IT was another quality line-up of Dohne rams on offer from the Sounness family at its annual Denvale on-property ram sale at Mt Barker on September 24 and buyers responded accordingly, pushing prices to a high of $3050.
All up there were 59 rams up for grabs and right through the catalogue the Nutrien Livestock selling team saw bids flow easily from buyers on the rams they really wanted, but any that didn't meet their requirements were overlooked.
When the final ram was knocked down and figures crunched 38 of the 59 rams offered had sold under the hammer to 10 different buyers for an average of $1247, which was up $190 on last year.
In comparison, in last year's sale 14 different buyers cleared 50 of the 60 rams offered at an average of $1057.
Nutrien Livestock, Mt Barker agent Harry Carroll said overall it was a solid sale.
"The rams presented well this year and again showed off the top wools the stud is renowned for," Mr Carroll said.
"They are very good woolled sheep
"The rams that did sell sold well, but the clearance was back compared to last year.
"There were a couple of buyers missing for one reason or another and this affected the clearance rate.
"In saying we lost a couple of buyers, it was great to see a new one operating and buying a number of rams."
Taking top price honours in the sale was an upstanding sire in lot one when it was knocked down at $3050 to regular buyer Brendon Watterson, Yuelup Farms, Tenterden, who has purchased the top-priced rams at the previous two sales as well.
The well-balanced ram has Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) of 5.5 weaning weight (WWT), 6.5 post weaning weight (PWWT), 7.5 yearling weight (YWT), 6.5 yearling clean fleece weight (YCFW), 0.7 yearling fibre diameter (YFD) and a Dohne Index of 170.4.
Along with securing the top-priced ram Mr Watterson also picked up the next ram offered in lot two which had a Dohne index of 187.9, the highest in the catalogue, for $2050 for the sale's third top price.
The second top price was $2300 bid by Godfrey & Liu, King River.
This ram has ASBVs of 6.0 WWT, 6.6 PWWT, 7.2 YWT, 10.1 YCFW, -0.1 YFD and a Dohne Index of 173.9.
Return buyers A & K Hooper, Frankland River and Woogenellup Estate, Mt Barker, were both strong at the top end of the sale.
The Frankland River enterprise purchased three rams at an average of $1617 and to a top of $1900 paid for a ram with a 157.6 Dohne index, while the Mt Barker operation purchased two rams at $1650 and $1550 with the rams having indexes of 172.2 and 175.4.
Wicklow Estate, Mt Barker, also wasn't afraid to bid on its two selections paying to a top of $1550 and an average of $1250.
Repeat buyers AT Hood & Co, Kojaneerup, like last year were again the volume buyers of the sale putting together a team of nine rams.
Not only did the operation want numbers it also wasn't afraid to buy the rams it really wanted and as result paid a high of $1600 and averaged $1328 across its team.
The next biggest buyer was return client MJ O'Halloran, Cranbrook, securing seven sires for an average of $921 and to a high of $1050.
Two other buyers put sizable drafts together and they were TH Boyd & Co, which averaged $1000 over a team of six while AJ & RJ Dufty, Mt Barker, went home with five rams on the ute at an average of $830.
