WA Poll Merino stud breeders again showed they are prepared to pay for top genetics with the announcement that a young Poll Merino sire from the Willandra stud, Jerilderie, New South Wales, is headed to the State after selling privately for $51,000.
The ram, Willandra 0-447, was purchased by the Blight family's Seymour Park stud, Highbury, with semen shares going to San-Mateo stud, Brookton; Warralea stud, Gairdner; Wililoo stud, Woodanilling; Cranston Pty Ltd, Wandering; Meadow View stud, Henty, NSW; Kamora Park stud, Sandalwood, South Australia and North Cowie stud, Warooka, South Australia.
The ram was part of the Willandra stud's pair, which won the national March shorn pair judging at last month's Australian Sheep & Wool Show at Bendigo, Victoria, and Mr Wells said that's when attention on the ram started.
"That got the wheels turning," Mr Wells said.
"Clinton Blight is keen on the sheep and he is a young fellow and he'll have some young fellows in his partnership and I like young people."
Seymour Park is no stranger to the Willandra stud having previously bid up to $81,000 in 2016 for a ram at the stud's on-property sale.
Seymour Park co-principal Clinton Blight said he was first taken by the ram at Bendigo.
"He is exactly what we have been looking for in terms of a sire," Mr Blight said.
"He is a beautifully balanced ram with an excellent skin and wool type.
"He has a good quality rich medium wool plus he has very good spring of rib and great meat through his twist.
"He also scanned well in the production class at Bendigo with a high fat reading, something we are focusing on in the stud.
"In addition to his physical traits he is also extremely well bred with strong proven lines on both his dam and sire lines.
"We are extremely excited to purchase him and use him in the stud."
Elders stud stock representative and classer for the Seymour Park, San-Mateo and Warralea studs Nathan King said there was plenty to like about the ram.
"The Willandra stud had two other ET-bred siblings (a ram and a ewe) at Bendigo which were also of high quality and this ram and those two were the pick of the Willandra team and this gave us plenty of confidence to have a go at the ram," Mr King said.
"He has an excellent structure to go with a bold crimping, stylish wool which we have been looking for.
"All three studs I deal with have quality wools and we think this ram will add that extra punch, crimp and style to their wools that the industry is looking for.
"I was also really impressed with his backend - it is wide and square plus he also has a good high tail setting.
"I think he will certainly have an impact in all three studs in the future."
The 114kg, ET-bred ram is sired by Wallaloo Park 422 and is out of a Willandra Desmond daughter.
Mr Wells said the ram's sire had been very successful at Willandra, as well as in other flocks through semen sales.
It has current wool test figures of 19.4 micron, 2.6 SD, 13.4 CV and 99.8 per cent comfort, while it scanned 41mm eye muscle depth and 10mm fat when it was scanned for the All-Purpose class at Bendigo.
The Willandra stud will collect semen from the ram before it comes to WA and Seymour Park will hold semen rights in WA and South Australia and enquires for semen can be directed to Nathan King (0488 582 455).