AN increased offering of Suffolk and White Suffolk rams was well-received at the annual Cheeryna on-property ram sale at Williams with all but two rams being cleared under the hammer.
It was an overcast day with the occasional drop of rain but that didn't deter a sizeable crowd of 36 potential buyers rolling up to the sale.
The first 10 rams were penned individually with the remaining rams in pens of four.
Buyers were presented with a quality offering of 88 Suffolk and 52 White Suffolk rams and by the end of the sale, which was auctioned by Elders' Preston Clark, 138 of the total 140 rams had been cleared for an average of $1175.
To further improve the clearance figures one more White Suffolk ram was sold after the sale for $700 and was paid by Yourdamung Grazing, Collie.
Cheeryna co-stud principal Robert Duff said he was very pleased with how the sale went and thought the Suffolks sold particularly well.
"We offered more than last year and managed to sell nearly all of them," Mr Duff said.
Suffolk
The Suffolks were once again the more popular breed with 22 buyers ensuring the 88 rams offered all sold to a top of $1700 and an average of $1276.
The top price of $1700 was paid by Glen Askew, AD & BM Askew, Boyup Brook.
It wasn't until lot 36 that the sale top was reached and it was for a ram with figures of 8.6 WWT, 12.7 PWWT, -0.4 PFAT and 2.1 PEMD.
Mr Askew said it was a well-muscled, good all-round ram which would be added to his own stud of 60 Suffolks.
The second top price was $1600 and was achieved on four separate occasions.
First to pay $1600 was Gillett Bros, Williams, for the ram in lot one with test figures of 10.6 WWT, 16.2 PWWT, -0.7 PFAT and 0.9PEMD and then again for the ram in lot 49 which had test results of 9.0 WWT,13.4 PWWT, -0.2 PFAT and 0.7 PEMD.
Gillett Bros went on to secure three more rams for a total of five at an average of $1480.
Long Gully, Bokal, also paid $1600 for the lot 23 ram and last but not least to make the $1600 bid was KS & N Argent, Kulin, for the ram in lot 92.
The lot 23 ram had LambPlan figures of 8.8 WWT, 13.1 PWWT, -0.7 PFAT and 1.4 PEMD, while the lot 92 ram weighed 63kg and had 3.6mm fat.
By the end of the sale, Long Gully had purchased a total of four to average $1400 and KS & N Argent bought five averaging $1380.
Equal volume buyer of the sale was BG & MA Hardie, Wandering, finishing with a total of eight rams at a top of $1500 and an average of $1250.
Also purchasing eight rams was Treehaven Farm, Bolgart, at a high of $1500 and an average of $1425.
Westmere Farming Co, Williams, Shorelands Pastoral Co Pty Ltd, Williams and GH & MD Lloyd, Darkan, all secured seven rams averaging $1314, $1314 and $1171 respectively.
White Suffolk
The top price in the White Suffolk portion of the sale was $1600, up $300 on last year's top-priced White Suffolk which made $1300.
It was reached five times and was paid by two different buyers.
KW & LM Lavender, Williams, paid the $1600 twice for the lot six and lot 95 rams.
The crucial data for the lot six ram was 10.1 WWT, 15.6 PWWT, -0.1PFAT, 2.2 PEMD and the ram in lot 95 had results of 9.7 WWT, 14.7 PWWT, -0.1 PFAT and 1.4 PEMD.
Not only were they the equal top buyer in the White Suffolk section, the Lavenders totalled eight rams to also be the volume buyers averaging $1263.
Equal top price buyer was CJ & JP Hogg, Williams, paying $1600 three times for the lot 10, lot 96 and lot 105 rams.
Figures for the lot 10 ram were 10.4WWT, 15.7 PWWT, -1.1 PFAT and 2.5 PEMD and lot 96 had LambPlan values of 10.6 WWT, 16.6 PWWT, -1.4 PFAT and 0.5 PEMD.
The final top price White Suffolk ram in lot 105 had test results of 9.5 WWT, 16 PWWT, -0.3 PFAT and 2 PEMD.
Of the 52 offered. 50 sold under the hammer to average $998, up $120 compared to last year's average of $878 when 47 out of 50 White Suffolks sold.
Purchasing five rams each was Redneval Grazing Co, Williams and Reid Family Trust, Boddington, averaging $980 and $720.
Auctioneer Preston Clarke said there were more registrations than the previous year and that support was reflected in the clearance.
"All the rams were well presented and the result was probably above expectations so the vendors were very pleased," Mr Clarke said.