The Hampshire Down online timed auction sale was a great success, the online sale made the sale accessible to are wider audience which helped to drive demand. EBVs have always been important in assessing the genetic merit of sheep and with the auction being held online, helped to add extra confidence from the buyers when looking for sheep with top genetic merit, driving the prices higher.
Of the 44 lots that were sold online, the top 11 prices all went to performance recorded sheep. This meant the average price for performance recorded sheep had a £150 a head premium compared to the sheep from a non-recorded flock. Particularly important online, EBVs help quantify the extra value a sheep can bring to your flock and are worth making the extra investment in for the best sheep.
The sheep with top genetics sold at a 100% clearance rate (those in the top 10% of the breed) and those from performance recording flocks achieved a 15% higher clearance rate than those from unrecorded flocks.
EBVs provide a prediction of a sheep’s genetic merit, based on their own and their family’s performance. This means that sheep can be fairly compared to the rest of the breed and even the sheep in your flock at home. Buyers could be confident in the genetics they were buying which helped to drive the demand for the sheep from performance recorded flocks resulting in the higher clearance rates.
This year performance recording is a crucial part of marketing your sheep, demonstrating the superior genetic merit of your sheep. When you are marketing your sheep this year, make sure you are presenting their EBVs and Indexes so your customers are making the most informed decisions.
The overall top sale price went to 54S2001200 a ram lamb from the Ballycreely Flock with an index in the top 10% of the breed that sold for £1670.
The top female price was for a ewe lamb A162000083 from the Isle of Bute Flock again in the top 10% of the breed.
The top shearling ram price was for 54S1901105, another from the Ballycreely flock, again in the top 10% of the breed making £1150
Top shearling ewe price was for long time performance recorders, the Maes Glas flock, which sold for £750.
About the author
Ed Brant
Ed joined the Signet team in September 2019, once he had got Kelso ram sales out of the way!
He has a degree in Agriculture from Newcastle University and a massive interest in genetics and performance recording.
The family farm in Lincolnshire has pedigree Hampshire Down and Lleyn flocks, as well as commercial sheep and cattle.