THE Pipkorn family, Detpa Grove White Suffolks, Jeparit, received strong support from far and wide at their recent eighth biannual mated-ewe sale.
Seventy-five ewes were sold to buyers from five states and the US and averaged $575.
Undoubtedly the highlight was the demand for the first four lots of elite ewes, selected from the heart of the Detpa Grove breeding flock in a pick-of-the-pair format.
Each lot contained two ewes that had been used or had been selected to go into the Detpa Grove elite embryo transfer program as donor females.
The successful buyer for each of the four lots got to take home their selection of the two ewes, with the other being retained in Detpa Grove's breeding program.
This was an obvious attraction, with these four ewes selling to a new Detpa Grove record ewe price of $3500 and averaging $2712.50.
The $3500 top-priced ewe was DG120625Tw, one of the two outstanding options in lot 1, purchased by Bruce Buswell, Matilda Downs stud, Mount Barker, Western Australia.
Mr Buswell has had a lot of success with Detpa Grove genetics in the past, paying to an equal top of $16,000 for rams in 2012 and also picking up a top ram last year.
His buying did not stop with the record ewe as he went on to also be the biggest volume buyer, successfully bidding on 10 other ewes throughout the catalogue.
Damian Hawker, Omad stud, Kaniva, selected the highest quality he could and purchased seven select ewes at a $600 average, including one at $1400, being the second-highest price outside the four star lots.
Other Victorian purchasers included P&M Munn, Mortlake, new breeders who invested in quality numbers, purchasing eight ewes at a $388 average, and A&P McDonald, Dadswell Bridge, who purchased six ewes at a $342 average. Graham Lewis, Shepherd's Hut, Balmoral, purchased three at a $368 average.
