Country Today - August 18th

Wangaratta is preparing for a record-breaking yarding of nearly 6,000 head of cattle at its st  ore sale on Thursday this week. Increasingly, dairy farmers are choosing to put beef bulls over dairy cows to meet growing demand from fast-food giants seeking high-quality beef with a smaller environmental footprint. Low-stress stock handling, or 'stockmanship' as Victorian farmer Byron O'Keefe likes to call it, is becoming increasingly popular among livestock producers. The Gippsland Red Meat Conference is on August 25 and it will be held at the Sale Baptist Church. With the fire season fast approaching, it's not a matter of if, but when. Farmers are being urged to start preparing their properties now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.