Kardinia Dohnes
54 of 60 rams sold to $3800, av $1687
A highlight of Kardinia Dohnes’ 11th on-property sale last month was the demand for sons of KP13.2345, which Kardinia’s Don and Karen Mills purchased as part of a syndicate from West Australian stud Kintail Park Dohnes in 2014.
One of 2345’s sons topped the sale at $3800 and was knocked to new client Boltara Dohne stud, Barham, NSW. Its Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) are in top five per cent of the breed for post-weaning weight, post-weaning eye muscle depth, post-weaning fat and yearling clean fleece weight.
Mr Mills said its Dohne Index of 178.3 points was in the top two per cent of the breed.
“The progeny of 2345 have proven to be really outstanding in terms of growth rates, eye muscle area and fat depth, as well as conformation and wool attributes.”
The eight 2345 sons offered all sold for an average of $2600 – more than $900 above the overall sale average of $1687. This overall average was several hundred dollars up on last year’s result.
Mr Mills said KP13.2345’s ASBVs had “jumped hugely” since he’d got progeny on the ground.
“He’s got the second top index vale of any ram of the breed and he’s going to have a huge impact on the breed. We’ve had inquiries from throughout Australia, even from people who haven’t seen the ram.
“It was a very good offering right through the catalogue,” Mr Mills said.
“With the price for wool and lambs being strong, the sheep industry is in a really good spot at the moment and that is likely to continue with the positive season.
“The Dohne is coming into the fore as a dual purpose animal that is able to capture both sides of the sheep market and is becoming more popular and sought-after.”
In the strong buying gallery, people came from the local Corowa NSW region, throughout south-eastern Riverina, the south-west slopes of NSW, Victoria and into Tasmania. The Tasmanians were the biggest volume buyer with seven rams.
