Fall in ewe numbers emphasises focus on quality genetics.

Running through November, December and January, although this year’s ram sale season reflected the falling number of ewes in the national flock, overall the sales exceeded expectations. Going into the season the number of rams offered outweighed the decline in ewe numbers, suggesting values could fall significantly, which they did not.

While demand for rams has dropped at a rate that approximately corresponds to the fall in ewe numbers, at sale time attention focused on the higher quality end of the market, where demand for well-presented rams with plenty of data remains steady. Given the significant drop in red meat returns and income from lambs, many farmers who would normally add 20 or more rams in a season have reverted to purchasing significantly fewer, relying on older rams to service their ewes and make up the difference. 

For those that the top offering the most sought after genetics business was steady. For smaller breeders and those coming to the end of their careers, less so.

A similar dynamic is likely to play out in May and June in the upcoming two-year-old bull sale season, with stronger focus on higher end genetics.