Due to Thursday’s Australia Day Holiday, the week’s sales were held on Tuesday and Wednesday. The market opened on Tuesday with a negative tone, leaving the NRI 20 cents cheaper. However, Wednesday’s market had a different feel with prices opening at the previous day’s levels and in many cases lots started showing improvement.

Style and spec again played a large role in market movement (the better the type the lesser the falls). The skirting
market closely mirrored the fleece market, although, some low spec / high vm lots struggled to find support and were
tending cheaper. The crossbred market continued to struggle with further losses of around 20 cents with the exception of 28 micron which only lost 5 cents for the week. The oddment sector also suffered losses but not to the same degree, and Sydney and Fremantle gained ground on day two, setting a positive tone for next week’s sale.

Sales continue next week with currently 42,584 bales rostered for sale in Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.

If you have not yet done so, you need to put plans in place for livestock and animals that may be impacted by extreme heat. Record temperatures have been recorded during January making it the hottest month on record. The forecast is for temperatures to continue over 40 degrees Celsius for the next week. According to Local Land Services Central West, heatwaves can be fatal for livestock, particularly for at-risk animals such as lambs and calves, older animals or animals in poor condition.

In preparing for extreme heat conditions, Local Land Services Vets offer some common sense advice for farmers and producers:

Make sure shade is available to protect animals from sun and wind. Check that stock have easy access to cool, clean
water, preferably close to shaded areas – animals can drink up to double the amount of water in hot weather. Minimise stock movements and only move animals in the cooler part of the day. Monitor livestock regularly and check for any signs of heat exposure, including sweating, excessive panting and drooling.

If you would like any further information in relation to livestock health, please contact your nearest Local Land Services office on 1300 795 299. And remember – stay cool!

A crowd of around 300 people attended the Forbes First Cross Ewe Sale at the Central West Livestock Exchange at Daroobalgie last Thursday where more than 11,000 ewes were sold. Troffs Pastoral Company claimed the Glamis Shield for the best-presented pen of ewes. There were two new judges this year, Jenny Bradley and Barry Harper. Geoffrey Jones and family of Trundle took the coveted shield home in its 37th year.

Adam Chudleigh of McCarron Cullinane Chudleigh said: “The yarding was in magnificent condition.” He attributed it to the specialty breeders in the Forbes region coupled with a fantastic season. Adam said a large percentage of the
yarding was sold to other areas throughout NSW, with strong interest from buyers from the Riverina, Southern and Central Tablelands. In all a total of 11,319 First Cross ewes were sold. The Quade family of Trundle had the top priced pen of ewes at $280.

Established in 1993, Parkes Hydraulic Services provides a comprehensive fluid power service including sales, service, design, development and manufacture, repair, testing and installation of fluid power product for industry applications. The workshop covers all aspects of hydraulic repair including machining, welding and fabrication, cylinder honing, hose manufacture, tube bending and flaring machines and specialised hydraulic component repair benches. All components are assembled, tested and data recorded in a purpose built clean room, which includes a 30 kW valve test rig and a 100 kW pump test rig, by trained and qualified tradespersons. Visit them at 30 Saleyards Rd or call 6862 5885.