Dubbo agents for their Prime Cattle Sale on Thursday, March 15 drew for a staggering 8248 head.

At the time of writing this column final scanned numbers are not yet available, but it would be fair to suggest a final tally in the range of 6500 to 7000 head.

Early indications were that the market was a touch softer in places but in the main had lost very little from last day. Agents involved in the store cattle on Friday, March 16 have indicated a yarding of 2500 head.

This has created a substantial end to the week with all yard staff fully extended and the availability of local carriers being tested.

The column will be missing next week as your columnist will be away for 8 to 10 days enjoying a break from the saleyards.

Read in a local newspaper where all owners of the CRT franchises are going to remove all signage relating to the slogan ‘Your Local Bloke’ the owners categorically deny that the re-branding has anything to do with political correctness.

This statement in all fairness may be the truth but the writer struggles to believe the words coming out of headquarters.

Politicians the world over probably have a lot to answer for. One of our green senators has recently been in Europe at the head of a delegation criticizing the Kangaroo Meat Industry in Australia.

During this tour the senator speculates that some species could be driven close to extinction. One wonders whether the senator in question ever ventures far from the metropolitan areas into the real world.

In my 50 plus years in the agency and many, many miles in a car I fail to remember a time when kangaroos were so numerous.

The lady in question is trying to destroy an industry which gives employment to some 2000 people, mostly in the bush and creates some $200,000 million in domestic and export earnings.

Professional roo shooters are registered, must have registered tags and are regulated by the proper authorities. Both agricultural spokesmen for the coalition and labour have come out and criticised the senator.

The kangaroo is a very sustainable source of protein, requires professional harvesting and will create employment. Statistics suggest that currently we harvest about three per cent annually of the roo population.

Anybody who does not believe the problems we have should visit any part of Outback Australia (plus some locations much closer to the coastal fringe) and see first hand the damage they do to the feed profile for livestock and the angst they cause to producers in these areas trying to make a reasonable living.

Read more at www.dailyliberal.com.au

Property sales people are up in arms over the new rules recently introduced by the Federal Government in relation to the sale of major parcels of land to foreign or overseas buyers.

The new rule from the treasurer is that properties that my come under the heading of ‘Big Pastoral Aggregations’ must be advertised locally for at least 30 days to allow local interest to try and align their ducks in a row.

According to one outspoken opponent this rule only applies to farmland and does not cover houses, commercial real estate or shopping centres.