ENTRY numbers were up on some previous years and so too were the spirits of the nine commercial producers who entered sheep in this year's State Ewe Hogget Competition at last week's Newdegate Machinery Field Days.
In its 30th year the annual competition again showcased and rewarded everyday sheep farmers for their Merino breeding triumphs and provided an opportunity for those with sheep in the line-up to benchmark the wool and carcase attributes of their hoggets against industry peers from right throughout WA.
Without sheep in this year's competition, last year's winner and former competition organiser Darren Howatson, Howatson Family Trust, Newdegate, relinquished his title, passing it over to fellow Lakes district farmer Robert Newman, RG Newman, Newdegate.
As it has done for many years, Dyson Jones sponsored first prize which saw Mr Newman commended for his top notch offering of April/May drop, August shorn, Keetlen Valley blood ewe hoggets that scored 872 points out of a possible 1000.
Mr Newman and his son Kim enter young ewes into the competition most years but this year marked the first win for the pair.
"We breed for good-sized bodies and dense white wool," Mr Newman said.
"The season out here has been fantastic for sheep, they've had plenty of feed and they haven't had a bad day in their whole lives."
Each year the Newman family join a self-replacing flock of 2500 Merino ewes with a micron average of about 19.
"All Keetlen Valley's rams have a reasonably fine micron," he said.
"Stud principal Keith Hams classes our ewe hoggets for us each year with a target of culling out about 25 per cent.
"This year we're down to about 16pc because the ewes are becoming more consistent each year when it comes to their carcase and wool qualities.
"I'm very happy with Keetlen Valley and the win - it's good to be able to buy good rams locally and support events such as this."
This year's Elders-sponsored second place prize was awarded to Brad Harris, Dualling Partners, Nyabing, whose sheep were a relatively late addition to the program.
His line of April drop, August/September shorn, Wiringa Park blood ewes -which scored 852 out of 1000 - were also a firm favourite of judges Todd Mullan, Eastville Park and Quailerup West Merino and Poll Merino stud, Wickepin and Peter Rintoul, Auburn Valley Merino and Poll Merino stud, Williams.
It was the third time the Harris family had entered sheep into the competition and thanks to the great season Mr Harris was most pleased with his 2016 line-up's solid condition.
"We join about 2800 ewes each year and Wiringa Park's Allan Hobley helps us to class the best of the ewe hoggets to go back into the flock each breeding season," he said.
The farm's flock micron varies from 18 in the hoggets to 20 in the adult sheep.
"We buy our rams on the basis of their white stylish wool and hold onto replacement ewe hoggets based on the same premise," Mr Harris said.
The Coopers Animal Health-sponsored third prize was awarded to Newdegate's M & JA Guelfi (851 points) for a selection of April/May drop, August shorn, Lewisdale Corrigin blood ewes, while fourth place, sponsored by the Wagin and Districts Stud Breeders Association, was given to IF & SJ Lloyd, Newdegate, for their line of March drop, September shorn, East Mundalla blood ewes (847 points).
The sheep were judged on their size (a possible 200 points), conformation (200), evenness of wool quality (150), evenness of micron (150), wool quality (200) and group uniformity (100).
Following the announcement of this year's winners, judge Peter Rintoul said the overall quality of the line-up was outstanding thanks to a selection of quality genetics and the favourable start to the 2016 season.
"Both the first and second-placed teams were very good in the wool - particularly the first one - the ewes had enough size to get them over the line," he said.
"The fleeces of the two top teams were about 18 micron.
"The winning team of 10 were like peas in a pod in terms of their frames and wool.
"The second-placed team was let down by just one or two sheep that weren't quite as good as the others - they also lost a few points based on their size."
In his first year organising the competition (having taken over from Lake Grace-based Westcoast Wools wool and stock agent Stephen Chappell at the end of last year) Lake Varley mixed farmer Bryce Sinclair also said the entire line-up was in really good condition.
"The young ewes were very well grown thanks to the good season for sheep," he said.
"There was an average number of competition entries - the record still stands at 23 as was recorded in 2013.
"We're hoping to attract more entries next year and I'll make a concerted effort to draw entries from a wider catchment area - outside of Newdegate and the Lakes district.
"It's the only ewe hogget competition left in the State and apart from the saleyards, it's the only place for commercial producers to benchmark what they're producing against everybody else."
The other entrants in the 2016 race included 2013 and 2014 competition winners C & E Varone, Hyden, JA & O Kowald, West Casuarinas via Mullewa, F & N Varone, Hyden, DP & RM Sinclair, Lake Varley and Gimlet Park, Lake Varley.