THE long list of offerings featuring well-known and respected bloodlines was enough to entice a strong contingent of registered buyers from throughout the State and from the Eastern States to attend last week’s combined agents annual October special ewe & lamb sale at Katanning.
Landmark, Primaries and Westcoast Wool & Livestock, joined forces to present the sale, penning an overall line-up featuring a majority of Merino ewes ranging in age with the odd smattering of Merino wether lambs, as well as a few drafts of first cross Prime SAMM and Dohne ewes.
By the end of the day the three selling teams had sold a total of 13,794 head between them, averaging $129.
Ewes were the main attraction once again, selling to the strongest average of $135 for the 11,473 head sold.
The 67 head of ewe lambs sold to an average of $120, while 93 head of wethers sold to an average of $78 and the 2161 wether lambs averaged $97.
The top-priced line of the day was to be found in the Landmark offering with the corner pen filled with 333 head of East Mundalla blood, 1.5yo Merino ewes from Dumbleyung-based operation TR & DK Edwards.
The draft of roomy March shorn ewes caught the attention of Bill Sounness, W Sounness & Sons, Mt Barker, who went all the way to the sale-topping bid of $178.
p Primaries
Primaries were first up with auctioneer Jay Macdonald getting things underway with a 130 head strong yarding of 2yo, April shorn, first-cross Prime SAMM ewes offered by I & J Quartermaine, Katanning.
The overall Primaries yarding saw 1763 head sold, including 1670 ewes at an average of $107 and 93 wethers at an average of $78.
The Quartermaine offering, which was the first cab off the rank, fetched the top price in the Primaries offering at $135, paid by Peter Metcalf, PE & CK Metcalf, Boyup Brook, who will use the ewes in a prime lamb operation mated to Poll Dorset rams.
There were seven other vendors with sheep in the Primaries portion of the sale with DR & ME Egerton-Warburton, Frankland, yarding three lines including 338 October shorn, 1yo Merino ewes, as well as 82 October shorn, 1yo Merino wethers and 11 red tag (3yo) Merino wethers, all of Monte Verde bloodlines.
The ewes sold to the Eastern States after Miles Pfitzner put in a $110 bid on behalf of Southern Grampians Livestock & Real Estate, while both lines of wethers sold to Elders Cranbrook agent Clark Skinner for $77 and $87 respectively.
Another of the larger drafts was the 316 head of 1yo September shorn, Billandri blood Merino ewes presented by CP & SA Walker, which sold to a Westcoast Wool & Livestock account for $108.
There was also a large draft of Dohnes on offer from JE McLeod.
The line of 279 October shorn, 2yo ewes sold sold for $106 to Westcoast Wool & Livestock Lake Grace agent Jane Bushby, who was bidding on behalf of Turrama Farms, Pingaring.
The remainder of the Primaries offering consisted of Merino ewes ranging in age between 1-5.5yo, and they all sold to a number of buyers.
GD Chisholm offered a line of 123 1.5yo ewes which sold for $131 to Elders Bridgetown agent Brendan Mead, as well as a line of 42 2.5yo ewes which sold to BR & PH Trevaskis, Jerramungup, for $100.
Some deep barrelled, August shorn mixed age (2.5-5.5yo) ewes were offered by LM & PA O’Neill.
The 163 head draft also sold to the Trevaskis operation down at Jerramungup for $101.
At the older end of the age range penned on the day were a line of 173 September shorn, Mianelup blood, 5.5yo ewes from JR & RJ Baxter which sold for $85 to RA & LM Nichols, Pingrup, and a draft of 106 5.5yo ewes from RJ Crouch which sold for $75 to Wellard Animal Production.
p Westcoast Wool & Livestock
When it was time for the Westcoast Wool & Livestock team to take to the rail, auctioneer Chris Hartley encouraged the bids to keep on coming.
Under Mr Hartley’s watch a total of 4126 head were sold, including 2956 ewes averaging $126 and 1103 wether lambs which sold at an average of $105.
The Westcoast yarding also kicked off with some F1 Prime SAMMs from CR & SL Langsford, Quairading.
The draft of 201 February shorn, 1.5yo ewes sold to the top price of the Westcoast Wool & Livestock portion of the sale when it was knocked down at $151 to Kinsey Investments Pty Ltd, Broomehill.
For the rest of the Westcoast run there were only Merinos to be seen with C Nicholl & Co, Hyden, offering three lines all featuring Carribber bloodlines to be the major vendor.
First of the three lines was a line of 109 March shorn, 1.5yo ewes which sold for $140 to a Westcoast Wool & Livestock account.
The same account bought two other lines of the same age including the 130 July shorn, Lewisdale blood 1.5yo ewes offered by AW & AP Latham, Narembeen, for $140 and 91 April shorn, Kolindale blood, 1.5yo ewes offered by BR & LJ Walton & Co, Hyden, for $129.
C Nicholl & Co also offered 215 unshorn wether lambs which sold for $90 to B & P Brown, Kojonup, while the C Nicholl & Co offering of older ewes including 250 March shorn, 5.5yo ewes sold to Lincon Gangell, Westcoast Wool & Livestock, Hyden.
