MORE rams offered, more rams sold and a $4100 top price made the Belmont Park on-property ram sale a resounding success at Wagin last week.
The top price sire was both showy and sirey and so it was fitting that its stud qualities would be utilised in breeding replacement rams at its new home in Dudinin as well as putting in a final appearance in the show ring under the Belmont Park banner at the upcoming IGA Perth Royal Show.
The successful top price buyer David Kirby, DC & DM Kirby, Dudinin, said it was an outstanding sire with nice, punchy wool.
"He is from a particularly good wool family with his sire being Bonooke 28," he said.
"He has exceptional body and thickness and his wool is all style."
Mr Kirby selected the ram with the additional help of his classer Courtney Sutherland who is also the Belmont Park stud classer.
Mr Sutherland said it was a rare opportunity to purchase a ram by Bonooke 28 with only a limited amount of semen available of which Belmont Park was able to secure 100 doses.
"The ram which David bought has the best skin I have seen on a Poll ram," he said.
"The aim is to get the ideal shape and depth of body suited for a terminal market together with outstanding wool quality and quantity.
"This ram has all these traits."
Mr Kirby runs a nucleus stud flock of 300 ewes over which the top ram will be used to breed replacement rams for the family's 1500 head commercial ewe flock.
At 126kg, the top price ram had all the figures to support its stature and it also had an EMD of 36mm and fat depth of 6mm while wool test results measured 20.5 for micron.
Second top price of the sale was $2000 and this was paid by last year's second top price buyers and long-term Belmont Park clients T & V Giles, Newdegate.
Mr Sutherland's sentiments about the Belmont Park Poll Merino rams competing with terminal sires for body weight and carcase attributes as well as wool quality were echoed in reports that last season the Giles' had sent off the more than the top half of their weather lamb drop as suckers which was testament to the weight the Belmont Park sires put into their progeny.
The $2000 second top price ram was part of a team of five rams secured by the Giles' at the sale and together the team averaged $1240.
The swag of long term Belmont Park clients continued their support of the big, heavy cutting rams and PJ & SM Foley, Wagin, secured 10, paying up to $1500 and a team average of $1140.
Also filling a large order, Dunara Farms, Wagin, successfully bid on nine rams paying to a top of $1300 and average of $950 while KR Rowell & Co, Wagin, took home eight lots paying up to $1500 for one and a total team average of $994.
Also buying eight rams was GN & CL Richardson, Newdegate, who peaked at $950 (paid twice) and overall paid an average of $744 for the team.
Continuing through the list of return buyers who bid at the sale, RL Williamson & Co, Lake Grace, secured seven paying up to $1200 and overall average of $993 while local supporters BL & JH Kilpatrick, Wagin, took home six paying to a top of $1300 and average of $1033.
While the bidding competition dropped off a bit towards the end of the sale, there were still several buyers which filled their utes and Gillett Bros, Williams, secured five paying excellent money at $1700, $1600, $1500, $1300 and $800 while F Ganzer & Co, Wagin, put together a team of seven rams in the last few runs paying to a top of $800.
Other buyers which were also active included AW Slarke & Co, Lake Grace, AM & GA Gath, Cuballing, and GA & WM Abbott, Wagin.
Guest auctioneer Graeme Curry said the rams were very well penned and that given the amount of longterm clients who returned to the sale again there was clearly a lot of confidence in the performance of the rams.
"These sheep represent value for money," he said.
"The rams deliver commercially relevant, money making traits and this is demonstrated through the performance of the progeny for the Belmont Park clients."
