Our next On Farm sale

24th September 2025

Proceeds from Lot 1 will be donated to Beyond Blue

Sheepmaster composite rams bring the bids at The Cliffs spring sale

The Land - By Rebecca Nadge - September 24 2025 - 6:00pm

Buyers were clear in their breed of choice at Phil and Judi Thompson's The Cliffs Sheepmaster composite and Australian White ram sale at Molong on September 24.

Demand was solid for the Sheepmaster composites, with 40 of 43 selling to a $4600 top to average $1888.

The top-priced ram was The Cliffs 24678, a Garnett Sheepmaster Apollo 20P073 descendent.

The April-2024 drop was born a single and weighed 100 kilograms with 41 millimetres eye muscle depth and 6.5mm fat.

He sold to John Atkins, Tepa Pty Ltd, Guyra. Mr Atkins said his current flock had about 2000 Australian White ewes, but he was changing the operation's direction and looking to move towards Sheepmasters to gain more meat.

The operation sent all its lambs to a butcher shop in Armidale, which was owned by another section of the business.

Along with the top ram, Mr Atkins bought another five to average $3183 in total.

The second top-priced ram was The Cliffs 24724, 108kg, which sold for $4400 to GE and JJ Burbidge, Crookwell.



The March-2024, single-born ram scanned 48mm EMD and 9mm fat. He was by The Cliffs Kingsman 22122, a Garnet Sheepmaster Monarch 19G384 son.

The Burbidges also bought the top-priced Australian White ram, The Cliffs 24137, 109kg, by Baringa 21A148, for $1900.

Return buyer John McIsaac, Gulargambone, bought 10 Sheepmasters to average $1140. As the volume buyer, Mr McIsaac was gifted a Yeti camp chair, donated by The Rural Centre, Molong.

Lockie Miller, Kevin Miller Whitty Lennon, was bidding for Parkes operation Wallah Walla. Mr Miller selected eight Sheepmasters to average $1750 and two Australian Whites at $800 each.

He said he was after rams with growth for age, muscle depth and fat, and also good shedding ability.

The Haling family, Gulargambone, were new buyers at the stud, selecting three Sheepmaster rams and one Australian White to average $1800.

The Cliffs also continued its tradition of offering a charity ram with the proceeds donated to Beyond Blue. The Cliffs 24745 was knocked down to an online bidder for $1400.

Three pens of 12 Sheepmaster/Australian White-cross ewes, born between November and April and averaging 45kg, were also offered.

Return buyer Leanne Tremain, bidding as West Timbie Pastoral Company, Yeoval, selected the top pen for $450 a head.

Ms Tremain said she had had bred first-cross ewes to Australian Whites and was now in the third generation of breeding the progeny back to shedding rams.

The ewes would help build up her shedding sheep numbers.

The buyer of the top ram, Mr Atkins, purchased one of the pens for $440 a head, with the remaining 12 selling to Primrose Valley Cabinet, Kangaroobie, for $420.

Demand was subdued for the Australian White rams, with four of 13 averaging $1075.

Phil Thompson, The Cliffs, said it was a good result and it was clear buyers were chasing the stud's Sheepmaster composites.

He said there were some nice rams in the Australian Whites draft, but buyers were chasing better-bodied animals with more meat and The Cliffs would focus on the Sheepmasters for its February sale.

The ewe prices were particularly strong, he said, and the sheep had come through winter well despite the tougher season.

The sale was conducted by Nutrien Milling Thomas with Peter and Sam Thomas sharing the rostrum. AuctionsPlus provided the online interface.

The 2024 top cut of Australia's terminal, maternal and composite ram studs

The Land - By Andrew Norris - Updated January 2 2025 - 7:31am, first published 5:00am

This year's meat, dual purpose and composite ram market may not have had the highs of last year, but it has better reflected a less erratic lamb market.



The trade lamb indicator spent most of the first half of the year at 550-700c/kg before lifting in July to sit at 775-870c/kg thereafter, while tough seasonal conditions in the more southerly regions of the country also weighed on lamb producers' confidence.

The top 10 included eight shedding breed studs, six Dorper/White Dorper, one Ultra White, two Poll Dorset studs - one being part of Oberon stud Tattykeel's offering who's Australian White sale was also the only representative from that breed - plus one White Suffolk stud.

Agent, Randal Grayson, at Forbes Livestock, Forbes, NSW, said the shift to shedding breeds has been a gradual build.

"Once upon a time they were known as the exotic breeds and had to be penned separately at the saleyards," he said.

However, demand through winter and an increased acceptance by processors and consumers had resulted in more Victorian buyers coming north and purchasing Dorpers in particular when their local lamb supplies were seasonally low.



"The last couple of years we've seen they were actively strong on the shedding breeds (at the saleyards), especially the better end of the Dorpers," Mr Grayson said.

"We saw this year in the winter months at Forbes for the first time 10 and up to 20 per cent of the yarding as shedding breeds.

"Only two weeks ago Dorpers topped the lamb market at $297.20/head at Forbes."

Once upon a time they were known as the exotic breeds and had to be penned separately at the saleyards.

- Randall Grayson, Forbes.

While we've listed the top 10 studs here, there were also a handful that just missed the cut, but also exceeded a $3000 average price - a level that seems tantalisingly close for a huge number of vendors across the industry.

That handful includes Kaya Dorper and White Dorper, Narrogin, WA, averaging $3227 for all 104 rams offered and sold; Melashdan Dorper and White Dorper, Tumby Bay, SA, averaging $3118 for all 102 rams offered and sold; The Cliffs Australian White, Boomey, NSW, averaging $3112 for all 78 rams offered and sold, and Red Hill Australian White, Wongarbon, NSW, also averaging $3112 for all 78 rams it offered and sold - these studs also consolidating that dominance of the shedding breeds among the top end of sales.