QUALITY was again on show for the interbreed judging competition on Monday at Sheepvention Rural Expo 2024.

Sheep show convenor and chair of the committee, Lachie McCrae, was pleased with the turn out and said it was a credit to the breeders in these tough conditions.

“It’s been an excellent sheep show – good numbers – a little up on last year,” he said.

He said with the current drier conditions, sheep still presented very well.

“We’re judging the champion of each class of sheep; in a group, in a ram, in a ewe and also in a pen of three rams,” Mr McCrae said.

“The group is a breeder’s group ram and two ewes which is judged in every breed and the winners from each breed come out and compete against each other to have a winner of the show in that class.”

In the supreme champion long wool group with a ram and two ewes, first place went to Teurong Valley (from Branxholme) for their Corriedales, judged by Nick Cole from Camperdown and Finlay McDonald from Porcupine Ridge north of Daylesford.

Mr McDonald said the sheep presented as “beautiful upstanding sheep with beautiful fleeces”.

“All were very deserving winners in their respective groups,” he said.

For the champion short wool breeders’ group, with one ram and two ewes, the white Suffolks were selected as winners from the Mertex Texel & White Suffolk Stud from Antwerp, north of Horsham.

Next was the supreme long wool ewe champion with first place going to the Border Leicester from Jackson at Moyston.

In the supreme interbreed long wool champion, first place went to the Corriedale from Bron Ellis in Mount Moriac.

The supreme short wool ewe was again the White Suffolks and again awarded to the Mertex Texel & White Suffolk Stud.

For the supreme short wool ram, Mr McCrae said this was the pinnacle of what judges were looking to see achieved in sheep breeding.

“This is a magnificent line up of rams,” he said.

First place was again Mertex Texel & White Suffolk Stud for their White Suffolk ram.

The supreme champion of two rams in the trade production class – first place went to a Poll Dorset from Ivadene at Hexham.