WA Ultra White ram that will take breed to 'next level' wins championship

The trip to Bendigo from Western Australia paid off for Hillcroft Farms, Popanyinning, WA.

The ram, born before June 2024, was named supreme champion in the Ultra White breed at the Australian Sheep & Wool Show on Saturday.

It was exhibited by Emily Adams on behalf of her grandparents Dawson and Greta Bradford.

Ms Adams said she was thrilled with the win.

Judge Shane Baker, Baringhup, praised the attributes of the ram.

"To me he's got the best carcase, he's got the best ability to move and that's why I've gone with him," Mr Baker said.

"He's the type of sheep that will continue to take the Ultra Whites to the next level in the shedding industry.

"I realise there may be a few finer details - he's probably not shedding as much as some may like.

"But that's a finer detail, and as stud breeders, I think sometimes we get carried away with those finer details."

Ms Adams said her grandparents had high hopes for the ram.

"It's a really good result, we're really happy," she said.

"We had high hopes for him because he was our interbreed champion at Woolarama in Wagin, WA.

"We're really pleased, but we're also really happy with the results for the other breeders."

Ms Adams said it was great to see a high number of entrants in the Ultra White category.

"It's a really good turnout for the Ultra Whites," she said.

She said she loved the breed.

"I've always been around them," she said.

"They're really easy care and in recent years we've noticed they've developed some pretty special personalities."

Ms Adams said the breed had an excellent temperament.

"This one is like a dog," she said.

Hillcroft Farms has a 5500-hectare property and runs about 12,000 sheep.

"My grandparents used to run Poll Dorsets," Ms Adams said.

"About 20 years ago, Grandad started to create these, so we've had these for the last 20 years."

The champion ewe title went to Induro Ultra Whites stud in Wakool, NSW.

Induro stud principal Guy Treweek, who bought five Ultra Whites to Bendigo, along with some White Suffolks, said he was happy with the result.

Mr Treweek said he was thrilled the 15-month-old ewe won the title.

"It was a good day, it was a really good line-up overall," he said.

He said he had enjoyed success at Bendigo before.

"A couple of years ago, we won the supreme clean skin exhibit," he said.

He had previously run only White Suffolks.

"A lot of clients want to change out of woolly sheep, so we had to come up with an option to give them another type of ram," he said.

Mr Treweek said he chose the Ultra White breed because of their size.

"We wanted to have that bigger, weighted lamb and still have plenty of muscle," he said.

"We hope this will be more like a traditional lamb with no wool."