The Kyle family’s Ashley Park stud, Bairnsdale, has won the supreme White Suffolk exhibit with a June drop ram that weighed 138.5kg.
“To win supreme, it doesn’t get much better,” principal Ian Kyle said.
“Especially with a good ram that has the potential to go onto breed well for the breed.”
He said it was a “thrill” that it was by one of their own home-bred rams and was out of a ewe by a Kurralea ram. He said the ram would be retained in the stud and joined in December.
Reagan Kyle with Ashley Park’s champion White Suffolk ram. The June drop ram weighed 138.5kg and scanned 11mm fat, 55mm muscle depth, 109mm muscle width, 46.2sqcm muscle area. The Kyle family four White Suffolks, and with Suffolks and Poll Dorset bought a total of 16 sheep.
The champion ram was reserve champion at the Elite Show at Bendigo last week.
Judge Paul Day said he liked the ram’s overall correctness and “lovely Suffolk type”.
Reserve champion White Suffolk ram was awarded to B&L Prentice’s Kurralea stud, Ariah Park, NSW.
Tim Ferguson, Mallee Park, Hopetoun, won champion White Suffolk ewe for the first time. Mr Ferguson said they’d only been breeding White Suffolks for four years and the champion ewe was by a Kurralea ram and its dam also goes back to Kurralea bloodline, as does most of their stud.
the ewe came out of the under 1.5 year-old class and weighed 93kg and had a muscle area scan of 32.2sqcm.
Judge Paul Day, Sunnybanks, Penguin, Tas, said he couldn’t fault the ewe.
“She’s got a beautiful White Suffolk head, great neck extension and length of loin,” Mr Day said.
The reserve was awarded to a Depeller stud ewe that Mr Day said had more condition.