PRICES were back, the quality was high, the flies were sticky and so was the clearance at the Landmark Annual Prime Lamb sire sale at Mt Barker on October 31.
The theme of the season for the majority of the terminal sire sales continued with the strength of wool prices detracting from an outstanding array of prime lamb sires at Frost Park.
However, there were a few highlights across the board and this included the peak of $1050 paid for a pair of rams from the Rainbow Park Poll Dorset stud, Napier.
With a kilogram between them when it came to bodyweight at 104kg and 105kg, the pair was exceptionally even and they were purchased by Yorklands Farms, Wellstead.
A total of 19 of the Rainbow Park rams were knocked down to the Yorklands account and together they averaged $829.
The team of 100 per cent grassfed Poll Dorset rams from Kim Roberts’ Rainbow Park stud were in general well received and supported particularly well by long-term clients TS Collins, Napier.
Tom and Sue Collins secured four Rainbow Park rams paying $1000, $950, $850 and $750 and Mr Collins stated that they had been buying from the stud since the very beginning back in 1997.
“We have a fairly straight forward prime lamb operation with about 800 Merino ewes mated back to Rainbow Park Poll Dorset rams,” Mr Collins said.
“They have always performed extremely well and we usually get a very good line in the first draft off to WAMMCO at around 45-46kg.”
“We select very long, cleaned faced rams and they demonstrate outstanding muscle without any extra feeding so they are ready to work.”
The Collins wean their lambs at about 14 weeks of age and after the first draft is taken off, another draft is then turned off grass and any not making this draft are shorn and finished on pellets.
Other buyers who selected rams from the Rainbow Park offering were GD Collins, Napier, which bought four paying $700 each and CM Stothard, Mt Barker, which paid $950 for two.
Also offering a top selection of Poll Dorset sires was the Noojee stud, Mt Barker, which offered up 34 sires and sold 20 under the hammer.
Actively bidding on these rams was Noojee client of five years Pardee Grazing Co, Kendenup, which secured six paying to a top of $950 (twice) and finishing with a team average of $850.
Matt Gilbert, Gilbert Wines, Kendenup, also made sure he secured his selections from the Noojee catalogue and put together a team of four rams, paying $800 each across the board, while RW & DJ Wright, Mt Barker, bought six at $700 each and AD & CW Enright, Mt Barker, purchased four at $750, $750, $700 and $700.
In the White Suffolk offering the Matilda Downs stud, Kendenup, offered a strong line-up of rams to reserved demand with Yuelup Farms, Tenterden, buying two for $850 each and the WA College of Agriculture Denmark bought five all at $700.
The Windle Hill South Suffolk stud, Mt Barker, presented 12 rams in the sale and sold nine under the hammer for an average of $644 and to a top of $700 on three occasions.
Mt Barker operation CM Stothard & Co, was the volume buyer in the run, purchasing six at an average of $633.
East Gully Farms, Rocky Gully, then secured two paying $700 and $650.
The sale rounded out with three White Dorper rams offered by the Gloria Dieu stud, Mt Barker.
Two of them were snapped up by Yuelup Farms, Tenterden, for $800 each.
When commenting on the sale, Landmark auctioneer and Carroll-Staite agencies co-principal Charlie Staite said that the end of the day the sale just ran out of buyers.
“I think the result followed on from the results of the majority of the British breed rams sales this season,” Mr Staite said.
“The final result was no reflection on the rams and their quality which I thought was outstanding, just a result of the strength of the current wool market.”
