The 26th She-Oak Lodge ram sale in Mount Hope enjoyed excellent results, with many Suffolks and White Suffolks finding new homes.
The top-priced Suffolk at $2600 in lot 11 was bought by Lisa and Ryan Boot from Lake Hamilton Pastoral, while the top-priced White Suffolks at $2200 from lots 62 and 69 were picked up Troy Olsen from Kaira Pty Ltd and John Denton and John Giddings from Woolawae Downs.
The She-Oak Lodge team enjoyed a full clearance of the 60 Suffolks offered at an average price of $1575, with 55 out of the 59 White Suffolks sold at an average of $1284.
The lot 11 Suffolk showcased a post-weaning weight of 14.9 kilograms, post-weaning fat depth of -0.5, eye muscle depth of 45, weighed 126 kilograms and a terminal carcase production index of 130.7.
The lot 62 the White Suffolk had a post-weaning weight of 11.9 kilograms, post-weaning fat depth of -0.5, eye muscle depth of 49.3, weighed 121 kilograms and a 132.8 terminal carcase production index of 132.8, while lot 69 had a post-weaning weight of 12.2 kilograms, -0.2 post-weaning fat depth, 48.2 eye muscle depth, weighed 118 kilograms and a 132.6 terminal carcase production index.
In their 10th year at the She-Oak Lodge ram sale, Lake Hamilton Pastoral from Kiana bought four rams in total and was impressed by the traits amongst the offering, especially the post-weaning weight of the Suffolk in lot 11.
“The structure also impressed us as we’ve got quite rocky gullies, so we need the sheep to be able to walk on that terrain,” Mrs Boot said.
“So when it’s got a nice even frame, good on its feet and combined with the post weaning weight, it’s a good package.”
Mr Giddings said the genetics of the lot 69 White Suffolk caught his attention, along with the other five he bought.
“The make-up of the lot 69 ram stood out to me – he has good feet, good body, growth rates, muscle percentage and he’s just an all-round good ram,” he said.
As a longtime buyer, Mr Giddings said he continued to enjoy positive results from the rams at the She-Oak Lodge sales.
Returning buyer Mr Olsen said he was impressed by the structure of the lot 62 White Suffolk, along with the other six he bought.
“They all had very similar figures, with body weight, eye muscle depth and terminal carcase production index,” he said.
“When the lambs drop on the ground we’ll definitely notice the results through these figures.”
She-Oak Lodge stud principal Tom Millard said he was very happy with the results, with so many buyers in attendance.
“It was great to see so many people attend, we had some new buyers and we repeat buyers,” he said.
“Some of the buyers have been with us for 20 years or more and it’s very good to see them and see that they’re getting good results.”
The sale result demonstrated a positive sign for future sales, Mr Millard said.
“With the lamb price at about $10 to $12 a kilogram and when you equate that to a wheat price of 33 cents a kilogram, people can see the dollars in a mob of sheep or two,” he said.
Volume buyers on the day were Partacoona Props, who bought 12, and PF DM and RN Watson with 11.
The sale was run by Eyre Peninsula Livestock and Real Estate and auctioneer Ben Dohnt said the sale was terrific, with high-quality rams throughout the offering.
“There was a consistent line-up of great rams from the first ram to the last one and people know they’re getting consistency when they purchase from She-Oak Lodge,” he said.
“To have about 37 registered buyers at the sale too was outstanding, with only 120 rams lined up.”
