By Judy Barnet, Ag Columnist
Amongst my many projects, I had an idea that came about through one of my fellow directors, Katy Brown. Katy is also the Pigs Species Coordinator and has all eight breeds of pigs on her farm. She is also a leading expert on pig health. Katy shared a post on our FB about a lady in Canada who was selling pellets made from Waste Wool. Well, let me tell you I was so excited when I heard about it and immediately wanted to jump on the bandwagon. For a few years now, I have been putting my wool onto my garden beds having received a paltry sum for a good wool clip, one that had even been sorted into breeds and classes by my friend Gary, a wool classer. I figured it just wasn’t worth the effort. I have noticed that the wool seems to be a good mulch and weed suppressant – it takes a long time to break down. I know there are many people out there that simply dispose of their wool via their local waste facility or rubbish collection. Either they only have a few sheep and it is not worth finding a wool broker or agent, or the wool is not of sufficient quality to make it worthwhile selling. It seems such a waste of organic material in a world with such a huge waste problem. I did some research and discovered that there appears to be no one turning wool waste into fertiliser in Australia, as yet. Enquiries to a reputable company that makes a wool pelletising machine resulted in my discovery that this machine is sold and used in Canada, the US, and Europe but not as yet in Australia or NZ. This led me to join a Female Founders programme to learn how to go about starting a business. It has been a really interesting and valuable learning experience. I am not going ahead with the idea yet myself, but I believe that some wool pelletising trials have been done in Australia already, although there is nothing on the market yet. The experience I gained from my mentoring with the Female Founders group can be used in many aspects of my business, though. I highly recommend their service to any ladies that may have a business idea they would like to get off the ground. I will watch with interest for any developments in the wool waste field.
Attending the last RBTA Directors meeting, Katy Brown talked about people who volunteer for committees and causes then find themselves with so much going on and their resources spread so thin that they end up not doing a good job on any of them as they are unable to devote enough time to them. I can’t remember who it was that once said, “Better to do one job properly than have do half a job on ten jobs.” Or something like that! Well, as soon as Katy said it I thought, “Yes, this is me all over!” It was Katy as well, she said. To be honest I think this is a lot of people – once you get involved in something as a volunteer it always leads down other paths and, as rewarding as it is, it is easy to fall down the rabbit warren of too many commitments and not being able to give any of them the attention they deserve. For myself, I love to volunteer and make a worthwhile contribution to my local community as well as organisations far and wide that need help. I would gladly hand over the reins of the Pig Breeders Association but the trouble is, there are very few volunteers coming along in a world that is increasingly busier and busier. I tried for a few years to get someone to take over the treasurer’s role at the RBTA but there doesn’t seem to be anyone wanting this role either. So it is that I find myself master of nothing and slave to many jobs! Having said that, I am not wishing to complain or make this too heavy as I do enjoy everything I do. BUT if there is anyone out there with a bit of extra time on their hands please do not hesitate to contact me!!!
Speaking of volunteering, one membership I proudly hold is that of the CWA. I am a member of the Broadwater Branch and although I don’t get much time to help them out, I am pleased at least to be able to support them with my membership. The CWA is such an important part of Australian history and hopefully will continue to be a support to country ladies in the future. You can feel and visualise the history when you visit their old halls. Sue Boyce is the president of my branch and is a great leader and tireless champion for the cause. Her husband, Joe, did my shearing when I first came to Glenlyon but that’s a story for another day.
Cows. I am almost afraid to talk about the cows but it looks like Delilah is definitely in calf. Varina, I am not so sure. Varina’s loud voice woke me up just before daylight yesterday. It was the bellow, I thought, of a cow on heat. Inspection showed her Hot Cow patch had not been rubbed off but she was quite buddy buddy with Tess so I thought the afternoon might tell the story. I was late home from work and didn’t get a chance to see her, so this morning I did see her patch was still in place but I am still doubtful. The patch was applied hastily in the paddock as the cows were pushing and shoving each other to get the little bit of feed I put out for them in order to apply Varina’s Hot Cow patch! Who knows, but wouldn’t it be fantastic if it was two out of two in calf so far? Tess and Vicky are due next week. I will be watching those two like a hawk, my fingers and toes all crossed.
This week sees the temporary addition of a new puppy, en route to Richie’s son, concreter Steve. That is if Richie can part with him. Richie named him Spider and carts the puppy around everywhere. Much to the cat’s disgust, he brings the puppy into the house as soon as he gets up in the morning and also for an hour or so in the evening. Spider had a ball being puppy-sat by cottage guests earlier this week and playing with their beautiful twelve week-old Golden Retriever pup, Nilu.
