First-cross ewes bring AuctionsPlus online record price
A record new online price for ewes with lambs at foot has been fetched on AuctionsPlus, with the vendor saying “all my ducks seemed to line up for a change”.
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AN OUTSTANDING offering of young first-cross ewes with lambs at foot sold for $561 on AuctionsPlus last week.
AuctionsPlus representative Anna Adams said the 85 ewes and 152 lambs achieved a new online record for the platform, having bested the previous high price of $516 for Australian White Sheep with lambs at foot sold back in June.
The 17 to 18-month old ewes were by Retallick and Gleneith Border Leicester rams and were highly fertile, having achieved a 178 per cent lambing rate following a tight five-week joining period. They sold to a local buyer at Crookwell, in NSW.
Vendor Brent Medway, from Tolldale Gunning, at Gunning, in NSW, said he normally sold his ewes as unjoined one-and-a-half year-olds at Yass, but changed up and sold earlier this year.
“All my ducks seemed to line up for a change which was fantastic,” Mr Medway said.
“There was a lot of lambs in there and they joined up very well in May because they had great condition on them.”
By lambing them down himself Mr Medway added about $100 in value to his ewes.
“Roughly, I think it worked out to about $430 a head for the ewes and $75 for the lambs,” Mr Medway said.
“I’ve got another 280 (ewes and lambs) to go into the Yass sale next Monday.
“I usually put up 800 or so, but I sold them in smaller mobs this year to spread my risk a bit.”
Mr Medway’s agent Nick Harton, from Jim Hindmarsh Stock Agents, said they were “absolutely rapt” with how the pen sold – $36 above the reserve price of $525/head.
“I spoke to the buyer after the sale and he didn’t think they were all that dear with 150 lambs to sell and a proven good quality ewe for breeding as well,” Mr Harton said.
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