Honours shared in carcase competition

This year the competition under went a revamp with the introduction of a new export class and all the lambs being delivered and processed at Beaufort River Meats.

The changes were well received by producers with 39 entries (117 lambs) from nine exhibitors being processed in the competition across six classes.

The six classes were export division (12-18kg, 6-15mm fat depth) open and Merino dam; lightweight division (18-21kg, 6-15mm fat depth) open and Merino dam and heavyweight (21.1-24kg, 6-15mm fat depth) open and Merino dam.

The Fairclough family's Stockdale Poll Dorset and White Suffolk stud, shone through in the competition claiming two of the three major awards.

It exhibited the grand champion pen of three carcases and the champion carcase out of a Merino dam.

The grand champion pen of three carcases exhibited by the Faircloughs won the top award after finishing with a score of 92.7 points.

The entry also took out the award for the champion pen of three export carcases and won the export open class any dam. The three carcases weighed 17.7kg, 17.6kg and 17.6kg and had GR fat measurements of 7mm, 7mm and 6mm respectively.

The lambs were sired by their own Stockdale White Suffolk rams and out of Oakover blood Merino ewes.

The lambs were dropped in June and were straight off their mothers for the competition.

The champion Merino dam carcase was sired by a Poll Dorset sire and the lamb was dropped in May.

Another entry from the Fairclough family was sashed the champion pen of three heavyweight carcases when it finished on 90.3 points to head the entries in the heavyweight class out of a Merino dam.

The three carcases weighed 23.2kg, 23.9kg and 22.6kg and had GR fat measurements of 12mm, 12mm and 10mm respectively.

The lambs were sired by their own Stockdale Poll Dorset rams and again out of Oakover blood Merino ewes.

The lambs were dropped in May and were straight off their mothers for the competition.

The pen also won the award for the best pen of heavyweight lambs sired by a Poll Dorset.

The third major award, the champion open carcase, was exhibited by Jim and Jan Glover, JimJan Texel stud, Boyup Brook.

The win made it nine times now the Glovers have claimed the champion open carcase ribbon in the competition.

The lamb had a live weight of 44kg and a carcase weight of 24kg.

The lamb, which was dropped in the second week of June, was sired by a JimJan Texel ram and out of a Texel-Merino ewe.

Along with winning the champion open carcase, the Glovers also won the heavyweight open class any dam, with an entry that scored 79.7 points.

The three carcases weighed 21.9kg, 23.3kg and 22.6kg and had GR fat measurements of 13mm, 15mm and 11mm respectively.

The Squiers family, Shirlee Downs Poll Dorset and Prime SAMM stud, Quairading, were also successful in this year's competition exhibiting the champion pen of three lightweight lambs.

The winning pen of Poll Dorset-F1 Prime SAMM-Merino cross lambs finished on 89.7 points to the win the open lightweight any dam class.

The three carcases weighed 20.3kg, 19.8kg and 19.5kg and had GR fat measurements of 10mm, 10mm and 9mm respectively.

The lambs were sired by their own Shirlee Downs and Dongadilling Poll Dorset rams and out of Prime SAMM-Merino ewes based on the stud's own Prime SAMM bloodlines.

The lambs were dropped in June and were straight off their mothers for the competition.

The pen also won the award for the best pen of lightweight lambs sired by a Poll Dorset.

The Squiers family also won the lightweight class out of a Merino dam with a group that finished on 77.3 points and the export class out of a Merino dam with a pen which scored 85.3 points.

The lightweight pen weighed 19.6kg, 19.0kg and 19.1kg and had GR fat measurements of 13mm, 12mm and 7mm respectively, while the export group weighed 15.3kg, 15.9kg and 14.6kg and had GR fat measurements of 6mm, 7mm and 8mm respectively.

The family also achieved five minor placings across the six classes which helped it take out the award for the exhibitor gaining most points in the competition.