A QUALITY line-up of Dorpers and White Dorpers, as well as strong buying support from not only local buyers but also Eastern States buyers on the phone and on AuctionsPlus, was the perfect combination to ensure the success of last week's Kaya Dorper and White Dorper Production sale at Narrogin where prices hit a high of $6400 for a White Dorper sire and $2750 for a Dorper ewe.
On the back of the strong local and Eastern States enquiry, the Veitch family achieved a 96 per cent clearance across the ram and ewe offering while the averages for both sections saw substantial gains on last year with the rams up $998 and the ewes up $549.
The ram offering not only included rams from the Kaya stud but also Dorpers from the Dalma stud and White Dorpers from the Sundridge stud, which were both selling by invitation in the sale.
The AuctionsPlus platform played a major role when it came to the Eastern States purchases in the sale conducted by Nutrien Livestock in conjunction with Elders with the catalogue receiving 4581 views and 115 registered bidders logging into the sale from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and WA.
All up there were 682 online bids placed across 102 lots on AuctionsPlus which resulted in 44 lots being purchased online that are now headed in the main to NSW, Queensland and South Australia while some will remain local.
In the ram offering all 84 rams offered, sold for an average of $2107, while the ewe side saw 71 of the 77 stud and commercial ewes sold at an average of $1195.
In comparison, in last year's sale the stud offered and sold 89 at an average of $2109 and there were 65 stud ewes offered and sold at an average of $646.
Nutrien Livestock Breeding representative Roy Addis said it was a tremendous result for the Kaya stud.
"I think it was one of the best offerings of both rams and ewes presented by the stud and buyers responded accordingly," Mr Addis said.
"It was great to see the Veitch family getting rewarded for their commitment to this breed and their breeding program.
"The sale result is certainly a reflection of the tremendous confidence producers have in the sheep industry at present.
"Yet again the sale was well-supported by not only local buyers but also interstate buyers who know the Kaya product.
"The final result was certainly stronger than presale expectations."
Dorper rams
The Dorper ram offering opened the sale and there was very strong demand for these from buyers, resulting in all 45 offered selling under the hammer for an average of $3191 and to a top price of $6200, which were both up on last year's result.
In comparison, in last year's fixture the Veitch family offered and sold 41 Dorper rams to a top of $5400 and an average of $2288.
Achieving the $6200 top price was the 21st Dorper ram offered, which was a son of Kaya 180824, when it was knocked down to an AuctionsPlus buyer based at Wentworth, New South Wales.
The May 2020-drop, twin-born and raised, 88.5 kilogram ram was not only easy on the eye displaying plenty of meat and squareness but it also had the Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) to match.
It ranks in the top 10pc of all shedding breeds for dressing percentage (Dress) at 3.4 and the self-replacing carcase (SRC) index at 130.9 plus top 30pc for weaning (WWT) at 6.3, post weaning weight (PWWT) at 10.7 and lean meat yield (LMY) at 1.8.
Its other ASBVs were -0.35 birthweight (BWT), -0.4 post weaning fat (PFAT), 1.6 post weaning eye muscle depth (PEMD), 0.0 number of lambs weaned (NLW), -1.3 intramuscular fat (IMF) and 0.8 shear force test (SF5).
Nutrien Livestock, Narrogin agent Ashley Lock, who was relaying the AuctionsPlus bids was kept busy during the run as not only was the top price ram sold through AuctionsPlus there were another seven successful bidders on AuctionsPlus from NSW, Queensland and South Australia, which operated on the Dorper rams and between them they secured seven rams for between $1000 and $5700.
The second top price in the run was $6000 bid by Mr Addis, who was operating for the Edson family, Redrock stud, Keith, South Australia, over the phone.
Achieving the $6000 price tag was a Kaya Noah 180370 son which weighed in at 92.5kg and was born and raised a twin.
The September 2020-drop ram ranks in the top 10pc NLW at 11.3, Dress at 3.4 and the SRC index at 137.1 while it's in the top 30pc for WWT (7.3), PWWT (11.2) and LMY (1.6).
Brad Edson said the ram came recommended to them by Adrian.
"Adrian knows what we are trying to achieve with our flock and thought this was the best ram for us," Mr Edson said.
He has good sire appeal and good shedding ability.
"We have had Kaya White Dorper rams in the past but this is the first time we have got a Kaya Dorper ram.
"The White Dorper ram we purchased from Kaya last year has turned out to be a cracker."
The volume buyers in the Dorper ram offering were clients of 10 years Rick and Colleen Beatty, RJ & CM Beatty, Cadoux.
The Beattys purchased eight rams to a top of $3700 paid for a ram with a SRC index of 127.1 and an average of $2900.
Mr Beatty said they like the Kaya sheep because they have good growth rates and because of the carcase yields they can achieve.
"We regularly achieve carcase yields of 50pc with our lambs," Mr Beatty said.
The Beattys run 2600 Dorper ewes and join them every six months with the lambs dropping in February/March and then again in August/September.
Their lambs from their February/March lambing this year have already been sold through September and October and averaged 25k dressed.
Other buyers operating in the shed to purchase four or more Dorper rams were LE & M Farina, Mukinbudin, which purchased five to a top of $3200 and an average of $2120 while Kilkerran A6 Pty Ltd, Mingenew, went home with four to a top of $3900 and at an average of $3400.
White Dorper rams
Next up in the sale was the offering of 39 White Dorper rams, and with similar buying support, they also all headed to new homes selling to the sale's $6400 top price and an average of $3010, which was up $1054 on last year's result.
