TO acquire the only Type 5 Dorper ram of the catalogue, Dean Powrie had to bid an extra $5000 than he did last year for the top-priced ram.
He and wife, Heather, Sunnyside Dorpers, Warwick, Queensland, paid $25,000 for another Kaya sire, this year the 108 kilogram 15 month-old full Kaya blood ram bred and offered by Adrian Veitch, Kaya stud, Narrogin, Western Australia, at the 14th annual Dorper and White Dorper National sale at Dubbo showground last week.
The sale cleared 70 of the 76 rams offered by studs from four states to average $3499 while 28 from 35 Dorper ewes topped at $3600 and averaged $1311.
Last year 51 rams topped at $20,000 to average $3562 and 22 ewes sold to $5000 and averaged $3159
Kaya’s three rams sold for an average $11,733.
Dean Powrie said he was only looking for quality and was prepared to pay for it.
“Adrian (Veitch) consistently sells top quality sheep and I only want the best, so I’m prepared to pay the right price.
“Top quality should produce top quality and the sheep will pay for themselves time and time again.”
The Powries also bought three Type 5 stud ewes paying top price of $3600 for a 16 month-old by a Bellevue sire and joined to Niemur Smiley, from Justin and Lorroi Kirkby, Amarula stud, Gravesend, NSW, plus two ewes at $2000 and $1600 from the Thorburn and Trazzera partnership’s Oakview stud, Toolamba.
This is their second year of stud breeding and now have 100 ewes and aim to breed enough rams to service the south-east Queensland.
“We chose Dorpers for their higher dress weight percentage and they are unbelievably fertile,” Mr Powrie said.
Mr Veitch said the ram’s sire was a national show champion three years ago and goes back to Mickey Phillips bloodlines.
“Mickey Phillips has been the consistently best breeder in South Africa for the past 10 years and I bought their embryos in 2009.”
Second top-priced ram at $15,000 was a 103kg 19 month-old Dell Grobelaar bred and offered by van Niekerk family’s Dell Dorpers, Moama, NSW, which won his class at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show, Bendigo, and member of the winning interbreed “cleanskin” group, a first for the Dorper breed.
By Dell Dorpers Real Dream, the 2014 Bendigo junior champion and from African 10091 ET by John Dell Jake Grobelaar was bought by Kim Batten, Douwana Dorpers, Yuna, WA, 120km north-east of Geraldton.
Douwana stud was established in 1998 on embryos mainly of Jordaan blood and now runs 1000 stud ewes with sires used from Kaya and Amarula.
Mr Batten said he was looking for a sire to continue breeding length and leg and believed this ram would provide both.
“He also has high weight for age and a nice quiet temperament.”
Dell stud sold four rams to average $7000 and four ewes averaging $2300 and one selling to second of $3000 for a17 month-old scanned in lamb to Dell Boss and purchased with two other Dell ewes by Mal Bateman, Portland.
The reserve senior champion ram at Bendigo, Bulmar 140070 of full Kaya blood sold by Bully Malherbe, Bulmar stud, Orange, NSW, at $12,000 to Brendon Duncan, Glen Park stud, Wentworth, NSW.
Landmark, Dubbo and Elders, Dubbo, conducted the sale with John Settree the auctioneer for Landmark and Paul Jameson selling for Elders.