White Dorper ram demand strong at Red Rock sale
Red Rock stud's Dorper and White Dorper ram sales continue to go from strength to strength, with another lift in averages across both breeds at Coombe, near Keith, on Friday.
The Edson family's offering of 62 White Dorpers was well supported, especially by pastoral orders, with 60 selling to $4600, averaging a very healthy $2296 - $500 up on last year's sale - while their 33 Dorpers just lacked those volume buyers, with 23 sold to $4000, averaging $1943.
Whurlie Station, via Broken Hill, NSW, was not only a White Dorper volume buyer, with 26 rams averaging $2330, but also the sale's $4600 top price payer at lot 2.
The October 2023-drop, sired by Etiwanda 204406, weighed 100 kilograms, with 50-millimetre eye muscle area and fat depth of 7mm.
It also had a weaning weight of 34kg and a post-weaning weight of 52kg.
Robert and Tiffany Lord, who were buying on behalf of Whurlie's Denis Miller, said Red Rock rams adapted well to their station country conditions and had "plenty of structure, plenty of meat and were good shedders".
Their top price ram was a "big, strong, typical" White Dorper.
"He had a nice big carcase, bit of stretch, and was well shed," he said.
The top 3-4 of their ram haul will be run with some of their better ewes, while the rest will head into their general 8000-ewe flock.
Mr Lord said their 113,000-acre property was holding up, but another rain would instil a bit more confidence.
"The season is starting to hang in the balance," he said.
"However we did sell lambs at Ouyen yesterday that went really well, and to have them sold straight off a pastoral property shows how well the Dorper can do."
Brummy's Blacks stud principal Danny Brumfield returned to pay the top price in the Dorper offering - the only type 5 Dorper ram to make the $4000 base price.
Mr Brumfield, who was a regular Red Rock client, said the ram at lot 67, sired by Red Rock Bourbon (a son of Dell Dynamite), was a different bloodline to what they had, with "a different type skin, and was thick all the way through".
The June 2024-drop weighed 92.5kg, with 49EMA and 7.5mm fat, and had a 46WWT and 66PWWT.
Mr Brumfield bought two rams, averaging $2570, which he said would go in with specially-selected ewes.
"Last year's top price ram has produced some beautiful sheep, but this ram will be different again," he said.
"We're hoping he will add a bit more thickness through the back, thicker heads."
Also paying handsomely in the White Dorpers were MP Livestock, Platinum Clare, with two averaging $4000, including the sale's second-highest price of $4400; while Tim Wiese, Mundulla, also bought two, averaging $3200.
Other volume buyers supporting the White Dorper clearance, were DL&AG Bury, Quorn, who bought seven to $2200, averaging $1914; while M&B Anderson, Broken Hill, bought 12 to $2800, averaging $2016.
Tanya Edson thought their White Dorper clearance was fantastic, especially the increase in average, while the Dorper result was "a little disappointing" with a few buyers absent.
She said the rams unsold, including their other type 5 rams, would be among the 80 head they planned to offer at the new Nutrien Dorper sale at Hay, NSW, in November.
Nutrien Keith conducted the sale, with stud stock auctioneers Richard Miller and Andrew Wilson taking the bids.
Mr Wilson said buyers willing to bid up to $2400 on commercial rams showed confidence in Red Rock genetics.
"Volume buyers also really underpinned the White Dorper offering, leading to that fantastic clearance and sale result," he said.
"There was a lot of pastoral support, which just goes to show these Dorper and White Dorper rams are doing extremely well in the pastoral areas.
"But there was also a really good spread of buyers, with lots also heading to places like Murray Bridge and even Hindmarsh Tiers, plus locally, which shows these rams are performing in a range of environments."
