A large Queensland Dorper commercial flock run by Darrawong Pastoral Pty Ltd Partnership, Darrawong Station, Cunnumulla, Queensland, successfully bid to $50,000 to create a world record price for a Dorper ram at the 2020 Dorper Sheep National Show and Sale at Dubbo on Friday.
The large sum was paid for the reserve senior champion Dorper ram of the show section exhibited by the Van Niekerk family based at Moama.
The ram, Dell Dorpers 190321 (ET), was sired by Burrawang Dorpers 140630 of pure Kaya blood and from one Dell stud's top breeding ewes, Dell 140076, the grand champion three years running of the Australian Sheep and Wool Show, Bendigo, Victoria, in 2015,16 and 17 and was the supreme cleanskin exhibit, the first Dorper sheep to gain this interbreed award in 2016.
This ram is one of seven ET lambs from this dam.
Buyer Grant Bredhauer said the ram was the best Dorper he had ever seen.
"He has a beautiful topline and very correct," Mr Bredhauer said.
"When yo look at a sheep and can't find anything wrong, then you have to buy it.
"We'll join his first to a couple of hundred ewes."
The partnership has just completed purchasing three other properties and running close to 6000 ewes and plans to build numbers up to some 14,000 by the end of next year.
Most of the properties have completed building exclusion fencing to safeguard the large sheep producing operation.
The Two-tooth White Dorper ram classwinner from David Piper's Belowrie stud, Dubbo, sold at $21,000 second top price to the Van Niekerk family's African and Dumisa White Dorper studs, Moama.
This ram was shown by David Piper and family, Belowrie stud, just south of Dubbo, and had earlier gained reserve junior White Dorper ram ribbon, from breed judge, Werner Ferreira, Superior Dorpers, Albury.
In a total auction clearance 53 Dorpers averaged $3311 and 38 White Dorpers averaged $2932.
The Dorper section resulted in all 43 rams averaging $3635 and 10 ewes $1920 while all 36 White Dorper rams averaged $3033 and two ewes $1100.
- Full details will be published in The Land September 10 edition.