Sheep Ireland will hold a special multi-breed ram sale in Tullamore Mart on Saturday, August 27.
The sale, which is set to kick off at 12.30, will give farmers an opportunity to source some of the top sheep genetics in Ireland.
The sale will consist of over 200 rams for the top recording sheep breeds in Ireland including Suffolk, Vendeen, Rouge, Charollais, Belclare and Texel.
According to Sheep Ireland, the multi-breed ram sale is held every year to promote the use of Euro-star rams in sheep flocks in Ireland.
It says that each ram entered into the sale has to fulfil certain criteria in order to eligible for the sale, some of this year’s criteria include:
- Rams must be five star on either the Terminal or Replacement index
- Rams must have at least a 30 accuracy on the relevant Terminal or Replacement index
- Breeders can only put rams forward for this sale if their flock Data Quality Index (DQI) is in excess of 50%
Does it pay to keep a five-star ram?
Speaking at a recent farm walk, Sheep Ireland’s Eamon Wall said the use of five-star rams leads to increased lamb sales and profitability on sheep farms.
Wall said that a ewe flock consisting of 100 five-star ewes will produce 13 more lambs than a similar one-star flock.
Along with an increase in lamb sales, he said that five-star ewes will have a lower mature weight and the lamb mortality on farms will also lower.
Looking at the terminal traits, the progeny of five-star terminal rams will also be easier lambed, have higher growth rates and will also be 1kg heavier at the time of weaning, he said.
The full catalogue for Sheep Ireland’s Multi-breed ram sale is available here.