PETER and Kaye Moore from the Blink Bonnie Merino Stud at Tarana report a rewarding show circuit with fleeces from their sheep.
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They won grand champion fleece at Dubbo, champion fleece at Blayney, champion ewe or wether fleece at Bathurst, highest commercial value fleece at Bathurst (15kg and $159 value), and most successful exhibitor at Bathurst.
The Moores have entered a stud ram in the current Newbridge Sire Evaluation and the ever-positive Peter tells me "there's never been a better time to be in Merino sheep".
Ram expo on the way
BATHURST Merino Association is going ahead with its annual ram expo in mid-August and details of the date and added attractions will be outlined in this column as they come to hand.
The association is also planning a day tour to look at examples of exclusion fencing projects that have been completed with the aim of keeping feral animals out of lands where they aren't wanted.
Wild dogs, foxes, feral pigs, wombats and kangaroos are high on the list of pest animals and Local Land Services staff are on the frontline of planners to help farmers who are trying to exclude these pests from their farmland.
Details of this day tour are not quite finalised but please watch this space.
Stock prices holding up
STOCK markets are holding well as a lack of winter rain becomes more obvious.
Supplementary feeding for breeding livestock has become quite common and losses of $300 ewes of $3000 cows must be avoided if at all possible.
Areas to our near west and to the east are still a fresh green but the Bathurst basin itself is looking glum.
Stock are in good condition in most instances but producers will take extra care during cold, stressful weather events.
Lambing percentages above 120 per cent are now the real profit drivers of every sheep breeding business as surplus stock that can return $150 each will underpin the enterprise.
Strong results at sale
THE 32nd annual on-property beef cattle sale at Rosedale, Blayney resulted in 46 young Charolais bulls selling to $28,000 and averaging $9722.
Fifteen composite Charolais/Angus bulls topped at $8000 and 11 Charolais/Shorthorn bulls sold to $10,000 twice to average $7273.
Once again the Charolais breed has shown its industry acceptance as a great cross-breeder and the line-up of return buyers showed their faith in the Rosedale bloodlines.
Congratulations to the Millner family on another great sale.
All the best, Len
I KNOW that a lot of country people will join with me to wish Len Ridings the very best as he retires from On Trac Ag at Bathurst.
Len had been the parts specialist at Rosconi Bathurst for many years and followed the blue and gold New Holland to On Trac Ag.
A long list of clients and friends will miss your ability, Len, and I think they join me in saying a very appreciative thank you.
Crossley's crossing
A LARGE group of interested residents attended the Sofala Hall recently to view the plans for a modern replacement bridge across the Turon River.
The new bridge is expected to be in use within five years and plans are to hand to remove the present structure when it is no longer needed.
The existing Crossley Bridge was named after my grandfather, James Crossley, who was Sofala's postmaster for 40 years, a president of Turon Shire for several terms and a shire councillor for 20 years.
The seventh generation of his family live in the Bathurst area and we hope that the new Sofala Bridge will carry the Crossley name.
Looking for a cool change
REAL estate in the Central Tablelands is right in the spotlight with residential, industrial and rural properties each enjoying plenty of interest with buyers coming from many directions.
There may be some truth in claims that people from western and north-western districts are coming to the cooler climate "up on the shelf" as they have had enough of hot, dry summer days that get to 45 degrees on some days.
Rentals are hard to find in all of our towns and $700,000 is needed to buy a quality modern house.
Rural properties sell quickly and low interest rates combined with higher-than-long-term-average markets for beef, lamb and wool are giving confidence to prospective buyers.
Did you hear that?
COMMENTS from the past week;:
- Jodi McKay was gracious in stepping down as NSW opposition leader.
- Covid vaccinations finally got into gear with nervous Melbourne residents forming seven-hour queues.
- Candidates for local government elections in Bathurst and Oberon and starting to line up and a few new faces will be welcome. The difference between being confident or being a know-all has never been more obvious.
- Soaking winter rains are still to arrive and fodder crops and pastures will benefit from plenty of wet days.
Wool market report
WEEK 48 in Australian wool sales, with an offering of 43,940 bales saw the Eastern Market Indicator move up 5ac to 1320ac/kg.
Whilst this looks like a minimal movement, the devil is in the detail with far greater fluctuations when we look more closely at the differing wool types.
The 18 micron and finer wools were 30-50ac dearer for the week, the 18.5 to 19.5 micron wools were plus-20 but the 20 micron and broader fleeces finished the week up to 30ac cheaper.
Crossbred indicators were slightly cheaper, with poorly prepared lines very irregular.
Low VM lines ( 1.0%) of Merino fleece types were highly sought after as the higher VM wools continue to hit the market.
While China remains the most active player in your wool market it is extremely encouraging to see much more activity from a large European top maker, Italy and India (still operating under very difficult circumstances).
As vaccines continue to roll out throughout the world and economies across the globe continue their recoveries, let's hope that this continues to be a positive influence on our wool market.
Week 49 has an offering of around the 41,000-bale mark across the country.
Richard Butcher, Nutrien Wool
Dates for the diary
- Saturday, June 5: Unreserved clearing sale at 10am this Saturday at Bundilla, 3697 O'Connell Road including 4000 bales of hay, machinery, silage and seven silos of oats.
- Saturday, September 11: Perthville Village Fair. Please circle this date on your calendar today.
You have to laugh
PATRICK had an awful blue with his little woman.
After three rums he told the barman: "Afterwards she came to me on her hands and knees. And she said, 'get out from under the bed you arguing wimp'."
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A COMMOTION at the Pearly Gates as a white-haired old man was jostling to get to the front of the queue.
When asked who the rude old bloke was, St Peter replied: "Oh, that's God. Sometimes he thinks he's a councillor."
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ALEXANDER Graham Bell is always credited with inventing a telephone, but he must have invented two to know if the first one worked.