SALE SUMMARY
Dohne
2016 2015
Offered 40 36
Sold 36 34
Top $4000 $3500
Av $1511 $1741
Poll Merino
2016 2015
Offered 30 30
Sold 18 21
Top $2000 $2800
Av $1322 $1276
BABIRRA principal Robert Farrow’s opening claim that it was a great time to be in the sheep industry was vindicated as the price for the Dohne top price ram lifted in the 55th Poll Merino and 15th Dohne on-property sale at Stansbury.
Mr Farrow said there was a great evenness in the line up.
“It goes back to 2013 when we kept four of our own rams by different sires,” he said.
“These progeny are the first from these home-grown hoggets.”
He said this offspring had a slightly heavier fleece weight and better eye muscle tests, while the stud has made the move to test its eye muscle and fat depth at an earlier age to promote an early maturing animal.
The top price was paid for a 101 kilogram twin Dohne ram, which ranked 158 on the Dohne index, bought by RD&C Black, Caltowie.
The ram had a fleece with a 19.2 micron, 14.6 coefficient of variation and 99.6pc comfort factor, while on the Australian Sheep Breeding Values, it rated a 9.2 on yearling weight and 12 on clean fleece weight.
Tina Black described the ram as an “all rounder”.
“It’s got size, weight, width and wool,” she said.
The Blacks run a commercial Dohne flock, as well as breeding some replacement rams for their own use, and wanted to buy a good ram to sire these homebred rams.
Mr Farrow said this ram was out of one of the retained hoggets, with a grandsire from the Chirniminup stud, Nyabing, WA, which had proven to be an “excellent breeder”.
“This ram is a solid sheep with a good constitution,” he said.
The top price of $2000 in the Poll Merino sale was paid by Paul Preuss, Yorketown, for a 99kg ram with a 17.9m, 2.4SD, 13.4CV, 99.9CF, with a fat score of 3.5 and eye muscle depth of 32.
The ram was bred by AI from a Moorundie sire that sold to WA for $20,000.
Mr Farrow said they have retained two half brothers for themselves.
Mr Preuss said he had bought at Babirra before and found the rams “do well in the paddock”.
“It has good wool, is well grown and is a good solid sheep,” he said.
The sales’ volume buyers were MS&SM Jackson, Broken Hill, NSW, who bought eight Dohne rams to1200 at an average $1000, while CN&KJ Johns, Maitland, bought five Dohne rams to $1000 at an average $920, and NR Parsons, Kimba, bought five Dohnes to $1100 at an average $1000.
The sale was conducted by Elders with Tom Penna taking bids.
Elizabeth Anderson
Editor of Stock Journal.
Editor of Stock Journal.
