*50 of 68 ewe lot sold to $502, av $281
Maternal composites breeder Don Pegler says he was surprised by the demand for shedding sheep at his feature 8000-head online ewe sale last week.
The Cashmore Oaklea stud, near Portland in south-west Victoria, sold 50 of its 68 ewe lots on offer to buyers from across five states including Victoria, SA, Tasmania, Qld and NSW.
Mature ewes sold to a top price of $452 to average $255, 1.5-year-old ewes sold to $340 to average $290 and ewe lambs sold to $502 to average $298.
Overall, the sale grossed $1,854,316.
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"Cashmore Oaklea have been breeding these maternal composites for 40 years now and they are doing extremely well every where they go," Mr Pegler said.
"This is due to the fact that we put a lot of emphasis on fertility, mothering ability, parasite resistance and growth rates under some fairly harsh conditions."
The AuctionsPlus sale allowed Victorian buyers from Dunkeld, Hamilton, Tarwin Lower, Streatham, Codrington, Addington, Horsham, Grassdale, Tatyoon and Harden Vale to select ewes at the sale.
Meanwhile, South Australian buyers from Mount Gambier, Penola, Lucindale were also active, as were Tasmanian clients from Launceston, Glengarry, Nagara and Bridport.
A handful of lots also went north to Wellington and Young, NSW, and to West End, Qld.
The top-priced ewe lamb buyer was bought by client in western Victoria.
"The highlight of the sale was how well the shedding sheep sold and it will be interesting to see how long this trend lasts," Mr Pegler said.
"We are having a tremendous season and 95 per cent of our June/July wether lambs which went over the hooks in the second week of November to average 26.4kg dressed.
"This is the best we have ever done and we were quite pleased, especially when these lambs were reared at over 150pc."
Among the volume buyers was Robert Cruise, Mount Gambier, SA, who bought 700 ewes at the sale on behalf of Rex Copping, Lucindale.
"They're a typical meat breed and their growth rates along with their fertility are exceptional," Mr Cruise said.
"Don's been breeding these sheep for a very long time and he's had huge success with weight gain and early maturing sheep in his flock and that's why people like them.."