Australian sheep sells for $240,000 to smash own record for biggest sale

He’s a stud for sure.

An Australian white ram broke records after selling for a whopping $240,000. Breeder Tattykeel sold the stud, smashing the meat sheep record set by the same sheep last year by $75,000.

The Elite Australian White Syndicate, a conglomerate of four buyers, purchased the ram in the Central New South Wales sale for what co-owner Steve Pederick describes as an “elite ram.”

“He has extremely good growth rates — he has certainly been one of the fastest growing rams as a lamb. He has got exceptional muscle, depth, he is very balanced and is very deep right through his carcass,” Pederick said, per ABC.

“We will utilize it across our four stud groups with the intention of using his exciting young genetics to bolster our studs,” he added.

Graham Gilmore, the owner of Tattykeel and formerly the ram, was baffled by the large price point for his sheep.

“It is pretty amazing to think you would sell a ram for that kind of money,” he said.

In recent months, red meat prices have surged across the globe. Australia’s sheep industry currently is suffering from a shearer shortage, causing wool production and shearing costs to skyrocket; shearing those sheep for slaughter would further raise the prices of red meat.

However, meat sheep like Australian whites have been bred to self-shed, causing the demand for the breed and the price for prime studs to increase.

“Shearing is so expensive — if you have got a composite sheep that has got a strong wool, you are losing money to shear that sheep,” Gilmore said.

“There is a huge change in the industry and if you’re breeding sheep for meat you don’t need wool on them,” he added.