SALE SUMMARY
Border Leicesters
2020 2019
Offered 150 134
Sold 150 103
Top $3600 $2700
Av $2238 $1595
Poll Dorsets
Offered 132 130
Sold 123 112
Top $2200(x2) $2400
Av $1465 $1595
MORTON Border Leicester and Poll Dorset studs' 43rd annual ram sale last Thursday at Lucindale was one of its best, selling nearly 60 more rams than the previous year.
Vendors Emily and Scott Davidson continued the trend of exceptional Border Leicester sales this season with the 61-year-old stud posting a huge lift in average to $2238, their highest ever.
Following this 123 of 132 impressive Poll Dorsets averaged $1465.
The Davidsons usually put up their top few stud rams at the Horsham Border Leicester Show & Sale in Vic but this year they decided to offer them all on-farm.
Commercial buyers were the winners of this decision with all six rams heading into noted first cross ewe producers' flocks for a $3033 average.
The sale's $3600 top price came in the second pen of Border Leicester flock rams with Mark Copping, Lucindale, securing lot 10, a twin born, August 2019-drop.
Mr Copping said he was struck with the son of Geraldine 64-15- a ram bought at the Horsham sale for $8500- for its low birth weight and high weaning weight and positive fat Australian Sheep Breeding Values.
The sale topper, which had a maternal $ index figure of 125.3, was one of Mr Copping's three buys.
The sole stud buyer at the sale was Adelaide Hills based Pebble Stone which bought well to secure lot 9, an eye appealing ram for $3400.
Karatta Pastoral, Binnum, was easily the sale's largest buyer with 19 Border Leicesters to $3200, averaging $2632.
Bimbimbie Props, Wattle Range, secured 14 Borders for a $2829 average, including the first two stud rams at $3200 each and
Such was the demand for Border Leicesters another 15 additional rams were offered in the sheep yards as a pick of the pen after the final ram came through the ring. These were all snapped up to an $1800 high twice.
Five Poll Dorset stud rams averaged $2000, two of which were the $2200 highest price of the breed.
Both were bought by Lucindale buyers with the Tregoweth family secured lot 203, a June 2019 drop.
Two lots later S&R DiGiorgio & Sons snapped up a long bodied ram with growth figures in the top 20 per cent on Lambplan.
This was among the DiGiorgios tally of 10 rams for a $2120 average.
Stark Grazing, Stewart Range, also bought well early in the catalogue with 10 rams to $2200 three times, averaging $1920.
AJ&PA McBride secured eight rams for Brooklyn Station, Lucindale and another seven rams for Konetta, Conmurra.
Mrs Davidson said she was "very pleased" with how the rams presented this year and the depth of quality and "style" through the offering.
She was particularly thrilled with the Border Leicester result and the wider demand for Border Leicesters and confidence from those breeding first cross ewes.
"With all the other breed options out there it is nice see the breed that we have been breeding for a long time is recognised as the predominant breed as a maternal sire," she said.
Elders Lucindale branch manager and auctioneer Ronnie Dix said it was pleasing to see the Davidson family rewarded for their increased effort in presenting the rams and success offering some new bloodlines.
"They have had a tough 12 months with the fire earlier in the year (on their Marcollat property) but they had certainly placed a lot of emphasis on feeding the sheep and it shows," he said.
"Being one of the last sales it can either go off like a rocket or be soft enough, it is rarely a run of the mill sale and this year t seemed we couldn't put enough rams up."
Mr Dix said the key was the repeat buyers from the South East, Murraylands and even Yorke Peninsula which operated at a range of budgets, although the stud also attracted a few new faces.
"Everyone wants the $2000 ram buyer at their sale but it is the $1000 and $1200 ones that really make a sale," he said.
Elders and Pinkerton Palm Hamlyn & Steen were joint selling agents with Mr Dix and Josh Manser the auctioneers.
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