FOUR new clients, a sale average up by $110 and 108 sold out of 110 rams offered at the annual sale made Crichton Vale Merino stud principal Bill Cowan a very happy man.
This year's ram sale at Mount Walker attracted 20 registered bidders - three more than last year - and importantly from the stud's perspective, included five new ones in a year when buyers are supposed to be less interested because of the numbers of sheep to have gone east.
Elders auctioneer and Crichton Vale stud classer Nathan King was impressed by the numbers generated at the 22nd on-property sale.
"It was a very good sale," Mr King said afterwards.
"The Cowans (Bill and Dianne and Peter and Felicity) have spent a lot of money improving their genetics in recent years and today was an example of how they will reap the benefits of that," Mr King said.
On display in the shearing shed for the sale was the Seymour Park ram the Cowans purchased at Katanning for $11,000 and some of the best examples of Crichton Vale crimpy, long-staple white fleece.
The Cowans this year offered 85 Poll Merino and 25 Merino 16-month-old rams, progeny from Eastville Park Bomber, Seymour Park sires SP908 and SP111 and from East Mundalla and their own Crichton Vale sires.
They offered the same 110 total as last year when they sold 100.
Spirited bidding showed buyers were prepared to pay significantly more for Polls than for rams.
The sale average for Poll Merino rams was $1283 - up $154 on last year - while the average for Merino rams was $800 - down $100 on last year's sale.
A combined average for last week's sale of $1176 was $111 more than last year's total sale average.
The top price paid for a Poll ram was $3000, up $700 on last year, while the top price paid for a Merino d ram was $1400, down $500 on last year.
Sam Teasdale, Merredin, purchased the top Poll ram - lot 100 - late in the sale for his brother Geoff, GR Teasdale, Badgingarra, after earlier bidding up to $2800 for the equal third top-priced Poll ram.
An August 17 wool sample test showed the big, square Crichton Vale-sired top-priced Poll ram had 22.3 micron wool with a standard deviation (SD) of 3.9 micron, a coefficient of variation (CV) of 17.5 per cent and a comfort factor (CF) of 98.2 per cent.
"There was only this ram and the last one left, I thought," Mr Teasdale said of his top-priced purchase.
"I wanted the ram that was the last lot, but I thought if I wait until then and I miss him, then I've got nothing, so I bid a bit more on this one.
"He's got all the characteristics we look for - he'll fit the bill for Badgingarra country.
"We've been buying off Bill for half a dozen years I suppose, they're pretty safe sheep," he said.
Mr Teasdale also paid $2100 for another of the five Poll rams he bought for his brother.
New local client Rockdale Farming Co, Cramphorne, took the lot 10 second top-priced Poll ram as their only purchase for the day.
The SP111-sired ram had wool statistics of 21.4 micron, 3.9 SD, 18.2 CV and 99.3pc CF.
Another new client, RJ & LH Shalders, Newdegate, took the other equal third top-priced Poll ram as one of two rams purchased early in the sale.
Volume repeat Poll Merino buyers included DP & RM Sinclair, Newdegate, who took eight to a top of $2400, KD & J Van Viersen, Woolocutty, who took 15 to a top of $2200 with another at $2100 and JA & DR Greay & Co, Karlgarin, who bought 12, including two at $2600 and one at $2400.
The top-priced Merino ram went for $1400 to repeat buyer Mervyn Ogilvie, Airlie Park, Narembeen, who had also bought the top-priced Merino ram at last year's Crichton Vale sale.
Mr Ogilvie, who bought a total of five Merino rams, said "the style of wool and having good results" with Crichton Vale rams had convinced him the top-priced Merino was a good buy.
"I run all horns so I'm happy with them (Crichton Vale Merino rams)," Mr Ogilvie said.
His son and Elders Narembeen branch manager Colin Ogilvie said the family had bought five to seven Crichton Vale Merino rams each year since 2001.
Morrell Valley, Hyden, purchased four Merino rams in the 21 they took to a top of $1400 and another Hyden farmer, C Nicholl & Co, included three Merino in his seven rams to a top of $900.
Volume Merino ram buyer was also from Hyden, DCN Lanark Farms, which bought six to a top of $1000.
Mr Cowan said he and his family were "over the moon" with the sale results.
"We had a fantastic clearance and the sale average was fantastic," Mr Cowan said.
"The fact we had new buyers come to look and then decided they'd buy anyway was also fantastic.
"We're very fortunate, all of our regular buyers have kept their young sheep and have bought rams."
Mr Cowan said private selection rams also offered on the day had "cleared well".
"In fact, I would say we've had our best enquiry ever," he said.