New southern clients help full-clearance Deepdale sale gross over $500,000

Pictures by Petra Oates

An elite selection of Dorper rams has grossed more than $500,000 and sold to full clearance at the Deepdale Dorper on-property sale at Merrinee.

The sale, which was pushed back a month due to dry conditions in the area, offered 87 Dorper and White Dorper rams which averaged $5883 and grossed $511,800.

Deepdale studmaster Wicus Cronje said they were extremely pleased with the "unreal" results.

"I was very pleased the average [prices] held up right through the sale, it shows that the rams we offered were very even, and that played a big role," Mr Cronje said.

In the breakdown, 42 Dorper rams averaged $6331 and made a top price of $18,500, and 45 White Dorper rams averaged $5464 and topped at $12,500.

Last year, Deepdale's spring sale in October set a new record for the stud sold when the top-priced ram was knocked down for a whopping $47,000.

The top-priced ram of the 2026 sale was a thick-bodied 13-month-old ram, Lot 17, Deepdale Pirate, who was bought by first-time client Andrea Vagg, Dell Dorpers, Moama, NSW.

"He did go for a hell of a price, but I thought the rams would be expensive because they are one of the top Dorper studs in the country," Ms Vagg said.

"This is the first time I've classed them, and the first time I've bought from Deepdale - it was quite a privilege."

She said the price was close to but not quite the highest she has paid for a Dorper ram.

"I paid $20,000 for a White Dorper at the national sale in Dubbo, NSW, in 2020," she said.

"Then I paid $20,000 again for a Dorper ram at the Amarula stud sale, Glenavon, NSW, two years later."

Ms Vagg first laid eyes on the ram when she was invited to class the sale draft a month prior to the sale.

"I saw him then and I really liked him," she said.

"He fits in well with our program because he's got a good size to him, a real good topline, nice head and good bone and hindquarter.

"He walks really well and he's always got his head up."

The deep-bodied ram weighed 96 kilograms, had an eye muscle depth of 40 millimetres and rib fat of 4.5 millimetres.

Ms Vagg purchased one other ram at the sale, Lot 78, a White Dorper for $6400.

BR&C director Darren Old, Mildura, said there had been a steady creep of Dorper sheep populating operations further south in north-west Victoria in what had typically been heavily Merino-dominated regions.

"We're in the heart of the Dorper area here and they are bred for semi-arid conditions, but we are starting to see them head further south into Victoria," Mr Old said.

"There are a lot of commercial growers to the north of us and we have seen operations further south slowly transitioning to Dorpers in the last 5-10 years."

He said the price jump from terminal ram sires to Dorpers was a bit of a leap for commercial producers to get their heads around.

"It takes a little bit of getting used to paying $5000 or $6000 for a ram but you are using them several times a year and it's well worth it," he said.

"The quality really holds its own here which has a lot to do with the full clearances we've been achieving.

"They are a meat machine and the sheepmeat industry is at a record high so that's what people want."

Mr Old said the sale was, as always, a resounding success.

"The sale was pushed back a month because it was really dry here six weeks ago, it was really bad," he said.

He said thankfully the season had picked up with rain in recent weeks and attracted a wide spread of producers.

Graham Turner, Grassmere Station, Broken Hill, NSW, made the six-hour drive south to secure seven rams at the sale.

Mr Turner runs a mixed sheep operation, running 2500 Dorper ewes and 2500 Merino ewes.

"I've been running Dorpers since about 2012 and they're a great way to diversify the enterprise," he said.

"I try and buy 10-20 [Dorper] rams a year and Deepdale is the pick of the studs in my opinion.

"If I had my way and I could afford it, I'd buy more from here but I've got to make up numbers from a few studs."

Long-term client Justin McClure, Kallara Partners, Tilpa, NSW, was one of the volume buyers on the day, securing six rams from the front row of the sale.

Mr McClure bought six rams in total, including two Dorpers and four White Dorpers, and paid a top of $10,500.