Price reaches top of $5000 twice during inaugural Boree Park White Suffolk Stud ram sale

It was a double-header at the inaugural Boree Park White Suffolk Stud ram sale as prices reached a top of $5000 for each of the top two rams on offer.

After competitive bidding a Newdegate buyer, via AuctionsPlus, picked up one of the rams, while the other went to TK and MJ Cheetham, Cheetara Stud, Narembeen.

The sale was conducted on-farm at Dinninup where Boree Park has built a brand new ram selling shed that catered for the 134 head offered.

Elders conducted the sale in the shearing shed directly opposite, with footage of each ram shown on screen during the lot sales.

Nick Cheetham said he only bought the one ram on the day, having singled it out as a “very neat, good White Suffolk type”, that would fit in well with the direction he wanted to take his stud.

“We are trying to get a premium product coming out of the wheatbelt,” Mr Cheetham said.

“We bought the ram because we are chasing an outcross to what we have been using.

“He had the data behind him with high eating quality, muscle growth and positive fat, as well as being very structurally sound.”

Mr Cheetham said he had been buying in genetics from the Eastern States in an effort to find the qualities he wanted to breed.

“It’s been hard, until I saw this ram,” he said.

The top-priced 17-month-old rams were both twins and were sold in lots 11 and 12.

The Cheethams purchased lot 11, which boasted a top one percentile in Australian Sheep Breeding Values for terminal carcase production and lamb eating quality at 167.42 for both aspects.

It also topped at -3.31 for shear force, an indicator of consumer perception of tenderness in the meat quality.

It was in the top 5 per cent of its breed for eye muscle depth at 3.84 and in the top 20 per cent for post weaning weight at 17.25kg.

Lot 12, which went to Newdegate, was not far behind on the stats, registering in the top 5 per cent of its breed for TCP, LEQ and PEMD, and in the top 20 per cent for a weaning weight of 11.33kg and post weaning weight of 17.2kg.

Boree Park stud principal Michael Potter said he was “pleased” with the results of the inaugural sale and wished “all buyers the best with their purchases”.

The stud is part of the Rhodes Pastoral operation, and in 2022 it purchased the Ida Vale White Suffolk stud from Kojonup to boost its numbers to almost 1000 ewes in the 2023 season with a focus on WA producers.

“In the current climate of sheep we are very happy to have been supported by producers and stud owners as well,” Mr Potter said.

“It was good to see a bit of positivity in the sheep industry.”

Mr Potter said the top equal priced rams were sold on a retainer in which he was able to collect 300 doses of semen from them at his own expense in the future.

“They were a good example of the breed and we look forward to seeing their progeny in our flock as well as the purchasers’ flocks,” he said.

Elders auctioneer James Culleton, Gnowangerup, said the atmosphere during the sale was fantastic and it was “good to see repeat buyers”.

“It is a good set-up they’ve put together,” Mr Culleton said about the brand new purpose built ram selling shed on site.

Former Ida Vale stud owners Tamesha Gardner and Andrew Greenup, Kojonup, attended the sale to show their support.

Mr Greenup said it was a “pretty good sale” under the challenging conditions.

“The results were very good for their first on-farm sale,” Mr Greenup said.

“The rams were well presented and the selling shed is a credit to them.”

Tenterden-based Beech Banks Farms co-principal Clare Webster was a solid supporter of the sale purchasing lot one for her top price of $1700, and finishing buying at lot 133 for $700.

Ms Webster was the volume buyer on the day with 15 rams loaded in the back of the ute and trailer for a total of $19,800, at an average of $1320 per head.

Another volume buyer was Xavier White of Lindenwood, Wagin, who purchased nine rams for $11,400, with an average of $1266.

As part of the mix, Mr White purchased the Elders charity ram which raised $1600 for breast cancer research.

Boree Park White Suffolk Stud ram sale results

Offered: 134

Sold: 106

Top: $5000 (2)

Average: $1121