Some Worries About Beef

Yet again, it’s slightly uncertain times for our domestic beef production. We’re also speaking here about Australia as a whole and not just NSW.

Apparently, the latest statistics show a widening gap between the price of beef, in retail circles and that of some of its main competitors such as chicken, lamb, pork and even vegetarian food. That’s leading to some concerns that consumers might be driven away from beef onto other cheaper protein sources.  

To make matters worse, the spectre of US imports is on the horizon. The economics are puzzling given Australia’s abundance of cattle but for whatever reason it looks as if US beef could be heading our way – subject to tariff quotas etc.

The third wave of concern being expressed is over a combination of increasing drifts away from red meat for health reasons (whether you agree with those concerns or not, is does seem to be happening) plus the changing demographics of Australia. Read more http://www.whitestractors.com.au/blog/329-some-worries-about-beef.html

A History of Roundabouts

Now some of you might be rubbing your eyes at the title of this one!

Maybe you think we’ve clearly ‘lost it’ or have far too much spare time on our hands. Well, nothing’s further from the truth (we hope)!

Here’s the explanation….

As you probably know, we’ve recently had some modest inconvenience locally because of the roadworks and construction of the new roundabout in Goulburn. We’ve kept everyone informed in the monthly newsletter and we think the now finished result is a big improvement.

During the works, somebody actually asked who invented the roundabout and where. It's a simple enough question but do you know the answer? We didn’t!

So, here’s the information you’ve all been desperately waiting for.

It seems that circular traffic systems of ‘circuses’ go back to at least the 18th century and England.  They started to be used for larger traffic volumes in the earlier 20th century with arguably the first real traffic system roundabout appearing in the USA in 1907 shortly followed by one a couple of years later in the UK.

Now it’s important to note that these weren’t modern roundabouts as we know them today. They were essentially just a round traffic island and something of a free-for-all going around.

For more details, please visit - http://www.whitestractors.com.au/blog/328-a-history-of-roundabouts.html