Ron, there's not near as many sheep around now, hence the price of wool has improved greatly. Having said that, there are still some folk who stuck with sheep all the way and are now reaping the rewards. The burgeoning population of dingoes and wild dogs has forced a lot of people out of sheep, together with the escalating costs of shearing and crutching. Also, there's not many young people have come back home to the land in recent years, there's a lot less labour around. The mines in Central Queensland have attracted most of them and who can blame them. We're lucky to have one son who is running our northern country while the other is financially much better off in the mines! Cattle are much easier for the "old folk" to manage than sheep. You're not running around chasing flyblown sheep in the wet season or pulling them out of boggy ground. Mustering our quiet charolais cattle is a breeze compared to racing flat-tack through long grass trying to wheel the lead of 3,000 wethers intent on escape....and its hard to keep good sheepdogs alive because you're continually having to aerial bait for dingoes and pigs. Having said that, our eyes still light up at the sight and smell of a nice even mob of young woolly wethers!