Rural Sector's Mixed Confidence

Meanwhile, the third leg of the National Australia's Bank's confidence surveys each quarter is the report on confidence and conditions in agri-businesses: both before and after the farm gate.

And the latest survey for the March quarter shows there's a curious "we'll be rooned but things are looking up" dichotomy which some how sums up attitudes in rural areas some times.

But this time around it's more important than for several years: the last two and a bit years have been pretty bad for rural and regional areas with the drought, the wine bust and the damage to grain crops, offset by the beef and sheep meat boom and of course the resources booms in parts of rural Queensland, Western Australia and parts of South Australia and NSW.

But with generally good rain (and more needed in the next few months) there are hopes the impact of the drought will fade and winter grain crops in particular will flourish and catch the world-wide price boom.


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Kate & Gerry McCann: We believe Maddie is still alive

KATE and Gerry McCann believe their missing daughter Madeleine is still alive and think one key piece of information will reveal her whereabouts.

Speaking two days before the first anniversary of the day she was abducted, the couple said their ordeal had been "almost unbearable" and said they had been pulled through by their young twins, Sean and Amelie.

Launching a media campaign in a renewed bid to find Madeleine, Gerry McCann said: "Any parent will understand we will do anything to get that child back. We will go to the ends of the earth."

Kate added: "We're Madeleine's parents; if we're not there for her, who is?"

The couple were speaing in a live TV interview this morning.

Kate admitted the couple had received hate mail for leaving the little girl and her younger siblings alone in the unlocked apartment while they went to dinner at a nearby restaurant.



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Da Vinci genius brought to life

Five-hundred-year-old drawings by the grand master of art and science, Leonardo da Vinci, have been brought to life in an interactive and informative exhibition which opened in Perth yesterday.

More than 60 of da Vinci's famous works, including the tank, the hangglider and the spring-powered car, have been carefully constructed in raw materials by world renowned group the Artisans of Florence.

Other models are concept designs of the modern bicycle, parachute, helicopter, lifebuoy, paddle boat and scuba gear, which da Vinci reportedly created while working in Venice.

Exhibition manager and Australian member of the group Thomas Rizzo has travelled the world exhibiting the works inside a theatrical tent modelled on da Vinci's Ideal City concept.


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Assess farm financial performance now

BROOKINGS, S.D. - Now is a good time for producers to assess farm financial position and performance, a South Dakota State University specialist said."It is important to remember that if a cost can be measured, it can be managed. Start your farm's benchmarking and profit improvement by taking the first step: Measure your costs to know where you are," SDSU Extension area management specialist Jack Davis said.SDSU has online resources available to help producers measure costs and returns for last year, and prepare a budget for this year. Use a Farm Enterprise Budget available from SDSU Extension at http://econ.sdstate.edu/.Use the "Extension" pulldown bar, then click on "Management tools and links" to find the budget appropriate to your operation.Davis said machinery, labor and management costs account for 30 percent of total costs and may provide an opportunity for helping control costs.


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Outdoors: New contour maps reveal lakes’ secrets

New high-tech contour maps are providing more accurate information in attempts to catch fish and restore lakes.

Data have been collected through the use of special sonar equipment on 44 publicly owned lakes in the state, said fisheries biologist Mike Hawkins of Spirit Lake.

Hawkins said contour maps of Iowa lakes have not been made since the 1970s, when they were hand-drawn. Many lake beds have changed, and in some lakes new structure has been added.

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As economy slows, some locals hope for the best

Raymond Porco said he's thankful he has a paycheck.

His wife just lost her job in the financial services industry. The dollar's low value alarmed him greatly on a recent trip to Mexico.

And he's worried about his ability to fund his 9-year-old twin daughters' college education.

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Your Office Coach: Reprimand calls for intense focus on goal

Q. On her recent performance review, my sister was rated "below expectations." Her boss said she took too long to complete a major project. However, this really wasn't her fault.

During that time, she had a lot of computer problems. Also, management changes created some confusion, and her co-workers weren't very cooperative. But she still got a bad review.

Now she's on three months' probation with a warning that her current project must be completed on time. It's not clear what will happen if she doesn't meet the deadline.

I don't think this is fair, because many things are out of her control. And the rules seem to be different for her. My sister tries hard, despite getting little cooperation from others. I feel that "below expectations" should be for people who goof off all day.



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