Breaking last year’s record, this sale was once again the largest ever catalogued ram sale with the highest entry criteria in Ireland.
This high entry criteria ensures that only the most engaged flocks in performance recording can enter (DQI greater than 75%), and only their best lambs are eligible (Top 20% of the breed). This gives all the potential buyers confidence that if they come to the sale, they will find a ram that meets their expectations, and he will increase the profitability of their flock.
On the 30th of August, a detailed Ram Sale Report of the 2023 Sheep Ireland multi-breed €urostar ram sale was published (click here to view report).
Despite of the high requirements, the evolution of the sales since 2016 shows a constant growth, more than doubling the numbers of rams sold, and achieving a 50% increase on the average price.
This year, performance-recorded rams are in extra demand due to the Sheep Improvement Scheme Genotyped Ram Task. Lowland Flocks that choose this task must select a ram that is 4 or 5 Star on the Replacement or Terminal Index based on a genomic evaluation and be a scrapie Type 1,2 or 3. Hill flocks can also choose the lowland option or purchase a hill ram that is DNA sire verified and Scrapie type 1,2 or 3.
The level of engagement from ram breeders is growing higher from year to year, and also the commercial farmers are reaping the benefits of their genetic improvement.
More and more commercial farmers are demanding top-quality and physically correct rams , with excellent breeding values (€uro-Stars) to back it up (click here to see catalogue).
Each year the number of pedigree breeders’ performance recording is increasing, and every year the number of commercial farmers searching for €uro-Stars information before they purchase is also rising. All this bodes well for the sheep industry, and Sheep Ireland intends to keep this positive trend on the rise for next year.
These results reflects the constant work of the breeders, societies, and technicians involved in the genetic evaluations, and the trust of commercial farmers in the LambPlus programme adoption.