THE Dorper breed asserted its authority today when young breeding ewes and lambs made $370.
The 6020-head yarding averaged $230 and grossed almost $1.4 million in a sale held at Swan Hill, in conjunction with AuctionsPlus.
AuctionsPlus assessor and BR and C agent John Sawyer described the result as "unreal".
"We had a lot of inquiry and we knew it was going to be good but this was excellent," he said.
Mr Sawyer assessed the sale toppers, two pens of April-May 2009-drop Dorper ewes with 20kg pure Dorper lambs.
The two pens of 34 and 50 ewes were sold by the Kelly family of Swan Hill and had a liveweight of 65.2kg.
The Kelly family averaged $347 for 202 Dorper ewes and lambs, and grossed $70,000.
Another good result was achieved by the Cullinan family of Wilcannia, NSW, who sold 16 to 17-month-old unjoined Dorper ewes to $315.
The ewes weighed 66.3kg and were third and fourth-cross White Dorpers. The Cullinans averaged $312 for 276 head.
When it came to ewe lambs, prices didn't back off with some incredible rates paid for animals just a few months old.
G and S Cullinan of Pooncarie, NSW, sold 148 organic-accredited Dorper ewe lambs, May-June drop, for $255.
The ewe lambs weighed 39.1kg and were based on Keleen and Glen Park bloodlines.
Not far behind was J and L Clothier from Pooncarie, whose 110 Dorper ewe lambs, May-June 2010-drop, weighing 40.8kg liveweight, made $250.
BR and C director Mal Brady said the sale would go down as a great result for breeders and the breed.
"It's really the first big commercial sale of Dorpers and where else would you get those kind of averages?" he said.
"There wasn't the biggest crowd at the physical sale but that didn't matter."
Buyers came from across NSW and Victoria, and sheep were also sent to Tasmania and South Australia.
