Inverbrackie figures win the day

At their 22nd sale Mr Arney announced that it was 50 years since the Border Leicester stud was started by his father and 25 years since he took over, introducing Lambplan monitoring.

After the sale, he said the results showed he had made the right decision with his emphasis on figures.

With a top price of $2400, paid by Landrigan Partnership, Hopetoun, Vic, the sale lifted its average price paid by more than $80 from the previous year.

The top ram measured in the top 1 per cent of the breed for numbers of lambs weaned, in the top 2pc for post-weaning weight, in the top 10 pc for eye muscle, and had a post-weaning egg count of -32.

"He is a real balance of traits all the way across," Mr Arney said.

"I'm pleased we've been able to achieve that - a genetic package where all the trait leaders are in one sheep instead of one ram exceptional in one trait."

Mr Arney said since he started with Lambplan he had grown in confidence with the data produced and its reliability.

"The data we've been able to produce on these rams has just gone through the roof," he said.

The pleasing results of the sale showed others were thinking the same way.

"Buyers, including interstate buyers, have identified the genetic package we have in our rams and are seeking us out and coming to us," he said.

"We're over the moon that they see us as good industry sheep."

New interstate buyer Nick Gay, Hovells Creek, near Cowra, NSW, bought 12 rams. He had questioned whether the 1100-kilometre trip was too far to buy rams, until he saw some of the offspring of the Inverbrackie sires.

"I decided it was worth the trip to come down," he said.

"Seeing Borders with the maternal index these had, I wanted those traits," he said.

* Full report in Stock Journal, October 16, 2014 issue.