Sales of Border-cross young ewes have continued the selling season strongly making to $320 a head at Corowa, NSW on Thursday.
The market toppers were the annual draft submitted by Bill and David Bott “Emu Park” Coreen, NSW who sold their opening 400 head to a South Gippsland repeat buyer, while on a second fall of the hammer, 263 head went at $296 to a repeat by from Swan Hill.
The second draft of 312 of the Bott family’s “Emu Park” October-shorn young ewes later in the sale again when to a repeat from Hamilton priced at $260 a head.
While he freely admits his 2018 sale line was not to his preferred usual standard due the exceptionally dry season, Bill Bott said he fully appreciated the support of his repeat buyer clients who had respected the performance ability of his large-framed Alma-blood ewes by Tulagi Border Leicester rams.
While the Bott draft of 980 young ewes was the cornerstone of the 12,400 head Corowa crossbred ewe market, numerous other breeder lines stood equally and some larger in frame than the Emu Park ewes, and sold accordingly.
BJ & JS Trethowan, Walla Walla sold 201 BLM-cross young ewes, June//July 17-drop and September shorn, ex Woodpark ewes by Hovell BL rams, at $300. These also went south to Longwood, near Euroa while CP (Colin) Harper, Ariah Park, NSW sold over three falls of the hammer a line of 673 Calgra Dohne-blood ewes by Cadell BL rams to $298, $290 and $289.
Rebburr P/L, Balldale was another happy vendor selling 342 BLM-cross ewes, ex Borambil ewes by Rettallack BL rams, to $295, average $290.
Delaware Pastoral sold its lead draft of 235 BLM-cross ewes at $294 while L Clifton & Sons sold 202 BLM-cross young ewes at $290.
With the season limiting the ability of most buyers to absorbed their usual numbers, most of the larger vendors line were submitted to multiple falls of the auctioneers’ hammer.
However with a solid base of principally local buyers wanting replacement young ewes prices gathered pace as the sale progressed onto the smaller grown and lesser conditioned lots with little allowance being made in value.
This saw a very few sales in the one to 1.5 year-old age group drift below $250 a head while lead drafts of 2018-drop ewe lambs saw January-joining lots sold from $230 to $247 a head and backgrounder ewe lambs fetch $120 to $190 a head.
The best of the ewe lamb sales, by JW Boyd and Sons, ex Hallum Ridgeway Advance ewes by Elorada rams were secured by Mansfield interests while N&D Schilq sold April//May-drop ewe lambs at $237 to interests at Bathurst, NSW.