Champion Merino pair: Orrie Cowie, Warooka
Ram of the Year: East Bungaree, Hallett
All-purpose pen of two ram lambs: Bunyara, Moculta
TWENTY-five years after they first earned the right to represent SA in the national Merino pairs judging, Yorke Peninsula based Orrie Cowie stud was back in the winner’s circle at Burra this week.
Dennis, Heather and John Dalla’s elite medium wool Poll Merino ram and ewe – both April 5, 2015-drops – impressed judge Kevin Crook, Tamaleuca stud, Ouyen, Vic, with their “magnificent wools” to win the prestigious Elders SA Stud Merino Expo class.
“The competition is about finding a pair of sheep for (the Australian Sheep & Wool Show at) Bendigo,” Vic Mr Crook said.
“They don’t have to be the best sheep, but the best pair. But I think these are also the best sheep.
“They have great structure and make up and have beautiful, white, waxy wool which they carry well down.”
The 19.5-micron ram – OC 50016 – was an AI-bred son of West Plains Mercenary and out of an Exceller ewe.
In its debut showing at Canberra Royal Show, the ram, which is likely to be retained by Orrie Cowie, won reserve champion fine-medium wool.
The ET-bred ewe – OC 50082 – was also bred in the purple. The 19.2M daughter of Charinga Pearler had great wool measurements, including a standard deviation of 2.4, coefficient of variation of 12.5 and 100 per cent comfort factor.
“We won the first one so it is something I have wanted to do again since I was a kid,” John Dalla said. “It is really what I have aimed for each March since I have been home for the past five years.”
Runner-up was Mulloorie stud, Brinkworth.
“The second pair are bigger, robust sheep, but they just didn’t quite have the quality of wool,” Mr Crook said.
Merino SA president Ian Michael said the field days were a great success with the crowd up on the Tuesday. This was in line with fantastic wool and meat prices.
“The wool market has gone past 1500 cents a kilogram clean for 21M wool, which had been a road block, so it might even keep improving,” he said.
Mr Michael said the strong interest boded well for the Australian Stud Merino Breeders push to grow the national flock and increase the numbers of Merino ewes.
“With the meat side of Merinos going so well, it is going to be difficult to adjust numbers overnight, but we want to get the focus out there in the regional areas and try and attract more young people to the industry,” he said.
Mr Michael said it was pleasing to see such widespread interest, particularly from western Vic and NSW breeders, who were looking for quality Poll Merinos which SA had to offer.
“At the Burra Expo, we have always had a few better-priced rams which we had again and most studs had good sales between $1500 and $3000,” he said.
For the second consecutive year, Collinsville stud, Hallett, held a successful silent auction, selling 13 rams for a $3807 average.
The $17,000 top price ram – a 19.7M son of Imperial 141 – sold to Paul and Felicity Brady, Stavely Park, Willaura, Vic, who were impressed by the ram’s “richness of wool”.
Collinsville sold an outstanding stud reserve for the same money the previous day at their on-property display.
The 152kg horned ram sold for $17,000 to Philip Gooding, East Mundulla stud, Tarin Rock, WA.
It was a son of Collinsville Regal 282, which had sold at the Adelaide Merino ram sale for $66,000 in 2014.
“It has beautiful soft handling wool, tremendous bone and a magnificent head with a good outlook,” Mr Gooding said.