![RECORD SALE: Rodney and Karen Vodusek, of Hareeba Park, sold 40 Australian White ewes for $1015 on Tuesday, a new record for ewe sale prices in Australia. Pictures: SUPPLIED RECORD SALE: Rodney and Karen Vodusek, of Hareeba Park, sold 40 Australian White ewes for $1015 on Tuesday, a new record for ewe sale prices in Australia. Pictures: SUPPLIED](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/128816459/96915765-a71c-446d-84a6-cd9cd831de09.jpeg/r0_75_800_525_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A Bundalong farmer says the record-breaking sale of a selection of his ewes was driven by the mob's strong bloodline and in part by the impacts of COVID-19.
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Rodney and Karen Vodusek, of Hareeba Park, sold 40 Australian White ewes for $1015 on Tuesday, a new record for ewe sale prices in Australia.
Mr Vodusek said the ewes were offspring of Australian White sheep purchased from Tattykeel Stud in Black Springs, NSW, the birthplace of the breed.
"They're a cross between Poll Dorset, Texel, White Dorper and Van Rooy," he said.
"The result is these sheep called Aussie Whites, which sort of on the market side of it, they've only been around since 2011."
According to the Tattykeel website, Australian Whites were "developed to be a self-replacing, haired, meat sheep that required minimal maintenance" traits that Mr Vodusek said were now highly sought after.
He said with COVID-19 international and interstate border closures making it hard for farmers to source shearers, the idea of a self-shedding meat sheep was appealing.
"And these sheep, you don't have to shear them, you don't have to crutch them," he said.
"I don't have to worry about chasing flies over summer, I don't have to worry about chasing shearers, so there's less expenses.
"And they give multiple births and I can birth twice a year with them."
![Strong genetics drive new record bid for Australian White ewes Strong genetics drive new record bid for Australian White ewes](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/128816459/5bcf98d4-86ea-4fd7-96ed-c6331c2e7666.jpeg/r0_27_800_477_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
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Mr Vodusek said he thought holding the auction online due to COVID-19 had also contributed to the excellent price.
"It gives a lot of people time to sit and ponder at the kitchen table in front of the computer screen," he said.
"Talking to a couple of people who've done their auctions online, they said the auctions have never sold better."
Elders Yarrawonga's Trent Head and Scott Parker helped Mr Vodusek sell the ewes.
Mr Head said the Tattykeel genetics were well wanted, so he wasn't surprised the sale went well.
"They were good young ewes with a good percentage of lambs in them," he said.
"I've had a lot of phone calls on them and it's no wonder why."
Mr Head said a few months ago Australian Whites had sold for about $900 in northern NSW, so the winning auction bid of $1015 was more than he thought they would have made.
"But there's a lot of interest in them, so it's one of those things that you just don't know where it's going to stop and start," he said.
"And once Rodney put a pretty realistic reserve on them, people know they can bid up and they're going to get them."
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