There were about 16,500 sheep for sale at the Goulburn saleyards on January 6th. The vast majority were first cross ewes and buying interest was strong with the yards absolutely packed. The average sales price was $188 and a highest price of $262. Ewe lambs made a top price of $168!!
Daramalan was not directly a seller, as we are not counting the last (and worst) ten Border Leicester rams that were sold to clear the pastures for 2012. However, three of the top six first cross ewe sales had a connection to Daramalan as the ewes were from our rams sold in 2010. That is a great result for the ram buyers and good ‘referred marketing’ for Daramalan. It demonstrates the quality of our rams and how well suited they are to local producers and conditions. Also a big ‘thankyou’ to those ewe sellers that marketed them as ‘from Daramalan’ – we are so pleased you had a successful year and sale.
In 2012 we will produce about 55 Border Leicester rams for sale in November. We could sell 90 but would rather have fewer rams of a higher quality. So far the season has been good, if wet, and it is time for fencing and maintenance. It is also time to sow a crop of oats in the alfalfa paddock for some feed and choke out the weeds.
It is also time to plough up the house paddock, put in the irrigation pipes and plant the orchard and garlic bulbs. There will be apples, pears, quinces, olives and four varieties of garlic as a trial and to grow seed bulbs for next year. It has taken longer to get organised than we hoped and will be all the more satisfying when we harvest. The medium term plan is to become self sufficient in fruit and vegetables and fully embrace seasonal slow food principles.
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