*93 of 106 ewes sold to $3600, av $1394
DETPA Grove White Suffolks, Jeparit, has had another successful sale for its 12th bi-annual mated ewe sale, with stud co-principal David Pipkorn declaring he's "very satisfied with the result".
Detpa Grove offered more than 100 ewes, with all animals sold going to studs.
"There were a number of ewes that made excellent money, at the same time there were a number of animals at base price that people were able to top up on," Mr Pipkorn said.
The top-priced ewe, Lot 44, sold for $3600.
"Structurally she was an excellent ewe and is mated to a high-performance ram (Felix 211239)," he said.
Cameron Ferguson, Tiparra Springs White Suffolk stud, Weetulta, SA, bought the ewe.
Mr Ferguson said he only started his stud in 2021, branching out from his family's Anna Villa operation.
"She just has a nice, long White Suffolk head on her," he said.
"When you look at her in the pen, she has one of the later tags, so I am guessing she is one of the younger ewes."
He said the ewe was a correct, strong animal with a different bloodline to the ones the stud was using.
"Ideally I would like a ram lamb out of her, that's my main aim," he said.
The ewe, 210524, was a twin, by Wingamin 192433, out of 200409.
She had a birth weight of 0.44 kilograms, a post-weaning weight of 17.59kg and a post-weaning fat measurement of -0.66 millimetres, post-weaning eye muscle depth of 1.59mm and a total carcase production index of 144.
Her intramuscular fat measured -0.32 per cent, while she had a SF5 (eating quality) of 3.25.
Mr Pipkorn said ewes went to South Australia, NSW, Tasmania and Victoria.
He said the annual ewe sale was on a par with previous auctions of mated females.
"Last year was wet here but fortunately with the amount of feed that came out of it, we could bring the ewes to the auction without having to hand feed them whatsoever," he said.
"Having a solid result like this is a great follow up."
He said buyers appeared to be looking for particular traits they were seeking in order to improve their studs.
"It's great to be supported by your peers in that way," he said.
"Being able to share some of these genetics with your clients and new studs is a great way to have them out there and performing."
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.
