The major semi action will get underway at Walcha's Captain Cook Oval from 11.25am with the under 19s match between Pirates and Narrabri. This will be followed by the second grade clash between Pirates and Moree at 12.55pm, with the women's sevens match between Gunnedah and Narrabri to be held at 2.35pm. The first grade fixture between Walcha and Narrabri will kick-off at 3pm.

Price and Smith were both featured among the wicket-takers, both picking up two.

"We have Charles Mitchell, Jayden Zahra Smith and Harrison Townsend returning after having being involved in the joint national title winning team from 2018," McLay said.

Two Gold award winning students read their works at the ceremony, Erin Kruger from Masada College and Gabriel Siemer from Bourke Walgett School of Distance Education.

Six year old Gabriel has lived the devastating effects of the drought most of his young life on the family farm outside Walgett. They haven’t harvested a crop since 2016 and had to sell all their sheep and cattle due to the drought.

Young Gabriel and his older brother Rafael ‘attend’ the School of Distance Education by satellite link two or three times a week, leaving mum Casey to supervise their work and run the farm. Dad works as a movie and TV stuntman and due to the drought has been away from home much of the year.

A Rural Bank report shows Australian vegetable exports fell in 2020/21.

The Cranney family is offloading two well regarded properties on the Queensland/NSW border.

Over the weekend I caught an interview with one of our small business owners in Barwon, she said words to the effect of ‘if we survived the worst drought on record, huge dust storms, and a mice plague what’s a little lockdown?’
I know we’ve been battered over the last few years, and we were just starting to come through it all – farming was back, people had a bit of money to spend in town, and our grass was getting greener – this COVID outbreak has come at a time when times were getting better.

The state government will build a new Wee Waa High School after the old site was laden with mould, the education minister announced on Thursday.