In last year's sale the stud offered and sold 48 White Dorper rams to a top of $4300 and an average of $1956.
Like in the Dorper rams it was again a buyer operating through AuctionsPlus which came out on top and secured the top-priced White Dorper ram.
This time the ram was headed to a stud at Duramana, NSW, along with three other rams which the enterprise purchased at $5100, $3500 and $2300.
The top-priced ram was sired by Kaya White 180136 and was dropped in July 2020.
The 86.5kg ram ranks in the top 10pc for Dress (3.5), LMY (2.3) and SF5 (-3.7) while it's in the top 30pc for PWWT (10.1) and the SRC index (126.3).
Its other ASBVs are -0.34 BWT, 5.4 WWT, -0.5 PFAT, 1.7 PEMD, -3.8 NLW and -0.4 IMF.
There were another three White Dorper rams purchased through the AuctionsPlus platform for between $2600 and $3700 and they went to a NSW and WA buyer.
The second highest price for a White Dorper ram was $5600 paid by Alvalea White Dorpers, Roma, Queensland, which relayed buying orders over the phone to Mr Addis.
The 110.5kg ram by Kaya White 180631 ranks in the top 10pc for IMF (0.0) and top 30pc for BWT (-0.41) and SF5 (0.0).
Again this year Elders, Narrogin agent Paul Keppel was taking buying instructions over the phone from client of six years Mat Sheridan, M & V Sheridan, Prairie station, Bourke, NSW.
After securing one Dorper ram for the Sheridans at $3200, Mr Keppel upped the ante in the White Dorper run and purchased six rams for the Sheridans to the third top price of $5500 and at an average of $4150.
Heading to Bourke at $5500 was a September 2020-drop ram sired by Kaya White 180591.
The 83.5kg ram ranks in the top 10pc for SF5 and top 30pc for LMY.
The Sheridan family has been running Dorpers since 2000 and they like the Kaya rams because they are well put together with good figures and they move well.
Also buying numbers in the White Dorper run was Oxford Pastoral Co, Ravensthorpe, which purchased five rams to a top of $2900 and an average of $2340, while the only other buyer to go home with more than two rams was Emerald Park Grazing, Albany, which purchased three at a $3467 average.
Dorper ewes
The offering of 31 Dorper stud and 18 Dorper commercial ewes was sold next and by the end of the run 29 of the stud ewes were headed to new homes after selling under the hammer for an average of $1348, which was up $656 on last year's result, while all 18 commercial ewes sold for a $1283 average.
The top price in the Dorper ewe run was an impressive $2750 when a ewe early in the offering caught the eye of a couple of buyers, causing a bidding war to erupt.
In the end it was a buyer on AuctionsPlus based at Wilyabrup, who hung on the longest and secured the deep, wide, feminine ewe at $2750.
The June 2020-drop, Kaya Jure 180584 daughter ranks in the top 10pc for WWT (7.4), PWWT (11.7), NLW (7.6), Dress (3.2) as well as the top 30pc for LMY (1.8) and the SRC index (129.4).
The Wilyabrup operation also bought a second Dorper ewe at $1100.
A further 17 Dorper ewes were sold to AuctionsPlus buyers located at Moonie and Longreach, Queensland as well as Wargeila and Yass, NSW, which paid from $800 to $2500, the second top price.
The $2500 ewe, which is by Kaya Kolisi 180513, ranks in the top 10pc for WWT, PWWT, NLW, Dress and the SRC index.
Buying over the phone through Mr Addis, Nanbona Pastoral Trust, Ceduna, purchased four stud ewes to a top of $1150 and an average of $1075.
The 18 commercial ewes were sold as three groups of six and they all went different ways.
Ora Cooper Farms, Trigwell, after purchasing two stud ewes to a top of $1350 paid the top value for the commercial ewes when it picked up a group at $1350, while PL & LR McCrea, Salmon Gums, went to $1300 for its group of six commercial ewes after purchasing two stud ewes under the hammer to a top of $1450.
The final group of six commercial ewes sold at $1200 to Christie Family Trust, Albany, at $1200.
White Dorper ewes
The White Dorper ewes rounded out the sale and in this section the Veitch family offered and sold 20 stud ewes to a top of $1700 twice and an average of $1033, which was up $471 on last year.
The first ewe to hit $1700 in the run was knocked down to an AuctionsPlus buyer from Moonie, Queensland.
The well-grown, classy ewe ranks in the top 10pc for SF5 (-2.8) and top 30pc for BWT (-0.43), PEMD (1.9), Dress (3.0) and LMY (2.0).
The Moonie buyer also secured another three White Dorper ewes during the run to finish with a team of four at an average of $1113.
There were another six ewes to sell through the AuctionsPlus platform between $900 and $1450, three went to a buyer at Dubbo and three went to a buyer at Longreach.
The other ewe to sell at the $1700 top price was purchased by Nanbona Pastoral Trust, buying through Mr Addis.
It paid $1700 for a ewe, which ranks in the top 10pc for BWT (-0.53), Dress (3.2) and SF5 (-5.2) as well as top 30pc for PEMD (2.0) and IMF (-0.3).
The Ceduna-based enterprise purchased another five stud ewes to finish with a team of six at a $1133 average.
Regular buyer EJ Penny, Yarloop, purchased three stud ewes all at $600.
There were eight commercial White Dorper ewes offered in two groups of four and one group sold at $500 to MR & AC Smith, Brookton.
