Croydon Corriedale to $1300

Selling agents Southern Grampians Livestock and Real Estate sold 25 of 50 Corriedale rams offered to a top price of $1300 and for an average of $778 on November 6 for stud owners Mike Deppeler and Jude Houghton.

SGL auctioneer Dylan Praolini also sold 11 of the stud’s 12 Suffolk rams for an average of $605 and for up to $650.

Hawkesdale breeders Neville and Heather Richards paid $1300 for Lot 7 in the Corriedale catalogue, a 14-month-old ram who is ranked 33rd across flocks in his drop among all breed rams in New Zealand’s performance recording and genetic evaluation service Sheep Improvement Ltd (SIL).

The triplet ram had SIL breeding values of 3.13 for weaning weight, 5.6 for liveweight at eight months, 0.24 for clean fleece weight and tested 22.4 microns at his last fleece test.

Mr Richards said he had been running Corriedales for about 40 years and liked the top-priced ram’s fleece diameter and type. The repeat Croydon customer produces a clip of 25-26 micron wool, also keeping Corriedale wethers up to three years-old, after two adult fleeces, before being sold direct to a northern mutton processor. He said a three-year-old Corriedale wether weighing about 70-80kg cut about 8-10kg of wool. The Richards also paid $1000 for a second ram.

Mr Deppeler said Croydon is the only Australian Corriedale stud on SIL, which recorded sheep for fertility, growth, fleece weight and lean loin yield. He said the sale rams were entirely grassfed and had the ability to shift into other districts.

Volume Corriedale ram buyers included Tom and Julia Waldron of Coleraine, who paid to $1000 for five rams. King Island producer Rob Payne paid to $1000 for his three rams and Alan Dyke of Paschendale, bought five rams for up to $1100.

Volume buyer in the Suffolks was Coleraine producer Peter Small who paid an average of $600 for seven rams to go over Merino ewes.