer Craig Wilson will be involved with the event from start to finish and keen sheep breeders should really benefit from the day.
Scott and Anna Brien have invested heavily in merino genetics and I thought that last year’s ram sale was a credit to their efforts.
I’m sure Bella Lana would accept a couple of late bookings on 6846 7477. The ram in the accompanying photo was shorn at almost eight months and measured 90 millimetres of very white wool.
A good start
LAST week’s welcome rainfall that totalled around 25 to 40mm across much of the tablelands was a nice start towards a possible spring recovery.
An obvious light green across stock camps and surviving crops is a sign of better seasonal conditions that may happen.
On another front is the producers who are trying to revert to natural pastures with nil fertilisers.
This approach may delay any spring growth until mid-October in much of our district.
Market talk
SOME comparison markets at present include (source: The Land, August 3):
Eastern Young Cattle Indicator 2017 583c; August 2016 677c;
Grown steers 2017 281c; 2016 473c;
Prime lambs 2017 577c; 2016 644c; Wool Northern Indicator 2017 1522; 2016 1311c.
Be prepared
BILL and Rose Walker, Classings, Murray Bridge, forward their merino booklet each year and it’s always a great read.
Bill’s classing run now involves a sizeable number of studs in both South Australia and Western Australia and his emphasis on skin quality and elite wools seems to be giving similar results to what many of us were doing with the SRS types.
This approach seems to achieve its very best results when the famed Collinsville type is close up in an animal’s pedigree.
Bill makes a strong point as he comments on the mulesing debate.
Like most breeders, he believes that there is only a breeding alternative to the surgical operation and states that he believes that “one day, when the crunch comes, a breeder must be prepared”.
In my words, avoid all body and breech wrinkle in every one of our breeding stock.
Laugh lines
THE old fella in the local said he hates this terrorism business.
He said: “In the good old days you could spy an unattended briefcase on a bus or a train and think – I’ll have that.”
***
Old mate was lost and hovering in a hot air balloon. He looked down into a market garden and yelled: “Where the hell am I?”
Bill shouted: “You can’t fool me, you mug, you’re hiding up there in that little basket.” (Thanks MH.)
Rinaldo was trying for circus employment. He said: “Sir, I have perfected my act of sawing a beautiful woman in half.” The manager called his bluff. “Oh, come on, magicians have been sawing women in half for centuries,” he said. But Rinaldo quietly asked: “Lengthwise?”