*24 of 34 Dorper and White Dorper rams and ewes sold to $3700, av $1233
The top-priced animal at this year's 11th annual Supreme Dorper and White Dorper sale has gone to a Tasmanian stud.
Bob and Simone Burrows, Mount Dromedary Dorpers, won a spirited bidding war, paying $3700 for Dell Dorper's type 5 ewe.
The March 2018-drop ewe is scanned in lamb to Dell Rhino 160839.
She is the daughter of Dell Joelly, the 2019 national champion ram.
Landmark auctioneer Tim Woodham said she was a "fairly smart" stud ewe.
"With the seasonal conditions, buyers were very selective," Mr Woodham said.
"But, at the same time, if the sheep were right, they were happy to pay for them.
"There was pretty solid competition on most of the right sheep."
He said the ewe warranted the price.
"With the crowd that was here, I was a little bit surprised, but she definitely warranted that over $3000 money, anyway," he said.
"It's always the adage good quality will always sell, it's just how high they will go."
Mr Burrows said the Dorpers did quite well, even in the snow.
He said while Dorpers were generally known for handling arid conditions, they did very well in Tasmania.
"We've had them in the snow, even, they are a little bit different to other breeds of sheep to look after, but once you know how to look after them properly, feed them, house them, they do very well," he said.
He said Mount Dromedary had run Dorpers for about a decade, more recently progressing into the more elite animals.
"That's why we come across here, to buy some of the best genetics we can and take them back home and Dell Dorpers provide some of the best in Australia," he said.
Mr Burrows said the stud had some "beautiful rams" it had purchased from Dell, and others it had bred, so he would see what lambs the ewe produced.
"We will pick the right ram, with the right bone structure, length, height and color to put to her, and see what we can get from there," he said.
"She is a type 5 ewe, she is by a type 5 ram, she is in lamb to a type 5 ram, so the progeny should be what we are looking for."
Andrea Vagg, Dell, said she was very happy the ewe went to Mount Dromedary, which had been a strong supporter of Dell.
"It's good to get them out there, Dorpers will handle the cold and the wet, it's good to have buyers from Tassie," Ms Vagg said.
Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
