The Midland and Western Livestock Improvement Society Showgrounds in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Roscommon, recently played host to the 2023 Big Boy Ram Sale.
The multi-breed ram sale drew huge crowds of pedigree and commercial sheep breeders alike from across the country.
The event organisers said a large number of commercial flock owners travelled to the sale to secure rams.
A total of 134 rams went through the ring on the day and 100 of these were sold, resulting in a 75% clearance.
It was towards the end of the night that the top-priced lot entered the ring and Co. Cavan man James Dunne was the vendor of this Suffolk ram lamb.
Kilduff Bruno was sired by Bessiebell Motto Motto and sold to a syndicate of pedigree buyers for €3,700.
The average sale price settled at just under €828, an increase of €155 on the average sale price from the 2022 event.
Many of the vendors in attendance at the sale agreed that one of the main questions from the buyers at the sale was if the rams were eligible for the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) and this was reflected on analysis of the average sale prices.
The average sale price of the purebred SIS-eligible rams was €940, while the average sale price of the purebred non-SIS-eligible rams was €786. The average price of all non-SIS-eligible rams was €683.
There was a considerable number of hybrid rams on offer in the sale too, with the highest average sale price being secured in the Charbex category.
The table below gives a breakdown of the breeds and average sale prices:
Breed Average sale price Aber €545 Roubex €633.33 Sufftex €528 Chartex €605.71 Charbex €780 Texel €893.12 Charollais €676.53 Belclare €500 Beltex €825.71 Suffolk €1,294.28
Speaking to Agriland after the sale, one of the event’s main organisers, Stuart Doran said: “The sale continues to go strength to strength with another massive attendance of return buyers.
“Our sale record was broken by a smashing example of a modern Suffolk showing lots of commercially desirable traits, bred by James Dunne and sold for €3,700 to a syndicate of breeders”.
The breeders of the top-priced rams in each breed category were as follows:
- Aber: James Dunne with Lot 11 selling for €550;
- Roubex: Ben Lynch with Lot 16 selling for €800;
- Suftex: Marie Jennings with Lot 19 selling for €620;
- Chartex: Stuart Dorran with Lot 34 selling for €1000;
- Charbex: David Argue with Lot 46 selling for €1000;
- Texel: James Dunne with Lot 65 selling for €1,250;
- Charollais: David Argue with Lot 100 selling for €1,200;
- Belclare: Tim Keady with Lot 121 selling for €500;
- Beltex: Ben Lynch with Lot 128 selling for €1,220;
- Suffolk: James Dunne with Lot 148 selling for €3,700.
Organiser Stuart Doran said: “The commercial buyer was the dominant buyer on the evening but overall, the trade was boisterous and saw an average increase in prices overall influenced by pedigree-buyer purchases and the SIS-eligible customers.”
SIS eligibility changing trends
The Big Boy Ram Sale organiser noted that buyer interest for SIS-eligible rams has had an impact on the demand for hybrid rams.
“We saw a break from the norm of the past five years in terms of clearance, average, and top-end prices for hybrids. We saw a major drop in all areas,” he said.
“The consensus among breeders was that this was compounded by the need for buyers to purchase SIS-eligible rams.
“Buyers showed interest in hybrids, however despite interest, they referenced SIS eligibility as the reason they couldn’t purchase the rams this year.
“Unfortunately, for the breeders of these rams there, was no official document to state that they could have recorded and gnomically tested their F1 crossbred (50/50 mix) until the terms and conditions of LampPlus ( Sheep Ireland) were updated ( 4.8.1) on August 20, of this year, to indicate their eligibility, leaving it too late to avail of the market influence of the scheme.
“The main question asked of breeders by buyers on the day was, ‘Is he SIS-eligible’ without concern for their star rating or accuracy.”
The event organiser thanked those who attended the sale saying. “We look forward to the continued trust buyers are putting in The Big Boy Ram sale and look forward to seeing everyone next year on August 2, 2024,” he said.