Elvis Rocks Opposition and Rolls to 'Best' Title
Elvis the Poll Dorset ram was the king of Sheepvention last week. Before the judges at Hamilton, the Ralph family's ram swept all male comers aside, winning the champion Poll Dorset ram sash and then best shortwool ram of the show.
The 15 month old sire was fresh from the Australian Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo last month where he was sashed as the reserve champion poll dorset on his first showing.
The Standard, On The Land, Thursday August 7th, 2003
Australian Sheep & Wool Show 2003 Another broad ribbon winner was the Shellal stud, Koroit, which paraded the Reserve Champion ram on it's first showing. It came from the same class as the champion. Mr. Prentice said he found it quite difficult to separate the two when judging the class.
Stock & Land, Thursday July 24th, 2003
|
Bendigo 2003; Australian Sheep & Wool Show
In the Poll Dorset section, the Ralph family of Hawkesdale won the Reserve Champion ram sash with their Shellal stud, "Elvis" the 14 month old sire, on his first showing. Judge Jim Prentice said the ram had extreme length with a beautiful top line and shoulders. The Shellal Stud took 11 sheep to the show.
The Standard, On The Land, Thursday July 24, 2003
Bred for the Serious Producer
Shellal Poll Dorset Stud, a family owned and operated seedstock business, will again be exhibiting their show team at this years Sheepvention.
Geoff and Pam Ralph along with their two daughters, Tania and Elizabeth, manage and operate the stud from their property at Hawkesdale.
The stud will be holding its 24th Annual sale on Tuesday October 14. There will be a number of flock rams, stud rams and ewes on offer, with sires consisting of Shellal's own rams retained, as well as Gloroy, Tattykeel and Penrise sires. Some of the stud rams catalogued for the sale will be on show at this years Sheepvention.
Flock rams on offer are big framed, long, open faced rams with plenty of depth and muscling. Bred for the serious lamb producer, the flock rams are of the highest quality. This is because Shellal only run stud sheep on the property, no commercials, so Shellal clients are getting the top rams. Top rams produce the best lambs. Both Lambplan and Stockscan figures will be available on sale day or prior by arrangement. Sale catalogues will be available on the Shellal website mid September.
Shellal is a brucellosis accredited flock as well as having an accredited Johne's Flock status of MN2. This means that stock purchased can travel anywhere in Australia, there are no restrictions. With recent news of stud health status, it has become even more important to purchase stud stock from accredited flocks across the board.
The Spectator, Sheepvention Suppliment 2003 |
Shellal - a long association
A perfect example of Shellal Stud rams.
Picture: Ann James
SHELLAL have been exhibiting sheep in Hamilton Sheepvention for 32 years. The stud started showing there when it was first known as Hamilton and District Sheep Show.
In the early days of Ralph's exhibiting their Poll Dorsets the emphasis of the show was focused more on wool sheep and the ram sales. Other breeds were not very well catered for. Since those days Sheepvention has come a long way recognising all breeds have an equal showing.
The standard and entry numbers in the Poll Dorset section of the show have increased steadily since the early days and rapidly in the last 10 years. The Ralphs enjoy showing at Hamilton as it gives them a chance to catch up with their clients and for the buyers to view the show team.
Sheepvention is the Ralph's local major sheep show and they always find it a pleasure to support as it is such a growing event. The Poll Dorsets draw many entries from Victoria as well as South Australia making competition strong in all classes.
Over the years the Ralphs have won numerous championships for rams and ewes. Some of these include reserve champion ewe 1995, reserve champion ram 1996, reserve champion ewe 1996, champion Poll Dorset group 1996 and champion ewe 1999.
Shellal hold an annual on-property sale which will be held this year on Tuesday, October 8, 2002.
On offer at the sale will be 15 stud rams, 70 special stud ewes and 130 'top of the drop' flock rams.
What does 'top of the drop' mean? It means the buyers can rely on these rams being the very best flock rams from the stud. Shellal solely breed stud sheep and no commercial sheep, therefore they are breeding the top flock rams exclusively for their clients.
Article from Sheepvention, 2002, page 57 |
Shellal goes from strength to strength
ON A WINNER: Elizabeth and Tania Ralph
at last year's Royal Melbourne Show
It's been 34 years since Geoff and Pam Ralph started showing their Shellal stud Poll Dorsets.
And they've gone from strength to strength since their daughters Elizabeth and Tania were brought into the partnership.
Their talents with showing sheep have shone through, with Elizabeth winning the champion ram award at the 1995 Melbourne ASBA at her first show.
Since then they have won the champion ewe award at the 2000 SheepVention and the champion ewe broad ribbon at last year's Australian Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo.
With fewer young people coming back to the farm, especially young women, Mrs. Ralph said it was good to see Elizabeth and Tania so committed to the family business.
Elizabeth completed a four-year farm apprenticeship under the guidance of her father, Geoff, at their Hawkesdale farm.
Tania went off-farm to become a florist but decided to return home to help with the stud.
Shellal was founded in 1966. Today it boasts 700 ewes and sells 130 flock rams at its October sale. They're coming up to their 23rd sale. Last year's flock ram sale averaged $610.
Mrs. Ralph said the stud had been a strong supporter of the showring as a shop window since attending its first show in Ballarat in 1968.
She said the best analogy was to view the showring as the window of a butcher's shop, where the very best meat is always on display.
Mrs. Ralph said since they began showing, the Poll Dorset had changed enormously. In the 1960s the breed was typical of the day - short in the leg with very deep, short and square bodies and short necks.
"They probably had as much meat on them as modern sheep but they were much fatter. We've come a long way. Breeders have pulled them out and made them bigger by being conscientious and moving with the times."
However, the Ralphs don't breed especially for the showring.
Mrs. Ralph said that they focused on breeding top quality commercial flock rams - the "bread and butter" sheep - and carefully pick through these to select their stud and show rams.
They join about 200 ewes a year by AI to proven sires to keep new blood coming through the stud. AI is also a risk management tool because of disease.
The Ralphs won't compromise on trueness to type, length, conformation and plenty of meat.
"And they must have good feet and legs; otherwise they can't work. They're the things you want in your flock rams," Mrs. Ralph said.
She said their focus on big-framed, long-bodied meaty sheep satisfied local demand. Many local prime lamb breeders use stronger woolled prime lamb mothers such as Coopworths, so the Ralphs' attention to the tight Dorset-style wool satisfies commercial breeder demand for rams that sire higher value lambs with dense wool on their skins.
Mrs. Ralph said once the rams had been drafted on their visual traits, other measures, such as scan data could be used. They're keen on Stockscan because of its yield score, which Mrs. Ralph said was important for direct selling on the ViaScan system.
By Don Story, Australian Sheep & Wool Show 2002 - STOCK & LAND July 11, 2002 |
