Bidding for coloured mixed age and two-tooth rams, ewes and ewe lambs in the catalogue will start at noon for the New Zealand Coloured Sheep Sale after a 10.30am viewing.
The auction will be followed by a field day in the afternoon at Stuart and Sue Albrey’s farm outside of Waimate.
The sale has been running for decades and until this year was the main auction of the year after the North Island sale was closed. However, more interest led to the North Island sale being re-introduced this month.
The sale includes registered purebreds and commercial sheep.
Breeders of coloured sheep witnessing lower ewe prices are holding their breath that coloured sheep will hold their own at the sale.
A ram sold for $750 three years ago and there have been sales around the $600 mark. Two-tooth ewes have sold for as much as $300 in the past.
Mr Albrey said the sale brought farmers of coloured sheep together.
He said the field day was a chance for them to wind down as well as being educational, with talks that will cover worm, footrot and fly resistance.
This will include developments to build resistance by breeders, including the Paterson family at Matakanui Station.
The Black and Coloured Breeders Association of New Zealand is hosting the world congress for coloured sheep breeding in Christchurch in November followed by bus tours in both islands.
