THE improved values and clearance rates attained at last year's Arrin Park ram sale were almost wiped away by the reversal in seasonal conditions at this year's on-property sale at Three Springs.
Values were back and the clearance rate was down but there was still positivity among ram buyers who demonstrated their staunch support for a stud that celebrated 50 years of Merino breeding last year and has made a strong commitment to head towards another 50 years of breeding.
The Three Springs stud principal Neill Reed presented a 52-ram Merino and Poll Merino offering that sold to a $900 top four times and averaged $685 for the 31 rams sold.
This was down from $766 in 2018 when local farmers were enjoying one of their best seasons ever in terms of sheep, wool and grain prices that were coupled with excellent seasonal conditions.
This year the buying ranks were somewhat depleted with many clients already switched to survival mode to tough out a season that has been short on paddock feed and appears set to deliver a disappointing harvest.
Those in attendance were all long-term customers, well experienced with the ability of Arrin Park rams to handle such tough Wheatbelt conditions and they found themselves with the luxury of minimal competition on their first-choice rams.
The top price was paid by three different buyers and the first to pay the $900 top were local farmers Neil and Tamara Sadler whose situation was a frequently repeated story of farmers looking ahead to manage the deteriorating season for the next six months.
They had been last year's main volume buyer when they took home 11 rams from the sale then returned for another ute and trailer-load bought privately.
This year they bought just four Merinos, saying they were about to quit a big proportion of their ewes to help get through the summer.
Mr Sadler was looking for the combination of good handling wool and body size, saying wether lambs were an important part of their farming operation because they value added them through the feedlot.
He particularly liked the Arrin Park genetics because it was a case of 'what you see is what you get' and his knowledge stemmed from working on the Arrin Park property in his earlier farming life.
"The sheep are genuinely paddock run and many of the rams still have their lamb's teeth," Mr Sadler said.
They twice paid $900 for Merinos to contribute to the $676 average for the 17 Merino rams sold.
Of the 16 Poll rams offered, 14 sold under the hammer and $900 was achieved twice with another long-term buyer Peter Mitchell, Mingenew, paying the top money as he sought out one Merino and eight Polls to use in his 1700-head ewe flock.
Over the years he had been increasingly moving towards Polls finding they were some of the bigger animals in the sale and still had plenty of growing to do when they got home.
He was another who was considering reducing ewe numbers but was still hopeful of some decent finishing rain to avert a decision.
Only two days before the Arrin Park sale Mr Reed paid $8000 for the top price ram at the Manunda sale to start his 51st year of Merino breeding.
Manunda bloodlines have been used with great success for a considerable number years and coupled with some Kamballie lines he hoped to continue the gains made in wool quality and body structure.
The big percentage of Manunda genetics within the Arrin Park flock provided an affordable alternative and was not lost on buyers with local Landmark agent Tom Page saying buyers knew they were onto a 'good thing'.
Mr Reed said he usually expected a good buyer turnout but this year the absence of a few regulars was indicative of the season.
He was still pleased with the support he received from those in attendance and was hopeful next year would be a return to better conditions and a full contingent of clients.
Landmark auctioneer Murray Paterson reiterated his appreciation of the support and placed the blame of this year's lack of competition squarely on the number of ewes that had left the district in the past month.
It was his fourth year selling at Arrin Park and he congratulated the vendor on the display, wool quality and growth of the rams penned and said the number of buyers who came back every year demonstrated how well they performed in the paddock.
Another of the sale's big buyers was David De Bruyn, Carnamah, who also paid the $900 equal top price for another Poll and bought 12 rams.
One of the most positive stories at the sale came from Brendon Haeusler, Carnamah.
He bought his usual quota of five rams for up to $850 and only last week he and wife Lydia had launched One L of a Good Feed, a new café in Carnamah selling local produce and, in particular, their saltbush lamb.
Mrs Haeusler ran a local catering business and when an old church in the town's main street came on the market the couple could see an opportunity to make lamb the star of the menu.
Apart from an array of freshly made lamb dishes including lamb burgers, sausages and koftas they also sold boxed lamb.