Mr Gangell tallied up a few more lines under the same account, purchasing another older draft of 280 April shorn, 5.5yo Lendale blood ewes from WH & S Henderer, Kondinin, for $115 and a line of 194 September shorn, 1.5yo ewes featuring Canowie Fields blood for $143 from PA Heron & Co, Broomehill.
KL Carter & Co, Dalwallinu, presented a few drafts including a line of 329 February shorn, 3.5yo ewes with Lewisdale-Corrigin and MPM bloodlines which sold for $122 to Eastern States buyer Rodwells Yea, Victoria, who also bought another line of 29 3.5yo ewes with the same breeding for $95.
The Carter outfit also offered 153 February shorn, 4.5yo ewes which sold for $123 to a Westcoast Wool & Livestock Esperance account.
KL & DM Major, Hyden, also offered a couple of lines, starting with 87 Collinsville blood, 1.5yo ewes which sold for $142 to Westcoast Wool & Livestock Boyup Brook representative Brenton Tynan, who was bidding on behalf of CJ’s Shearing Service, Boyup Brook.
An older line of 281 Collinsville blood 4.5yo ewes from the Majors sold to Kia-Ora Farming, Dumbleyung, for $112, while a draft of 197 wether lambs from TF & DM Major sold for $104 to RD Edwards, Ravensthorpe.
The highest value paid in the lamb portion of the Westcoast Wool & Livestock offering was $121.50 bid by Glenpadden Farms, Kojonup, for a draft of 87 Lewisdale-Corrigin blood, unshorn wether lambs offered by AT Lane & Sons, Hyden.
The remaining ewes aged between 1.5-4.5yo sold at values between $109-$148 while the remaining lamb lines made between $97.50-$120.
p Landmark
Landmark auctioneer Mark Warren was the last to take to the rail on the day but the bidding competition didn’t let up as the very first pen to go under the Landmark hammer took the top price gong of the sale at $178, as mentioned above.
Overall the Landmark team sold a total of 7905 head including 6847 ewes at an average of $146, and 1058 wether lambs at an average of $89.50.
One of the major attractions in the Landmark portion of the catalogue was the genuine flock dispersal of the Baker family’s KC & JD Baker, Bullaring flock.
Ken Baker ended an era by offering three lines of October shorn Merino ewes, all of high quality and showing their long term Wallinar influence.
The lines of 289 1.5yo ewes and 518 2.5yo ewes sold for $169.50 and $166 respectively to Eastern States buyer Adam Mountjoy, Rodwells Yea, who was at the sale with client Tom Forrest, Mansfield, north east Victoria, whose property will be new home for the Baker’s ewes.
Mr Mountjoy said the Baker ewes were of a high quality.
“They were a couple of beautiful lines of sheep,” he said.
“We were very pleased to be able to secure such numbers from a genuine dispersal of this sort of quality.
“The sheep are very even, they are plain-bodied and sound and will no doubt do well in the East.”
The third and final line of the Baker dispersal was a draft of 365 3.5yo ewes which sold for $165.50 to Bradley Owen Gardiner, Mumballup.
A large line of 539 September shorn, 1.5yo Merino ewes with East Mundulla blood offered by BB & MJ Smith also sold at the stronger end of the sale at $166 to a Westcoast Wool & Livestock account.
The second largest single line offering of the day was presented by PG & WD Patterson, Gnowangerup.
The line of 671 September shorn, 2.5yo Merino ewes featuring Woolkabin bloodlines sold for $133 to Gilnochie Pty Ltd, Kojonup.
Four vendors offered multiple lines, including Bellakin Grazing, Katanning, with a line of 545 August shorn, Wiringa Park blood 1.5yo ewes offered early in the sale which sold to the Eastern States for $130 after Miles Pfitzner raised his hand again.
The second line of 409 3.5yo ewes with the same shearing and bloodlines from Bellakin Grazing sold much closer to home when they went for $142.50 to GJ & DM Warren, Williams.
Maringanui Grazing, Kojonup, was another vendor to offer two lines with two drafts of 1.5yo October shorn, East Strathglen blood ewes in the line-up.
The first line of 142 head sold to a Westcoast Wool & Livestock Hyden account for $145 while the second line of 262 sold at $138 to Elders Mt Barker representative Dean Wallinger.
The two other vendors to offer two lines were DJ & BD Caelli, West River and BW Hastings & Co, Pingelly.
The Caelli sheep were July shorn with Nerstane blood and sold at $129.50 for a line of 115 1.5yo ewes and $144 for a draft of 264 2.5yo ewes, while the older Hastings offering of September shorn, Lewisdale blood sheep sold at $130 for 109 4.5yo ewes and $110.50 for 137 5.5yo ewes.
Kohat Farm, Ongerup offered the largest single line of the day with 806 unshorn, Toorackie blood, June/July-drop wether lambs which sold for $89.50 to Alex Cant Trust, Kojonup.