The Elanco PROram and PROewe competitions attracted plenty of interest at this year's Rabobank WA Sheep Expo & Merino Ram Sale at Katanning, with the King family's Rangeview stud, Darkan, winning the PROewe title yet again, as well as adding the PROram sash to its 2023 show collection.
This year the competition attracted five rams and three ewes, with the aim to recognise the ram and ewe with the best production and profitability traits.
To find the winning ram and ewe, points were awarded for both objective measurement traits and subjective assessment of the animals pre and post-shearing.
To start, entries were assessed in their wool by judges Shaun Counsel, Williams, and Wes Lavender, Williams, and were marked on wool quality and coverage out of 60 points and conformation and constitution in the wool out of 40pts.
The ram and ewe entries were then shorn by Tom Reed, Jumbuck Shearing and were assessed again by Mr Counsel and Mr Lavender on their conformation and constitution, with this section worth 50 points.
In terms of fleece measurements, this section was scored out of 150pts and it took into consideration the animal's staple strength, co-efficient of variation of fibre diameter (CV), and comfort factor (CF).
The animals and their fleeces were weighed after shearing, with 100pts available for bodyweight and 250pts for commercial fleece value which was calculated by Elders, Williams district wool manager Sarah Buscumb and Elders, Kojonup/Katanning district wool manager Peter Wharton, based on fleece weight, fleece test results and current market prices.
Finally, after the numbers were crunched it was Rangeview stud that stood out in both the PROram and PROewe sections.
The Rangeview Merino sire finished on 479pts, out of a possible 650, which placed it eight points ahead of the second-placed ram entered by the Eckersley family's, Darijon stud, Narrogin.
Mr Counsel said the Rangeview stud ram was a well-deserving winner of the PROram title, but the competition itself was close.
"From the moment we looked at that ram we could see it was a big strong ram with a lot of scope," Mr Counsel said.
"The ram was very well put together and was a very stylish fine-medium wool ram."
Mr Counsel said once the ram was shorn you could see it produced a very valuable fleece.
"It was one of the finer wools but was very heavy cutting and had a decent body weight too," he said.
"That ram is a very profitable animal."
Mr Counsel and Mr Lavender awarded the Rangeview ram 54/60 for wool quality and coverage, 36/40 for conformation and constitution in the wool and 42/50 for conformation and constitution out of the wool.
The Rangeview ram came in at 137 kilograms which assisted it in scoring 95/100 points in the body weight section.
On the wool side, its fleece tested 19.3 micron, 14.6 CV, 99.7 per cent CF, 49 N/kt staple strength, 75.6pc yield, and 106mm staple length which contributed to its score of 140 out of 150 for the objective wool measurements.
The ram's fleece weighed 16.6kg, one of the two heaviest fleeces entered in the competition, and based on this and its fleece test results, it was valued at $174, earning it 244 out of 250 points awarded for the commercial fleece value section.
The winning Rangeview ram is a son of Glendonald 868 and won grand champion August-shorn Merino ram in the ring at the 2023 Rabobank WA Sheep Expo & Merino Ram Sale at Katanning.
A 115kg ram from the Darijon stud was second.
It was the fourth heaviest in the competition and scored a total of 471 points.
It received 73pts for bodyweight, 51 for wool quality and coverage, 33 for conformation and constitution in the wool and 40 for conformation and constitution out of the wool.
On the wool side, it scored 148pts for its objective wool measurements and 250pts for fleece value after its 16.6kg fleece was valued at $180.
The fleece had measurements of 19.5 micron, 19.9 CV, 99.8pc CF, and 65 N/kt staple strength, 76.7pc yield and 102mm staple length.
Third in the class went to a 142kg sire from the Wililoo stud, Woodanilling, with 450pts.
It scored 125 for objective wool measurements.
It had a fleece that weighed 15.6kg and tested at 20.2 micron, 17.2 CV, 99pc CF and 48 N/kt staple strength, 72.5pc yield and 109mm staple length.
In terms of value, the fleece was worth $155 and scored 225pts.
In the PROewe competition, 14pts separated first and second place.
Taking top honours was a Merino ewe also from the Rangeview stud, which scored 421 out of a possible 650pts.
"The ewe had a good barrel, and was a heavy animal with a good fleece," Mr Counsel said.
"That ewe is also another very profitable animal."
The Rangeview ewe scored 76 out of 100pts for body weight, weighing in at 91kg and a fleece value of $147, scoring a maximum of 250pts.
The 13.8kg fleece measured 18.9 micron, 16.3 CV, 99.3pc CF and 52N/kt staple strength, 73.5pc yield and 94mm staple length.
It scored 52 out of 60pts for wool quality and coverage, 33 out of 40 for constitution and conformation in the wool and 50 out of 60 for constitution and conformation out of the wool.
The ewe is sired by a ram from the Rangeview family going back to Tara Park bloodlines and was the reserve fine wool champion Merino in the ring at the 2023 Rabobank WA Sheep Expo & Merino Ram Sale at Katanning.
Second place in the PROewe competition went to an exhibit from the Blight family's Seymour Park stud, Narrogin.
The Seymour Park ewe weighed 96kg to score 81pts in the section with a fleece weighing 12.4kg.
The fleece measured 19.7 micron, 16.4 CV, 98.8pc CF and 4.4N/kt staple strength, 79.6pc yield and 103mm staple length.
Its fleece was valued at $138 and scored 241 out of 250pts.
The Blight family also took third place for a Seymour Park ewe that scored 383 out of 650pts.
This ewe had a body weight of 115kg, while its fleece weighed 11.6kg and was valued at $120.
The fleece had test figures of 19 micron, 16.9 CV, 99.4pc CF and 2.7N/kt staple strength, 72.6pc yield, with a 97mm staple length and scored 50/60 for wool quality and coverage, and conformation and constitution in the wool, and 43/50 for conformation and constitution out of the wool.
