Adelaide Show: Suffolk competition sewn up by Buttons

It was the first major prize for the stud in the Suffolk judging, with the Buttons' show focus normally reserved for their White Suffolk team.

The Buttons brought three Suffolks to the show and 16 White Suffolks.

"Those three Suffolks were that far ahead of the rest of the flock, they looked too good to not bring them to the show," stud principal Peter Button said.

All three were from the same Glencraig 1038 bloodline - a ram Ramsay Park bought at the Glencraig dispersal in 2016.

Mr Button said the supreme ram would be offered in the Elite Sale tomorrow.

"For a Suffolk, it has a very good balance of figures and high growth rates," he said.

The ram weighed 124.5 kilograms with 49 millimetre eye muscle depth and 9mm fat depth.

It was 14.3 on post-weaning weight, -0.8 post-weaning fat, and -0.2 post-weaning EMD.

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Judge Andrew Frick, Gypsum Hill stud, Padthaway, couldn't find fault with the June-drop ram

"It was a very balanced, correct, safe sheep with no faults, which set him apart from the rest," he said.

"It's got good meat and shape, good stance, and good through the shoulders."

But Mr Frick said to choose between the ram and ewe for supreme was like "Sophie's choice".

The champion Suffolk ewe was from Rachael Chirgwin's Curlew Valley stud at Manoora, one that had already won the title at Hamilton Sheepvention and the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo, Vic.

It weighed 116.5kg with 43EMD and 17mm fat. It was 13.5 PWWT, -0.3PWfat and 0.7PWEMD.

Mr Frick said it was the "clear winner" in the ewe judging.

"I definitely love lambing ease and she is a very matronly breeding ewe," he said.

"She's got volume and width with a very smooth shoulder setting and I believe that is a large part of lambing ease, which is important. And she has great shape at the back."