The Gilmore family has continued their stellar success on the show mat by winning supreme exhibit at the Elite White Suffolk and Suffolk Show in Bendigo this weekend.
After Brayden and Lochie Gilmore’s Premier stud won supreme interbreed terminal and maternal sheep at the Adelaide Royal, SA, just six days prior, the stud they run with parents Ian and Donna – Baringa - has gone on to take the top sash at Bendigo.
Between the two studs, the Gilmores sold six of their White Suffolk show team at Adelaide, to a top of $43,000, but had this champion, Baringa 178, catalogued for Bendigo from the beginning.
The August 2017-drop ram weighed 136.5 kilograms, with nine millimetres of fat and 51mm of muscle depth, was placed third in its class at the Adelaide Royal, behind the ram which eventually won supreme interbreed exhibit.
Brayden Gilmore said the ram’s granddam was a triplet sister to Baringa Turbo, a ram which won supreme sheep of the NSW Sheep Show in 2011.
“And he’s by Iloura 15.14.31, a ram we were losing bidder on at $10,000 at the Adelaide Elite Show Sale in 2016, so we used semen from him,” Brayden said.
Brayden said it was a positive move for the breed to be selecting sheep that weren’t extreme in size.
“The selection of more moderate sizes means we are coming back off the big weights which the industry needs,” he said.
When it comes to the bag full of national show broad ribbons the Gilmores will take back to their Oberon, NSW, operation, Ian Gilmore said “never in our wildest dreams before Adelaide [Royal], would we believe we would have the success at the major White Suffolk shows in the country we have enjoyed in the past fortnight”.
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And the secret to success? The opportunity to truly show the genetic potential of their flock.
“In a very tough season the warmer than normal conditions in Oberon have allowed our stud team of rams to express their full potential at an earlier stage in the season,” Ian said.
“After early success, we were aware we had a very good team but this is success you can only dream of.”
Baringa’s supreme ram went on to sell for $7500 at the Elite White Suffolk and Suffolk held in conjunction with the show.
White Suffolk and Suffolk judge Paul Routley of Almondvale stud at Urana said the supreme exhibit was “unbelievably well balanced”.
“Not the heaviest ram, I did state yesterday I thought that some of the rams were too heavy for the industry,” Mr Routley said.
“Exceptional muscle, exceptional balance, great top line, stood very well and I think that is where we want to be in the industry, a good very well balanced, appropriate animal without being over heavy and overdone – because once they are overdone they are at risk of breaking down prematurely.”
The Mitchell’s Rene stud from Culcairn, NSW, exhibited the grand champion White Suffolk ewe, a June 2017-drop exhibit by Sunnybanks 45.15.
It came from a strong female line, being out of Rene’s 2015 Supreme Prime Lamb Breeds Ewe at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show.
Mr Routley described the White Suffolk ewe line up as well balanced with good muscle.
“The Rene ewe was exceptionally well balanced, soft, great neck extension, very very soft in the head, good long ears with a great top line and a great loin,” he said.
The ewe was placed first in its class and was in the winning sires progeny group at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo in July, and had a carcase+ Lambplan estimated breeding value index of 161.6.
Rene also exhibited the junior champion White Suffolk ewe of the show, while Sunnybanks stud from Tasmania had reserve. Reserve senior ewe went to Induro, Barham, NSW.