A move out of Merinos is spurring on a bidding war for Dorper rams
A lack of labour is one of the reasons behind sky rocketing demand for Dorpers in country south of Broken Hill. See the top ram sale results for the past week.
Dorper rams have sold for the highest average price this week from southern auctions.
Dust n Rain Dorpers, Pooncarie, NSW recorded a whopping $4787 average price on all 100 rams offered and sold last week.
Stud principal Gary Cullinan said it was the second-highest average the stud had achieved in its five years of sales, and demand was growing as producers in the region moved away from Merinos.
“It has been really dry … we had 20mm the night before the sale but that was the biggest rain we had since the second week of January, so I was a bit worried going in,” Mr Cullinan said.
Those woes proved without foundation, as buyers started bidding at $5000, a pace that continued “for the first 20-30”, he said.
“I think a lot of fellas, up to Broken Hill and in this area, have changed from Merinos due to a lack of shearers and labour.
“A lot of people don’t have cattle, they may have mustered some goats to buy some rams.
“We had a lot of repeat buyers back this year, we have built a name for quality and also sell 300 privately.”
Meanwhile, a new record top price of $10,600 was paid for a White Suffolk ram at the
Pepperton Farms Poll Dorset and White Suffolk sale last week on-property at Elmore.
A syndicate of Gemini Prime Lamb stud, Wenerth and Ellamatta Pastoral, Kangaroo Island and the Bundara Downs, Bordertown, SA, purchased the ram.
He sat in the top 1 per cent of the breed for muscling, eating quality and terminal carcass production.
In all, 43 Poll Dorset rams sold from 50 offered to a top of $3600 and average of $1386, while 28 from 50 White Suffolk rams sold to a top of $10,600 and average of $1093.
And, the ewe dispersal saw 110 Poll Dorset ewes sold to a top of $4600 and average of $654 while 44 White Suffolks reached $3200 and averaged $489.
In other sales, the going rate this week for terminal sires was an average of $1100-$1200, at major auctions.
A standout result was the Border Leicester results for Jackson Farming, which saw all Borders sell to average $1563.
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