Brurob's successful show campaign leads to improved sale result
A strong season and a successful showing campaign translated into improved results for a Victorian sheep stud.
Brurob Poll Dorset, White Suffolk and Border Leicester stud, Pyalong, sold 147 of the 175 rams at its recent on-property sale, achieving an average of $1854 and top price of $23,500.
Brurob stud principal Andrew Hiscock said he was pleased with the results, with the top price, average and clearance rate all significantly higher than 2025.
Mr Hiscock said the season had played an important role in buyer confidence, while he was particularly pleased to see other studs purchasing rams to invest in their own breeding programs.
The sale followed a successful showing season, with the stud exhibiting at the Australian Sheep & Wool Show, Sheepvention, the Australasian Dorset Show, the Elite Show & Sale and the Melbourne Royal Show.
He credited his daughter Charlotte's keen interest in showing as an important contributor to the stud's success on the show circuit.
The sale's top price was achieved for Lot 2, a Poll Dorset ram which sold to Doug and Scott Mitchell, Rene stud, Culcairn, NSW.
The Mitchells were unable to attend the sale as they were conducting their own ram sale on the same day, but had inspected the ram the week before the auction.
The ram had claimed first place in the Lambplan class at the Australasian Dorset Show in September.
Scott said they had targeted the ram heavily because they believed he had the attributes to make a positive impact on the Poll Dorset breed while complementing the direction of their breeding program.
"He was an outstanding example of the type of ram we value - sharp through the shoulder, exceptional length, depth of muscle, beautiful structure and true Poll Dorset breed character, backed up by figures that complemented the physical package," he said.
He said Rene placed considerable importance on balancing performance figures with physical correctness, believing there were too many rams in the industry that looked impressive on paper but did not always have the body and structure to match.
"For us, it's about finding that balance between figures and physical attributes, and this ram had the complete package," he said.
The Mitchells believe the ram will complement Silver Lining, a ram purchased from Springwaters stud three years ago for $26,000.
Rene will retain all semen rights to the $23,500 purchase and will not offer semen for sale, with the ram to be used exclusively within its own breeding program.
The top-priced White Suffolk ram was Lot 12, which sold for $10,000 to Brett Shepherd, Mullinger Park, Kybybolite, SA.
Sired by a Yonga Downs ram from Western Australia, the ram had recently been awarded reserve interbreed ram at the Melbourne Royal Show.
Mr Shepherd also purchased Lot 8, a Poll Dorset ram, for $10,000, having followed both animals from the Australian Sheep & Wool Show in July through to the Australasian Dorset Championships and Elite Show & Sale.
He said he had liked both rams from their first inspection and came to the sale intending to secure them.
He said while figures were not his primary consideration, physical correctness was important.
"They are both very correct rams," he said.
Mullinger Park runs Poll Dorset, White Suffolk and Suffolk sheep, with a breeding operation comprising approximately 900 Poll Dorset ewes, 400 White Suffolk ewes and 150 Suffolk ewes.
The sale attracted buyers from across the country, with rams sold as far afield as Western Australia.
Volume buyers included Westblades Ag, Redesdale, which purchased 12 White Suffolk rams at an average of $1333, while BP Kelly, Kilmore, secured nine Poll Dorset rams at an average of $1411.
Brurob collected semen from a number of rams in the sale for use within the stud.
The sale was conducted by Elders Bendigo.
