It is that time of the year when we are waiting around for
the start of mustering. It is a bit like
the feeling you get when playing cricket and you are next in to bat or when you
are waiting for a flight at the airport and your plane gets delayed. Everyone just wants to get on with it.
Commencement of mustering is dictated by a number of
factors. If it is too wet then you
cannot drive around the property so mustering is delayed. The commencement of the live export boats is
also critical as this is our main market for cattle.
Everyone starts getting itchy – helicopter pilots want to
start flying, cattle agents want to start selling, truckies want to start
trucking. And the long suffering
pastoralist such as me who hasn’t any income for six months wants to get some
cash flow happening.
On the station at this time, it is all about
preparation. There is a long list to
complete:
·
Making sure all vehicles are serviced and ready
to go.
·
Ensuring all cattle supplies are ordered such as
vaccines, drenches, tags,
·
Ensuring truck is ready to go to move cattle
around the property
·
Repairing all the fences
Much of the work that we do all year round on the property
prepares us for the onslaught of mustering like grading the roads. All of our roads we grade ourselves which is
a massive job given that we have nearly 1000km of roads.
