ALMOST 500 people turned up to Collin and Sandy Penny's clearing sale at Lake King recently with 284 buyers registering to bid.
It was a massive show of support for the first clearing sale in the region since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, which grossed $1.6 million before tax.
The turn out and the total income surprised both the Madden Rural and Westcoast Wool & Livestock teams that organised the sale on behalf of the family.
Attendees came from as far as Perth, Wandering, Frankland, Albany, Esperance and Westonia.
Prices at the sale went for almost brand new on some items, particularly for the mobile field bins and an auger, while there was strong bidding on selected items.
Madden Rural spokesperson Neil McAllister said "there were people everywhere" and it appeared that some came just to chat.
"There were two blokes that came from Esperance and they didn't buy anything - they just stood around and talked all day," Mr McAllister said.
"It's the first clearing sale in the area since February and the first since COVID."
Mr McAlister said there was some renewed confidence in the region since the recent rains and people had been buying fertiliser and chemicals to apply to their crops as they appeared to come up better than expected.
"We were up $200,000 on what we were expecting at least," he said.
"That's in part due to the confidence in the market."
Westcoast Wool & Livestock auctioneer Chris Hartley said the sale "went well, with a great turn out and a great result".
Mr Penny said they had received some "good fortune with the rain coming before and after the sale".
"Hopefully the rest of the Wheatbelt copped it as well," Mr Penny said.
"We had a bit of luck with the timing and everything is nice and green.
"It was a good turnout and we want to thank everyone who supported us.
"It was a good day and it was great to see people hanging around afterwards and having a few drinks and catching up.
"Everything sold as we expected on average, although we had a few sundry items passed in."
Mr Penny said the Lake King Primary School parents committee did an "exceptional job" catering for the overwhelming numbers in attendance.
"A big thank you to the committee because they were under the pump there for a while with the amount of people to cater for," he said.
The Pennys have leased the farm out and have decided to have a "tree change" as they have "other things to do".
The two big ticket machinery items were the Case IH headers.
A 2014 Case IH 8230 header with a Case IH 3152 front, and 1369 hours on the clock, sold for $360,000 to RC & BE Marchetti, Newdegate.
A 2011 Case IH 8120 with a 2152 MacDon front and 2331 hours on the clock sold for $210,000 to RD Walter Pty Ltd, Newdegate.
A Case IH 2013 Magnum 260 tractor with 3516 hours on the clock sold for $120,000 to Tyjon Pty Ltd, Kulin.
A 2019 Coolamon 36 tonne chaser bin sold for $105,000 to GM & MV Mudie, Ravensthorpe, while a custom built 16t chaser bin sold for $21,000 to Abban Farms, Hyden.
A 2009 John Deere 8130 tractor, with 5420 hours on the clock sold for $80,000.
A 2004 Isuzu 4x4 8t fire truck with 156,000km on the dial sold for $70,000 after some strong bidding, going to Emerald Downs, Esperance.
A 2014 Marshal Multi-spreader 912 sold for $29,000 to TK Price & Co, Ravensthorpe.
A 2018 Akron bag unloader sold for $36,000 to KM & JK Fotheringham, Kalgarin, while Gerbert grain cleaner sold for $36,000, with screens, to Reg Dare & Co, Harrismith.
A Caterpillar IT24E loader sold for $32,000 to E & R Winyard, Mt Madden.
Two BH 60t field bins sold for $27,000 and $26,500 to local Mt Madden and Lake King farmers AJ & SJ Frost, who purchased at the almost new prices because of the ease of getting them to the property and they could be used straight away.
Sanderson Farms purchased a BH 60t field bin for $24,000 as well as two Parker 85t field bins for $21,500 and $15,000.
Also in hot demand was a 2015 Farm King auger, which sold to a Quairading buyer for $22,000.
A Commander Ag Quip auger sold for $10,500 to Watervalley Farm, Corrigin.
A 2018 Radium Grain Hog bag loader sold for $23,500 to Bunderra South.
A trailer mounted Airman compressor with hose and reel sold for $10,200 to Shamrock Heights.
A 1985 Volvo F10 6x4 tip truck, with 824,000km on the clock and a 12,000L Flexi-N cartage tank, sold for $29,000 to Hollands Track Estate, Newdegate, who also picked up a tandem trailer for $3600.
A 10,000L stainless steel milk tanker sold for $5500 to NA Turner & Son, Corrigin.
There were a number of Chamberlain tractors from a 306 that sold from $6500 to a C6100 for $9500.
A 4290 FWA Chamberlain sold for $10,000, while a 4490 topped the range at $12,500.
A Case 1070 tractor sold for $15,000 to PR & SL Barber, Gibson.
A 6 cubic metre Stark dam scoop sold for $13,000 to BJ & KA Tuckett, Ravensthorpe.
The two forklifts on offer - a 2.5t Yale sold for $6250 - and the 1.5t Toyota went for $4750.
A 2011 Holden Colorado ute, with 153,000km on the clock, a steel tray and bull bar sold for $13,500, while a 1992 Nissan Patrol ute sold for $2500 and a 2001 Subaru Outback wagon sold for $1750.
A Kawasaki quad bike KLX 300 sold for $3400.
Two Tanks West water tanks - a 30,000L and 40,000L - sold for $2000 and $1250 respectively, while a 27,000L Team Poly water tank sold for $2250.
A camper trailer sold for $600 while among the smaller items a Pizzy Rockmaster post hole borer sold for $700.
Some sheep troughs sold for $300-$400.
A 1968 vintage Dodge 675 truck, which would be a worthy restoration project, sold for $260 to Levens Cattle Co, Mt Barker.
There was also a range of sundry items from tyres to pipes and hoses, fuel tanks and ladders, as well as bolts and tynes.
Household items such as a fridge/freezer and office chair were also up for grabs.
At the end of the sale attendees gathered around a couple of fire pits to keep warm from the cool evening wind.
Mr McAllister said the next clearing sale scheduled so far for the area was to be held in October.
