Courtesy of Catherine Miller, The Stock Journal, October 15 2020
Coolawang stud, Mundulla, has reclaimed the Australian Border Leicester breed record for a ram just a few weeks after their previous seven-year record fell.
At last week's sale, Trevor, Judy, Lachie and Olivia James received a spectacular $27,000 for their lot 1 ram, Coolawang 190127, paid by Glencorrie stud, Sandilands.
This surpassed the $19,500 paid for a ram at the final sale of Johnos stud, Eurack, Vic, last month.
Trevor James said the ram, known as 'King Arthur', combined modern growth rates with impeccable structure and the wool characteristics and qualities he said the Border Leicester breed needed.
"King Arthur was a dominant figure and we hope this ram will be a dominant sire for Glencorrie," he said.
The ram was part of the Victory family that Coolawang established from the progeny of semen bought from The Oaks stud in Vic when it dispersed in the late 1990s.
This family line has consistently bred sheep with excellent structure and many broadribbon winners, including the supreme long wool ram from the 2019 Royal Adelaide Show.
Glencorrie stud's Craig Graham and Deb Stone got their first bid in when the price had already surpassed $20,000, but they were not deterred with their philosophy of "buying the best to breed the best".
"We were due to buy a couple of new sires and after being burnt out in the fires early this year it was even more important. They will be a solid foundation to begin rebuilding the flock," Mr Graham said.
In 2013, Glencorrie paid $18,200 for Coolawang's previous record ram, but Mr Graham described 'King Arthur' as a "game-changer".
"Being a triplet and weighing 122 kilograms on the 1st of September really shows its growth rate and it has magnificent wool and a beautiful back end, (it's) a ram that is hard to fault," he said.
"A post-weaning weight figure of 11.7 is up there for growth. We are all about producing lambs with early growth to get them off quickly."
