Dorpers: 67 of 67 sold to $7000, av $1429
White Dorpers: 43 of 43 sold to $4000, av $1568, 111/135.
A ram, from the noted Mickey Phillips Jo Jo line, has topped the eighth annual Bendigo Supreme Dorper and White Dorper sale.
Dell Dorpers, Moama, 186 “Freddie”, a 122kg, class four ram, sold for $7000 to Edson Black and Red Rock studs, Keith, South Australia.
Dell’s Andrea van Niekerk said Freddie, a June 2014 drop ram, was sired by Dell Jo Jo Junior 10071.
Semen had been retained for stud use and export.
“We have known he is a really good sire, we have used him extensively through our own stud, and he is really good through the shoulders and the top line,” Ms van Niekerk said.
“The Jo Jo line is right through most of our stud, it’s a very good, masculine line.
Sale notes described Freddie, who had scanning figures of nine millimetres of fat and 43mm of eye muscle, as “having it all – safe shoulders, good feet, soft shedding coat, balanced, with great length and depth.”
Brad Edson said he bought Freddie for the Edson Black stud, which was run in conjunction with his mother, Pat.
“He will be running out there with about 150 Black stud ewes,” Mr Edson said.
“We are breeding rams for the top end, they go into the stud and commercial flock rams are bred, for the station country.”
Mr Edson said the stud had moved into producing Dorpers, to compliment the White animals it was breeding.
“People who are using the whites are tending to use a bit of the blacks, so we thought we would give them the option of coming to us for both,” he said.
The second highest price $4000 was for a Roslynmead West White Dorper ram, purchased by Dumisa and African White Dorpers, at Moama, NSW.
Dorper ewes sold to $2500, for an average of $857, with rams averaging $1839.
The highest priced White Dorper, a ram, fetched $4000, averaging $1712, while ewes averaged $1271, for a top price of $2000.
The top priced ewe was sold by Olsen Park Dorpers at Koondrook, and purchased by Nomuula Dorpers and White Dorpers, Moonbi in NSW.
Dorper rams topped at $7000 and averaged $1840, while Dorper ewes made to $2500 and averaged $858.
White Dorper rams sold to $4000, averaged $1713, and the ewes topped at $2000 and average $1272.
Auctioneer John Settree, Landmark Echuca, said the clearance rate was good, resulting in resulting in solid averages across both breeds, for rams and ewes.
“It showed it was a really strong commercial focus on the sheep, with buyers come from South Australia, NSW, Victoria and Southern Queensland,” Mr Settree said.
“I thought it was a good representation of what the White Dorper does well, they put carcase into lambs and make those lambs weigh.”
Mr Settree said Dorpers were starting to make their mark in lamb production.
“Certainly, in that western arid region, Dorpers are certainly kicking more goals.”
Several volume buyers took up to 10 rams each.
“Those station orders, which really underpin a sale, came from western NSW, western Victoria, and some of the station country, in South Australia.”
