Top-price Dorper ram sets Qld record at St George multi-vendor sale
A decision to sell out of St George for the first time has resulted in a Queensland record price being achieved for a Dorper ram.
Kaya 240921, offered by Adrian Veitch, Kaya Dorper, Narrogin, WA, sold for $18,000 to Rowena and Cheyenne Pennell, Stansbury Dorpers, Kenebri, NSW, in conjunction with Dell Dorpers, Thyra, NSW, when it was offered at the 18th annual DSSA Queensland multi-vendor Dorper and White Dorper Ram and Ewe sale at the St George Showgrounds on Tuesday, July 28.
The 21-month-old ram weighed 127.5kg and was sired by Kaya 230364 and out of Kaya 210235.
Agents on the ground at the sale believed it was a state record - the previous top-priced Dorper ram was sold for $12,000 at Burrawang Dorper stud's first Queensland ram sale in 2022.
The top-priced White Dorper ram, Kaya White 240700, was also offered by Adrian Veitch, Kaya White Dorper, Narrogin, WA, and sold for $17,500 to Brad and Tanya Edson, Red Rock Dorpers, Keith, South Australia, through Stocklive.
The 25-month-old ram weighed 115.5kg and was sired by Kaya White 211411 and out of Kaya White 190587, and fell just short of the $18,500 record price achieved by Bellevue Dorpers, Millmerran, in 2022.
The world record for a White Dorper was set at the Burrawang Dorper and White Dorper 2022 sale, when Trump WD 191472 was sold for $62,000, while the 2020 sale of Dell Dorpers 190321 (ET), sired by Burrawang Dorpers 140630 of pure Kaya blood, to Cunnamulla's Darrawong Pastoral Pty Ltd Partnership set the world record for a Dorper ram.
Overall, 100/127 rams, offered by 22 vendors, sold for a 79 per cent clearance at St George on Tuesday, a $3080 average, and a $308,000 sale gross.
Neither of the two White Dorper ewes offered sold.
At last year's sale, 93 of 128 animals offered sold for a clearance rate of 72pc, an overall sale average of $2409, and a sale gross of $224,000.
Following the last fall of the hammer, four lots sold post-sale to bring the clearance to 104/127 rams sold, or 82pc, for a $3023 average and a $314,400 gross.
In a further breakdown, 60 of the 84 Dorper rams offered sold for a 71pc clearance and a $2546 average, while 40 of the 43 White Dorper rams sold for a 93pc clearance and a $3880 average.
First time vendor
Top-priced vendor Adrian Veitch said it was his first time selling out of St George, only deciding to sell there after the DSSA National Sale, due to be held on Friday, May 1 this year, was cancelled.
A vet by trade, Mr Veitch has downsized his Dorper and White Dorper stud operation over the years, and now runs 1000 stud ewes on his WA property.
"I thought I'd send them up to St George because my sire team is also my show team as well," he said. "It's a routine I have here, I'll use a ram once, and then I sell them. It's always worked out for me in the past."
Pleased with the day's results, Mr Veitch said both his rams were purchased by return buyers, and he was glad he was able to offer them the opportunity to purchase them at St George.
"I'm in WA, so I try to go to the east, because we're just a long way from anybody over there otherwise. It's just nice to take them there," he said.
One of the two joint top-priced Dorper buyers, Rowena and Cheyenne Pennell, said there had their eye on Kaya 240921 coming into the sale.
"We did have a look at him before we came, because he's been down to the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo," Ms Pennell said.
Asked what stood out in particular about the ram, Ms Pennell said his breeding and bone structure caught her eye.
"He's a nice big ram for his age, he's got a really good topline, good conformation, a lot of meat and muscle. He's just a really nice ram, and he'll be a really good ram in our stud," she said.
Based in NSW, the Pennells run a stud and commercial flock on their 728 hectare (1800 acre) property.
"We've got about 500 stud Dorper ewes," Ms Pennell said.
The Pennells plan to incorporate Kaya 240921 into their stud flock after he spends some time with the other top-priced buyers, Andrea and Ryan Vagg, Dell Dorpers, Thyra, NSW.
On the Vaggs' 809ha (2000 acre) stud, they run 1000 breeding ewes.
"We're purely a stud, and we have our annual ram sale every year," Ms Vagg said. "We've been breeding Dorpers for 18 years, and we're up to our 15th on-property sale this year."
Like the Pennells, Ms Vagg said she was a repeat buyer at the St George sale and of Kaya Dorpers, with Kaya 240921 also catching her eye at the Bendigo Sheep Show.
"He's a very good ram, really good bone. At Bendigo he was 132kg, carried his weight really well, and I think he'll fit in really well in our stud," she said. "We'll collect semen from him, and then he'll be put out for natural joining, and we'll also use him in embryo transfer, then he'll go back to Rowena and Cheyenne to do a season there."
Ms Vagg said she hoped to integrate Kaya 240921's bone size and movement into her flock.
"He moves so well for a big ram," she said.
"He's very correct on his legs and feet. I have used a bit from Kaya previously, and it seems to have gelled well in our stats.
"So, I'm hoping it will work well."
Elders Toowoomba stud stock agent Andrew Meara said it was a good sale day overall.
"There was really good competition on the top-end rams, although the quality of the rams was really good all the way through," he said. "Probably with the season being a little patchy in the southern corner down to the south west corner, we probably just lacked a few of the local buyers we normally have, which affected the clearance today."
- Selling agents: Elders interfaced with Stocklive.
