THE Seymour Park Poll Merino stud made a successful transition to hosting its inaugural ram sale on-property at Highbury last week, recording a strong result with values topping at $10,200.
After selling rams at the annual Narrogin and Districts Ram Sale since 2006, the Blight family has gradually grown its stud and client base and decided the time was right to make the move on-farm.
And the family's commitment to its breeding program and ongoing significant investments in top Australian genetics was rewarded with loyal clients and some new faces supporting the stud at its new sale venue.
Buyers were greeted with an outstanding line-up of 160 well-grown and measured, productive white woolled Poll Merino rams and strong commercial bidding throughout the catalogue with avid interest from WA and Eastern States' studs, resulted in a solid clearance at a significantly improved average compared to the stud's final sale at Narrogin last year.
Some reduced requirements due to seasonal conditions and the expected absence of a few previous strong accounts at the sale, led the Blight family to trim sale numbers to more closely reflect anticipated demand.
At the completion of selling, the Elders selling team, spearheaded by young auctioneer Steele Hathway, had sold 143 rams at auction (89 per cent) for an average of $2209.
This marked a $603 spike in average compared to last year's sale where the stud sold 159 of 184 rams (86pc) for an average of $1606.
The sale's team leader headed a run of 32 March shorn shed-prepared rams to open the sale and it did so in fashion.
The 127kg ram was billed as a potential stud sire and with plenty of stud interest beforehand, the powerful sire didn't disappoint when it was knocked down for the sale's $10,200 top price to Nigel and Damien Morrison, San-Mateo stud, Brookton.
The Seymour Park 111 syndicate bred ram from which the Seymour Park stud collected semen for its own use, displayed wool tests of 19.3 micron, 2.8 SD, 14.5 CV and 99.8pc comfort factor (CF) with yearling scan results of 103kg body weight (BW) (2.38 SD), 3.9mm fat (0.48 SD) and 38mm eye muscle depth (EMD) (1.73 SD).
The yearling raw data and greasy fleece weight (GFW) standard deviations are a variation against the measurements of a group of rams selected as superior ram weaners.
San-Mateo stud classer Nathan King, Elders stud stock, said the ram was a genuine sire.
"Scale, beautiful feet and head, staple length and a good white wool for the west Brookton area," Mr King said.
"The Seymour Park 111 syndicate goes back to Moorundie Park which San-Mateo has used in the past and worked really well for them so it made a bit of sense."
The next ram offered continued the buoyant start when it sold for the $9500 second top price to Murray Saunders, A Saunders & Co, Highbury.
The 122.5kg ram was by a Greenfields sire with wool tests of 20.3 micron, 3.3 SD, 16.3 CV and 99.5pc CF with yearling scan results of 95kg BW (1.56 SD), 3.2mm fat (0.03 SD) and 33.5mm EMD (0.58 SD).
Mr Saunders said it was the second sire the family had purchased from Seymour Park for their nucleus breeding program to breed flock rams for their 3300 September shorn ewe flock.
"Great wool and body with a deep jaw," Mr Saunders said.
"We will use him to backup an AI program involving 300 of the 450 nucleus ewes in late November and will probably have bigger plans for him next year."
Return stud buyer Mervyn Hardie, MA & CZ Hardie, Hillside stud, Bannister, collected a new sire for the sale's $8200 third top price.
Penned in lot 21, the 136kg ram was sired by the $60,000 Gunallo 295 and displayed wool tests of 20.8 micron, 3.5 SD, 16.8 CV and 99.8pc CF, with yearling data of 109kg BW (2.99 SD), 6.6mm fat (2.19 SD), 40.5mm EMD (2.37) and 3.9kg GFW (-0.46).
Bill Cowan, Crichton Vale stud, Narembeen, competed strongly on the top rams and finished the sale with three new sires, paying to a $7000 top price for a 116kg ram in lot 10 by Seymour Park 554 testing 19.9 micron, 2.8 SD, 14.1 CV and 99.9pc CF, with yearling results of 89.5kg BW (0.99 SD), 3.7mm fat (0.35 SD) and 32mm EMD (0.20 SD).
Lassogowrie Farms, Cranbrook, was another buyer to provide plenty of competition at the top end of the sale to secure four rams at an average of $4875.
They also paid to a $7000 top price for the second ram offered in the April shorn line-up, a 114.5kg ram also by Seymour Park 554 with tests of 19.7 micron, 3.6 SD, 18.3 CV and 99.7pc CF and yearling figures of 88kg BW (0.84 SD), 3.1mm fat (-0.03 SD), 37mm fat (1.48 SD) and 4kg GFW (-0.30 SD).
Another stud to purchase at the sale was the Moorundie Park Poll Merino stud, Gulnare, South Australia, collecting two rams for $4600 and $4000 through Nathan King.
But by far the most influential buyer was return volume client Cadogan Estates Pty Ltd (Australia), Williams, which amassed a large team of 50 rams at the sale.
Farm manager Hamish Cook and general manager Tim Johnston operated at all values between $800 and $3800 at auction for their selections to join the operation's sire battery for the mid-January joining of 15,000 December shorn ewes which are all mated to Merino rams.
Mr Johnston said it was the best selection of rams he had seen at a Seymour Park sale.
"Definitely the most depth which was evident in the bidding through to the final lot," Mr Johnston said.
"We are still building our numbers up with a focus on wool and big plain bodies.
"And we like Seymour Park's sheep for their white wools, body shape and high fecundity."
Other buyers to put together larger numbers of rams at the sale included LR & MD Martin & Son, Williams, with 10 rams costing from $800 to $2500, Kevin Broad, Elders stud stock, filling an undisclosed local order collected nine rams at strong values from $1500 to $3400 and M & C Whittington, Brookton and JG & MM Armstrong, Narrogin, both added an overlooked ram to their auction tally to finish the sale with nine rams.
Beverley producers Talbot Pastoral Company paid from $800 to $3100 for a team of eight rams and SJ & N Thompson, Newdegate and Paul Keppel, Elders Narrogin, representing Wilgarra Pty Ltd, Wandering, each secured seven rams.
