JUST two lines of Prime SAMM ewes went under the hammer at David Kinsey and Lyn O’Brien’s clearing sale at Broomehill last week and both fetched $150 paid by the same buyer.
The first was a pen of 178 rising three-year-olds and the second was 335 rising 4yo.
Both lots were bought-in ewes that had been running with White Suffolk rams from December 7 and had been December shorn.
The buyers were established Prime SAMM breeders Peter and Deanne Caldwell, Walyamming Farms, Nyabing, who had done their homework before deciding to buy the extra sheep numbers.
Mr Caldwell said he had been running Gracefield blood SAMMs for 10 years and they were returning the same money per hectare as canola but without the risk.
His total $76,950 investment for 513 ewes put him among the big spenders on the day, eclipsed only by the $150,000 header later in the day.
Landmark auctioneer Michael Altus also had the task of selling 10 Ashbourne White Suffolk rams that made meat values and three white wether alpaca flock guards.
Ms O’Brien said the alpacas had been very effective in lifting their lambing percentages and were the final animals to go in their now-dispersed breeding herd.
The unusual offering had the auctioneer scratching his head to know what price to call but the market settled the problem with all three, that ranged in age from six to 15 years making $20 a head.
