A stud based in Antwerp has continued its success in White Suffolk competition for 2023, winning out a second supreme exhibit sash for the breed within a month.
Mertex stud took out the supreme exhibit sash at Sheepvention for 2023 with their junior and grand champion ram, Mertex 220780, which also won the junior champion ribbon at the Australian Sheep & Wool Show (ASWS) in Bendigo last month.
Mertex Texel & White Suffolk stud co-principal Tim Jorgensen said the August-drop ram was an "impressive young ram".
"He had some really great attributes to the White Suffolk breed, and have found him to be really well structured," he said.
Mr Jorgensen said good seasonal conditions in his region had contributed to a good showing at ASWS and Sheepvention this year.
"The good season has continued on at home, and as long as we get a bit of rain in the spring we can say we've had a really good year," he said.
"It was real wet before the show in Bendigo, but the last three weeks we've seen it dry up a bit, which has been good for letting everything grow and getting feed away."
The ram's estimated breeding values included a birth weight of 0.33 kilograms, weaning weight of 9.77kg, post-weaning weight of 15.27kg, PFAT of -0.35 millimetres, and a post eye muscle depth of 1.97mm.
He was sired by 200247 Detpa Grove and out of 190555 Mertex, who itself had 160060 Sunnybanks as a sire, which won the 2017 junior champion ram sash at the Royal Adelaide show.
Mertex also won the grand champion White Suffolk ewe sash along with reserve champion for the senior ram, but despite the Antwerp stud's big day, the quality of competition from other studs was high throughout the day.
Induro White Suffolk stud, Wakool, NSW won the senior champion ram ribbon in what Sheepvention White Suffolk judge Peter Angus, Maroola stud, SA said was a close contest in the grand champion competition.
"You could have tossed a coin between the junior and senior champion ram," Mr Angus said.
"In their respective classes, they showed great examples of great correctness and you can tell the breed is heading in the right direction when you have sires like this to represent White Suffolks."
Mallee Park White Suffolk stud, Hopetoun, won the reserve champion ewe ribbon.
