Victorian stud Terrick West, Prairie, won the Australian Merino All-Purpose championship from more than 115 entries.
It was Ross and Claire McGauchie’s 16.7 micron, fine medium two-tooth ram that was awarded the highest point score of 81.9 out of a possible 100, to be named the grand champion all-purpose ram of the Australian Sheep and Wool Show (ASWS).
The all-purpose competition is made up of objective measurements, including weight and eye muscle depth, carcase and visual wool appraisal.
Mr McGauchie said he was “over the moon” with the result.
“We regard that class as one of the more important classes in the show,” Mr McGauchie said.
“It is where we are heading with the Merino in both improving the quality of wool and also looking at producing a good carcase.”
Mr McGauchie said his goals are being validated with the results they are achieving.
Since the dual-purpose class came into play at the ASWS, Terrick West has competed in the final every year.
This was the second time they have been named champion, but they have placed in the top three on numerous occasions.
This year, three of the five sheep they entered won their individual sections.
The winning 105-kilogram ram had an eye muscle depth (EMD) of 43 millimetres and 9mm fat depth.
He scored 22 points out of a possible 25 to in the visual carcase section, but it was the fleece he carried that tipped him over the finish line first.
His fleece measurements were a standard deviation (SD) of 3, 18 per cent co-efficient of variation (CV) and 99.8pc comfort factor (CF).
It wasn’t the first time the young ram had hit the show circuit, being placed in the final line-up at Hay Sheep Show for the Australian champion hogget, eventually winning the Victorian section.
In the conventional part of the ASWS, he was reserve champion fine medium wool ram against over 50 rams.
“I think, over the years, we will see the winner of the all-purpose class as successful in the general part of the show, which really does validate what breeders are striving for,” Mr McGauchie said.
All-purpose meat judge, David Pipkorn, Depta Grove White Suffolks, Nhill, who judged at one of the first competitions, said the improvement in the body shape and the meat component of those Merino rams across the section was fantastic.
“Generally there is more shape in the hind quarter of the Merinos that were in this class,” Mr Pipkorn said.
“Although there is still room for improvement, it is a credit to the breeders. They have got tremendous wool type on a ram with good carcase.
“It’s a big achievement when you only have so much protein to work with, it either goes to the wool or it goes to the meat, but having the quality there certainly helps them.”
Reserve champion all-purpose ram of the show went to Willandra stud, Jerilderie, NSW, with a strong wool two-tooth ram.
The 112.5kg ram, with a 21 micron fleece, scored 81.7 points out of 100 with a visual carcase score of 24 out of 25.
Mr McGauchie said breeders have pushed the carcase aspect of the Merino sheep strongly in recent years.
“A large percentage of us now put our wether lambs over the hooks, they are sold as lambs, so you need that body shape, doing ability and growth rates to get them up into those areas,” he said.
