Chandpara makes triumphant return

Andrew Sellars-Jones returned to the show floor at Melbourne after a three-year hiatus, and it was worth the trip.

The principal of Chandpara Southdowns at Tylden exhibited the winner of every ewe class on his way to the top prize, along with reserve champion ram, the sires progeny group and the breeder's group.

Judge Nick Lawrence of Pinnacle Suffolks at Bordertown, SA, said of the supreme ewe, a yearling, "I couldn't pick her apart at all".

"She came out of the pair, had plenty of fleshing, a nice strong topline, places her feet very well and a very worthy winner," he said.

The reserve champion ewe, also exhibited by Chandpara, was from the older ewe class, and had two ram lambs at foot.

It was previously champion Southdown ewe at the Australian Sheep & Wool Show in Bendigo in 2018.

"That reserve champion is doing very well on a set of twins, you can see the quality in her...the job she's doing on those twins and quality of ewe she is she needs to be up there too," Mr Lawrence said.

Mr Sellars-Jones' yearling lamb by a Chandpara sire was judged reserve champion ram, to the Dehnert's Fernhill stud from Ballan's champion.

"The topline to hang meat off is straight as can be, handles his feet well and good example of the breed," Mr Lawrence said of the reserve champion ram.

He described the champion as "exceptional", with "lots of attributes we need for prime lambs".

As the oldest ram in the Southdown judging, the champion weighed in at 157.5 kilograms, with 14 millimetres of fat, and a big muscle width of 100mm.

Mr Sellars-Jones said the demand was currently exceeding supply for Southdown rams, with producers keen on their early maturity and easy lambing.

"They also have a good uniformity of lambs, they breed very true, some of these compound breeds can be inconsistent, but Southdowns have no lambing issues and they can get the lambs off early," he said.