A record-breaking Australian white ram sold for $240,000 at a stud sale in Central New South Wales.
The Australian white stud sheep were sold by Tattykeel in Black Springs near Oberon, beating the previous meat sheep record of $165,000 set by the same stud in 2021.
It is the most expensive sheep sold since 1989 when a merino sold for $450,000.
That price was achieved by the Collinsville stud when there was a fixed price for wool and the industry was riding a huge high, only to come crashing down shortly after.
The sale came close to reaching the record price of $280,000 for an Angus bull set in Millah Murrah, Bathurst last year.
The $240,000 ram was purchased by the Elite Australian White Syndicate, made up of four buyers from New South Wales.
Steve Pederick, a syndicate said it was an elite ram. He said that it would be used across our four stud groups with the intention of using his exciting young genetics to bolster our studs.
He has very good growth rates and he has certainly been one of the fastest growing rams as a lamb.
He has got exceptional muscle, depth, he is very balanced and very deep right through his carcass. Graham Gilmore, the owner of Tattykeel studs, said he did not expect the sale to reach that price.
He said it was pretty amazing to think that you would sell a ram for that kind of money.
The price tells a story about the state of wool and sheep meat industries.
Australia is currently experiencing a shortage of shearers, which is driving up the costs associated with removing the wool.
If you have a sheep with a strong wool, you are losing money by shearing that sheep, he said.
Australian sheep such as Australian whites have been selectively bred to have self-shedding coats.
This has resulted in increased demand for Australian white sheep that do not produce wool, according to Mr Gilmore.
He said there is a huge change in the industry and if you're breeding sheep for meat you don't need wool on them.
The sheep were more adapted to Australian conditions due to lack of wool, according to Mr Pederick.
He said that we don't need to shear, we don't need to crutch and there are absolute minimum flystrike issues.