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Amarula Marketing Day Feb 15th 2007
Dorpers fill organic needs - The land, 20th Dec - Cara Jeffery
Commercial Dorper producers have been urged to look beyond their local saleyards when it comes to marketing their lambs.
This was the message to more than 100 producers at the recent Marketing Your Dorper Lamb field day, hosted by Justin and Lorroi Kirkby, Amarula Dorper Stud, Gravesend .
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David Graham (farmer Dave from Big Brother and Dancing with the stars) operates a free range online marketing business, Farmer dave Boxed Lamb, Sydney, and was at Justin and Lorroi Kirkby's Amurula Dorper Stud Field Day at Gravesend with Tyrone Shandiman, farm manager at Mr Graham's Goondiwindi property in Queensland.
Photo: Ben Simpson |
My Kirkby said the main focus of the day was to inform commercial Dorper producers of the options in selling their Dorper Lambs.
Speaking at the field day was Cleaver's The Organic Meat Company livestock procurement manager, Toby Scales, Duri, who said Dorpers were a superior product for the organic supply chain as they are well suited to dry environments which required little management of internal parasites.
Mr Scales said in the past three years there had been a major increase in the number of Dorpers his company processed, now 50 to 65 per cent of the 900 lambs processed each week. “We used to process anything that is organic, but now we won't process Merinos and Damaras, we just don't find they express enough muscle definition. “What we find is that our client is looking for a very large eye muscle with a five medal fat trim (a lean trim)
maximum. “What we need is very meaty sheep and the Dorper is almost like a European beef carcass as it is very lean at the right age. “We need hundreds of thousands of them but we can only get tens of thousands, so we are way behind on our demand.”
He said he was also very keen to promote the correct management of Dorpers.
“What we are finding is a lot of our growers are former wool growers and have become used to harvesting once a year as you do with wool, but with the Dorper, because they are so fast growing, you have got to be right on the button to get them turned off at the right weight,” Mr Scales said.
He said an 18 to 23 kg lamb was ideal, but would process up to 25kg dressed with a fat score of two or three. Other speakers at the field day included Sheep Genetics Australia general manager, Richard Apps: Country Fresh Australasia Livestock buyer, Cameron Rossa: Freestone Fresh Lamb Director, Sam Bryce: Boggabilla Lamb and Dorper Stud Principal, John Mackay: commercial Dorper Producer, Gordon Gilder: Queensland Department of Primary Industries sheep and goats extension officer, Tony Hamilton, and Farmer Dave Boxed Lamb owner, David Graham.
FIFTH NATIONAL DORPER AND WHITE DORPER SALE 07
The top price ewe for the National Dorper and White sale 2007 was sold by Amarula Dorpers for $2400 to Ross McGrath. Another three other Amarula ewes went to Kelehers of Penti M Dorpers at Rockhampton for an average of $1200.
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Above: Justin and Lorroi Kirkby with Dell Dorper Stud Master, Andrea Van Niekerk and "Wildfire".. |
The top priced Dorper ram of the 07 National sale was bought by Amarula for $4600. 'Wildfire', an imported embryo ram from John Dell, (grandson of Wekker, a leading sire in Africa, also grandfather of Rolo, world record priced ram, selling at
$400 000) the new ram will be used over a third of the Amarula Stud ewes, mainly big Al daughters and for ET.
Also purchased from the National Sale:
-Roslynmead Dorpers Ram for $2500, who will bring another outside sire to Amarula with excellent capacity, with cover, colour and type.
-Croft Dorpers Stud Ram for $1000, which has a common link on the sires side through a Yandiah imported ram which has worked exceptionally well for Amarula in the past.
NEW SOUTH AFRICAN GENETICS FOR AMARULA
In August 2007, 46 lambs from leading South African breeder Ben Grobblelaar of Woelewater Stud will be born. The Lambs are new Grobbelaar genetics not related to previous importations.
There were 14 donor ewes all Classified Type 5 and all had the characteristics Amarula was looking for, excellent balance and ewes shape, good cover and colour.
Four different sires were used, 3 Type 5 and 1 Type 4. All the rams are based on Phillip Strauss genetics going back to South African Leading sires, Wekker and Ace.
This will give Amarula Dorpers an excellent genetic outcross infusion with further importations of embryos in late 07 and 08 from other leading South African studs.
Amarula Auction Day Feb 15th 2007
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| Two equal second top price Rams $3000 |
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Amarula Sale Report
Stud ewe to $3000- The Land Newspaper Feb 15th- Amy Lawson
Mostly stud buyers drove the ewe price up nearly $400 from last year's result at Saturday's fourth annual Amarula Dorper stud on-property production sale at Gravesend.
The sale's 20 ewes sold to $3000 and averaged $1570, while 49 rams were bought by mostly commercial buyers to top at $2200 and average $820-down from $1134 last year.
Amarula Dorper stud principals, Justin and Lorroi Kirkby, were pleased to see Amarula genetics sent across Australia and even to Brazil .
One particularly high-quality ram was the only lot to be passed in at the sale, only to be later sold for $4000 to a visiting Brazilian contingent, through Hedley John Exporters.
Mr Kirkby said more than 60 per cent of buyers were new clients, since many regulars, such as those from the Western Division, were unable to attend due to the drought.“We were very, very pleased with the sale” he said.
“We knew it might be back a bit on last year because of the dry, but were surprised by just how strong the ewe market was”.
The volume buyers of the ewe portion of Saturday's sale had both recently started their own Dorper studs.
Anthea Brown, Macabee Estate Dorper stud, Northam, east of Perth, Western Australia, bought the top priced ewe for $3000 and three other top-order ewes to average $2275 through Landmark Northam, Western Australia.
Shaz Tinnant, Goulburn, bought four ewes to a top of $2200, paid twice, and average of $1850.
Alan and Raylee Clark, Southern Cross Dorper stud, Cunnamulla , Queensland , bought three ewes to a top of $1300 (twice) and an average of $1233.
The sale's volume buyer was Hugh Satchell, Yambla Station, Holbrook, who runs 10,000 commercial Merino ewes, and on Saturday bought 15 Dorper rams for $700 each.
The Top priced ram made $2200 and was bought by Coff's Harbour doctor, David Marshall, DM Marshall Dorper stud, who also paid $1200 for a second ram.
Commercial organic Dorper producer, Rob Maunder, “The Wilgas”, Pallamallawa, who is one of “Amarula's” longest standing clients, took home five rams to a top of $1100 and average of $840.
Landmark stud stock representative, David Hart, Dubbo, said competition from as far north as Rock Hampton, Queensland, west to Western Australia and south to Goulburn indicated the high regard for the Amarula stud.
Upcoming Events
Show Results
The Dubbo Meat Sheep show is recognised as the largest meat sheep show in Eastern Australia. Genetics from these family lines form the basis of our sale offerings each year.
- 2003, 2004, 2005, Amarula Dorper
Stud have taken out the Champion Ewe and the Champion Ram,
Supreme Dorper Exhibit and Most Successful Exhibitor at
the Dubbo Meat Sheep Show.
- 2006 Junior Champion Ram.
- 2007 Kaya 03 7094 Senior Champion Ram, Grand Champion Ram and Supreme Champion Dorper Exhibit (see Sires page). Reserve Champion ewe and placings in all classes (266 entries).
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