PRODUCERS looking specifically for maternal ewes, either replacement breeders or to increase their numbers, should look no further than the inaugural Nutrien Livestock Maternal Ewe sale next week.
The sale is scheduled for Thursday, October 28 at 1pm and will be conducted over the AuctionsPlus platform only.
Nutrien Livestock Breeding representative and sale co-ordinator Roy Addis said Nutrien Livestock was excited to be able to present a sale of this nature for the first time to WA sheep producers as it will provide vendors with a great opportunity to present genuine lines of maternal ewes to purchasers across Australia.
"We had a look at the industry and thought holding a sale of this nature was a way of supporting our clients running maternal bloodlines and the importance of the maternal breeds to the prime lamb industry," Mr Addis said.
"In the past the majority of these ewes have been sold off farm but with the way the market is at present and the demand for maternal types this sale will also open up new avenues for vendors and prospective buyers."
In the sale Nutrien Livestock will offer 7200 ewes of various ages and from a range of breeds including MPM, Dohne, Prime SAMM, UltraWhite, White Dorper, Dorper, Van Rooy, White Dorper-Kojak cross, Prolific and first-cross White Suffolk.
Mr Addis said all the ewes will be assessed by accredited AuctionsPlus assessors and by all reports they are in great condition.
"I have seen some of the lines on offer and what I have seen are of outstanding quality," Mr Addis said.
"It will present a top opportunity to purchase both non-shedding and shedding ewes.
"The lines of ewe lambs will represent a great opportunity for producers looking for young ewes and they will be suitable to join in January/February."
When it comes to the non-shedding lines the biggest vendor in this section will be the Moir family, Glenelg Estate, Glenelg Prime SAMM stud, Amelup, with an offering of 1120 Prime SAMM ewes, comprising of 570 three year old ewes and 550 4yo ewes.
Mr Addis said the offering from the Moirs will provide buyers an excellent opportunity to purchase some very well-bred Prime SAMM ewes.
"It is a genuine dispersal of some of the State's best bred genetics and these ewes will suit prime lamb production," Mr Addis said.
Dohne ewes will also feature in the line-up with two vendors offering this breed.
Nyabing producers TG & RC Browne, Chirniminup Dohne stud, Nyabing, will offer a genuine line of 500 1.5yo Dohne ewes which have an excellent breeding background, while a line of 480 1.5yo ewes from Rathnally, Wongan Hills, will provide a great opportunity to secure Dohne genetics.
Also in the non-shedding lines will be a draft of 180 2yo MPM ewes from Clifton Farming, which are surplus to requirements and represent great genetics for any operation.
Prolific ewe lambs will also be available with T & H Altham offering 500 head.
Mr Addis said this outstanding line would suit all prime lamb systems.
When it comes to the shedding ewes on offer the UltraWhite breed will have the biggest representation in the sale.
The biggest vendor of UltraWhites will be Ball Farming, Katanning, which will offer just under 700 ewes ranging in age from 1yo through to mixed age.
Mr Addis said the ewes from Ball Farming are of top quality and bred from high quality Hillcroft Farms sires.
There will be three lines of UltraWhite ewe lambs on offer and the biggest of these will be from Davina Enterprises, which will offer 400 head.
The enterprise has been buying rams from Hillcroft Farms for the past 10 years and these ewes are of outstanding quality according to Mr Addis.
Also offering UltraWhite ewe lambs will be AC & JE Cunningham, which will present 200 ewe lambs alongside 200 1.5yo and 2.5yo ewes based on Hillcroft Farms' genetics.
EF & SL Blechynden has also nominated UltraWhite ewe lambs.
It will offer 350 ewe lambs with great growth plus 700 first-cross UltraWhite ewes (3.5yo and 4.5yo) which are large-framed, roomy ewes that would be ideal for prime lamb production.
White Dorper and Dorper ewes will also be available and the largest vendor in this breed will be RF Fisher & Co, which will offer 950 genuine White Dorper ewes.
The Fishers will offer 450 4.5yo ewes and 500 ewe lambs, that are surplus to requirements.
Cadoux producers RJ & CM Beatty will be the only vendors of Dorper ewes.
The Beattys, who have been buying rams from the Kaya stud for 10 years, will offer 320 1.5yo Dorper ewes from their breeding flock of 2800 ewes.
Mr Addis said the Beatty's ewes were of the highest quality and standard.
Bundawarra Ag will offer the only line of Van Rooy ewes in the catalogue and the line of 120 ewe lambs would be ideal for a flock building program.
Rounding out the shedding ewes on offer will be 300 White Dorper-Kojak 5yo ewes from GS & B Martin, Wickepin, which are a great line of mature ewes suitable for any production system.
Ferncourt Enterprises and Miniritchie Farm will both offer quality first-cross terminal ewe lambs.
Miniritchie Farm's offering will consist of 350 first-cross White Suffolk ewe lambs while Ferncourt Enterprises' will be made up of 450 White Suffolk-Poll Dorset cross ewe lambs.
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