THE local ram selling season will commence shortly with an open day at Fosterfield Finewools, Back Swamp Road, Dunkeld this Saturday, October 10 from 10am to 2pm.
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There will be 35 finewool hogget rams on display.
Fosterfield will auction their 35 rams on Sunday, October 25 at noon.
Peter and Kay Moore's Blink Bonnie Stud at Tarana will offer 50 young rams at auction on Friday, October 16 at 1pm, along with 160 one-year-old merino ewes and 200 wether lambs May 2020 drop.
On Thursday, November 5 at 1pm, Greg and Christine Healey's Mount Bathurst Poll Dorset Stud will auction 70 poll dorset rams on-property at Black Springs.
Geoff and Robyn Rayner's Pomanara ram sale will round off the spring selling season when they offer 32 superfine rams on-property on Saturday, November 7 at Sallys Flat.
The breech reach
A POINTER to the future of merino breeding was the inclusion of breech scores in a list of breeding values for 110 hogget rams at the on-property sale at Richmond Stud, Quandialla last week.
The breech scores ranged from zero to five, with the higher scores denoting the more wrinkle.
A zero reading meant bare skin, but it didn't seem to influence bidding.
The offering comprised very plain bodied, modern type rams with little or no wrinkle.
The breech scores were listed at EBCOV, estimated breech covering.
Join the walk
CLARE Edwards advises that Local Land Services and Landcare will conduct a farm pasture walk at Paling Yards soil moisture probe site this Monday, October 12 from 11am to 1pm.
Information is being gathered on how soil moisture will influence soil, pasture and livestock management, including the use of confined feeding areas.
Pre-registration is a must by 4pm tomorrow as numbers have to be limited.
Bookings with Clare on 0428 435 615.
In the bank
A LOT of crop and pasture will be made into hay and silage in coming weeks as every producer wants to refill haysheds or silage pits.
The temptation to make hay from an excellent vetch crop to our near west is weighing on the owner's mind.
He knows that baled vetch can have a protein of around 20 per cent and that cattle will thrive on it.
In our area there will be some good oat crops made into hay and estimates of the value of cleaned seed oats have already been made.
The one-in-40-year spring of 2020 won't last forever and even though a wet La Nina season that extends into next year is forecast, we have to prepare for the future.
Changing hands
SALES of rural properties across the state continue at very satisfactory levels, with hobby farms of 300 acres and less in our tablelands finding new owners and new values on a regular basis.
Determining property values on estimated carrying capacity is now a tale from yesterday as out-of-district buyers don't seem to have buying limits.
Of particular interest is the sale listing of the Wonga property at Jerilderie that was the home of Tom Culley's great parent stud Wonga.
The property is offered for private sale at $14 million.
Properties in the central slopes district a couple of hours to our west have recorded sales of around $3000 per acre with good stock handling facilities and comfortable houses.
A yarn to residents in the smaller towns in those areas tell of "a lot of cockies have had enough of drought and are getting out while things look good".
It's a team game
CANDIDATES for election to Bathurst Regional Council in September 2021 are starting to build their public profiles and policies at present seem to have settled on the security of Bathurst's water supply and the proposed go-kart track on the summit of Mount Panorama.
Ideally, Bathurst Regional Council needs a mixture of youth and experience and we have to wonder where the 40- to 50-year-old boys and girls who are the future leaders of our community may be.
A rule of thumb was once seen as a 70th birthday signalled the end of involvement in public service.
Bathurst and our region has a great future in view and our council deserves to work together as a team.
Perhaps non-team members could find some other outlet for their talents.
Diary dates
- Saturday, October 10: Fosterfield open day at Dunkeld, 10am-2pm.
- Monday, October 12: Local Land Services/Landcare pasture walk at Paling Yards, 11am-1pm.
- Friday, October 16: Blink Bonnie; 50 hogget rams; 160 one-year-old ewes; 200 wether lambs.
- Sunday, October 25: Fosterfield; 35 young rams on-property.
- Thursday, November 5: Mount Bathurst Stud; 70 poll dorset rams at Black Springs.
- Saturday, November 7: Pomanara superfine stud; 32 rams on-property at Sallys Flat.
Laugh lines
WHEN first married, they agreed that if they ever argued, she would go to the kitchen and he'd go to the garden until they had both cooled off. For the past 17 years, he's been virtually homeless.
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GEORGE told his mates at the Bowlo that after he and his wife had a real blue, she had come to him on her hands and knees. When quizzed, he admitted: "She said 'come on out from under the bed, you slob'."
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FROM childhood, it was drummed into us that we could be anyone we want to be. Nowadays it's called identity theft.
