IN a fitting end to the feature breed showing, Suffolks took out both supreme ram and ewe in the sheep interbreed judging on Sunday.
The results also cap off a successful show for long-time exhibitors Allendale, Bordertown, which not only won supreme ewe, but were also in the genetics behind the supreme ram.
Allendale also took out supreme British breed group and supreme all breeds group with a Suffolk ram and two ewes, while an Allendale Poll Dorset ewe was reserve supreme short wool ewe.
The 15-month-old supreme Suffolk ewe, still with lambs teeth, weighed 96 kilograms, had a 42-millimetre eye muscle depth and 8mm fat depth.
It also had Lambplan figures of 11,4 for post-weaning weight, -0.7 post-weaning fat and 0.4 for post-weaning EMD.
Mr Day said the ewe would be shown in Melbourne later this month, after which she would be put back into the stud’s breeding program.
The 14-month-old supreme ram from Noble Lee stud, Campania, Tas, weighed 127.5kg, had a 48EMD and 9mm fat depth.
Owner Brett Stokes, who is a first-time Adelaide Show exhibitor, said the ram was actually part of an unsuccessful pair in the Suffolk feature showing, but the judge unusually called it back out to award it champion ram.
The ram later sold in the Elite Stud Sheep Sale for a breed record price of $16,000.
Another highlight in the interbreed was an extremely elated Taljar stud principal David McArdle, Parndana, who won supreme long wool ram with his Polwarth, ahead of a Corriedale from Brenton and Jo Lush’s Corriedale Hills stud at Inman Valley.
Mr McArdle said it was the first time the two-year-two-months-old ram had been shown, after it caught his eye in late 2016.
“We decided to blade shear for the first time and we chose this ram because it showed such promise,” he said.
“It had presence and its wool underneath was beautiful and white.”
The 127kg ram had a 22.1-micron fleece measuring 4 standard deviation, 16.6 per cent coefficient of variation and 99.1pc comfort factor.
Border Leicesters took out the long wool ewe section with an entry from the Jackson stud, Moyston, Vic, ahead of the Taljar ewe in reserve.
The 86.5kg ewe had a 11mm fat depth, 42mm EMD, and had Lambplan figures of 12pc for number of lambs weaned, 8.2PWWT -0.6PWfat and -0.4PWEMD.