OUT of a “great lineup of ewes” it was the “sheer bulk” of an April-drop hogget that impressed judge Wayne Lehmann, Flairdale, Tailem Bend, at the Angaston Hogget Competition.
The entry from NF,EA&RM Loffler, Stonefields, was praised by Mr Lehmann for its depth of body and purity of face.
It measured 20.2 micron, with a standard deviation of 3.4, a coefficient of variation of 16.9 and a comfort factor of 98.3 per cent.
The winning ewe came from the open winning pen of three hoggets.
“They’ve got huge scale, barrel, width, and a good length of staple,” Mr Lehmann said.
“They stand well and a really good group of ewes.”
Exhibitor Neil Loffler is a long time entrant in the competition and says it is a “terrific” feeling to win.
“There are so many pens of sheep from such a wide range of areas,” he said.
“We have 250 millimetre rainfall and we’re competing against people with 450mm (rainfall), so it’s a big thrill.”
Mr Loffler said their goal was dual-purpose sheep with a particular focus on wool.
“But the way meat is going at the moment, you’ve got to consider that too,” he said.
When selecting his entries, Mr Loffler said he “drafted all the big ones” and then selected three that “matched up”.
Standing second in the overall hogget lineup was the winner of the later lambing hogget competition, also from the later lambing pen of three winners.
The June-drop ewe was exhibited by Trevor McLean who made the trip with his entries from Angas Plains for the final time.
“The pen had big, upstanding ewes, with huge length of staple and were pretty correct right through,” Mr Lehmann said.
Mr McLean had been a regular entrant in the competition but said this was his final year before retirement.
Winner in the Angaston Ag Bureau competition pen of three was from James Graetz, Keyneton.
Mr Lehmann said the entry was an even group with a good wool type. The winning ewe also came from this pen.
Also on during the annual event was a forum, with the Angaston Ag Bureau partnering with the Society of Precision Agriculture Australia to provide a focus on uses of livestock e-technology.
Topics included research into the development of an ethical virtual fencing system for sheep, following on from similar achievements in the cattle industry, improvements in connectivity and how the internet of things can help producers, and insight into how electronic identification tags can be of benefit to producers.