UNUSUAL wintery conditions including heavy rain and a chilly wind didn't deter buyers from pulling their hands out of their pockets and bidding strongly at the Angenup 44th annual on-property ram sale at Kojonup earlier this month where prices hit a high of $20,000 for a Poll Merino sire.
Buyers could have been forgiven if they wanted to keep their hands warm as temperatures dropped to 10 degrees during the sale but they didn't need to be as a top quality catalogue of 234 Merino and Poll Merino rams offered by the Norrish family enticed them out.
Once again it was a very even and quality line-up of rams, which all displayed the rich, white wools and constitution the Angenup brand is renowned for.
Right from the opening call the 36 registered buyers from as far away as Corrigin in the east and Karridale in the west, as well as South Australia showed strong support for the line-up and this support continued right to the last ram.
As a result of this strong buying support under the control of the Elders auctioneering tag team of Nathan King and James Culleton, the Norrish family cleared all 234 rams offered to 31 buyers at an average of $2178, which was up $376 on last year and for a gross of more than $500,000 to be among the biggest individual ram sales in WA this year.
In last year's sale the stud offered 240 rams and sold 232 under the hammer for an average of $1802.
Broken down, 164 Merino rams were offered and sold under the hammer for a $1966 average, up $134 on last year's sale when 165 Merinos sold from 173 offered at an average of $1832, while there was also a total clearance of the 70 Poll Merinos offered and these sold to a $2673 average, up from $1730 last year when 67 head were offered and sold.
Like previous Angenup sales, the top end of the market was again strong and attracted strong bidding from mainly commercial producers, but there were buyers still able to fill orders at values between $800 and $1000 later in the sale when the heat came off.
Mr King said overall it was a very strong sale for such a large offering and the line-up of rams was a credit to the Norrish family.
"It was another great presentation of rams and very typical of the Angenup stud," Mr King said.
"They showed good deep bodies and plenty of wool cut without being complicated.
"People presume wool cut means a thicker type sheep but it is now the complete opposite and the Angenup sheep are a good example of this with their wool cut coming from increased density of fibre and extra staple length.
"There was more depth in the Poll team this year and it certainly showed in the results while the Merinos again sold very well.
"Like previous Angenup sales there was again good support from long term buyers which know the product and many of these bought large teams.
"Overall like other sales this year the results were up but in saying that buyers were still able to get rams at their individual budgets."
The sale kicked off with a run of 13 March shorn rams which averaged 19.5 micron, 3.3 SD and 99.2 per cent comfort factor (CF) when tested in June before it swung into the stud's May shorn offering which averaged 18.6 microns, 3.9 SD and 99.2pc CF when tested in May.
It was in the run of March shorn rams in the front row that the day's $20,000 top price ram was found and the ram wasn't even meant to be in the sale, it was a late inclusion from the Norrish's stud reserve mob.
When Mr King stood over the upstanding, deep-bodied, 114 kilogram Poll Merino in lot six, buyers stood up and took notice and he took an opening bid of $8000 and from there the price rose above five figures.
In the end it was Angenup stud consultant Bruce Cameron, who had the final bid at $20,000 on the long-stapled, free-growing, white woolled ram and announced he had purchased it for Geoff and Bernadette Davidson, Moorundie stud, Keith, South Australia, who purchased a sire from the stud four years ago.
Mr Davidson said they were originally looking for an Angenup sire carrying Mianelup Bubba bloodlines but the Norrish family didn't believe any were suitable and recommended this ram which was one of their stud reserves.
"We really appreciate them making him available to us and from what we have seen in a picture he looks to have good depth of body, good feet and leg structure and a good white wool," Mr Davidson said.
"We have a good level of trust with the Norrish family and we are backing their judgement on this ram.
"The country the Norrishs grow their rams out in and the wools they produce match what we want to breed for our high rainfall environment at Keith.
"They had good wools on their sheep when I was first over in WA 40 years ago and they have certainly kept that going."
It won't be long before the Davidsons see the ram first hand themselves as it left WA on Tuesday headed for South Australia.
The ET-bred ram is by West Plains Mercenary and out of an ET-bred ewe carrying Angenup bloodlines.
Along with being impressive on the eye, the ram had the wool figures to match at -0.7 for micron below the March team average, 3.3 SD, 99.6pc CF and it had a 112pc greasy fleece weight (GFW) percentage.
Long-time stud supporter Tom Marshall, TG Marshall, Cranbrook, is a name that always appears at the top-end of the Angenup catalogue and he lived up to expectations again this year.
Mr Marshall with the support of his agent Troy Hornby, Nutrien Livestock, Kojonup, purchased the sale's second top-priced ram and top-priced Merino ram at $15,500.
The deep-bodied, top woolled, March shorn 130kg ram, which led the sale team, had wool figures of -0.8 micron, 2.7 SD, 99.8pc CF and 123pc GFW.
The ram was AI-bred by Angenup 265.
Mr Marshall, who has been buying from the stud for more than 25 years, said he picked the ram out for its depth of body, structure and wool quality.
"It's probably the best ram I ever bought from the stud," Mr Marshall said.
"He is a big, upstanding ram, with great depth of body and a quality white wool."
Along with securing the $15,500 ram, Mr Marshall with the assistance of Mr Hornby, purchased another three Merino rams to finish with a team of four at a $6838 average.
Mr Marshall's team also included a 121kg March shorn ram carrying Navanvale bloodlines that was +0.7 for micron and had a GFW percentage of 113pc at $4200.
He said he liked everything about the Angenup sheep.
"They are well-grown, have good frames and above average wool quality and wool quantity," Mr Marshall said.
"Our wool always sells for top prices.
"The Norrish family is also very good to deal with."
Merinos have been running on Mr Marshall's Cranbrook property since 1909 when his father Fredrick John Marshall took up the farm.
This year Mr Marshall is aiming to join 3000 ewes all to Merino rams.
Losing bidder on the $15,500 ram was Elders stud stock representative Kevin Broad, who was bidding for the Cramphorne stud, Muntadgin.
Mr Broad said the Cramphorne stud was chasing the ram as they were looking for a Peppin blood ram with depth of body and this ram ticked that box.
The third top price was $5200 for a 106kg, May shorn Poll Merino sire when it was purchased by JR & G Schinzig & Sons, Kojonup, as part of a team of two which averaged $4350.
The Darriwell Apollo son was -0.8 below the May team average for micron, while its other wool figures were 3.9 SD, 99.2pc CF and 101pc GFW.
The next best price was $5000 bid by the Dawes family, Rutherglen stud, Yealering, for another May shorn Darriwell Apollo son.
In the wool the 107kg ram was +1.2 for micron, 3.7 SD, 99.6pc CF and 116pc GFW.
There were a number of buyers not afraid to bid up strongly and the biggest of these was C & KA Tomlinson, Tenterden, which averaged $3055 over 11 Poll Merinos, which topped at $4400 for a May shorn 115kg ram which had wool figures of -0.9 micron, 3.4 SD, 99.8pc CF and 113pc GFW.
Other buyers to support the sale at the top end included WB & BM Schulz, Williams, which purchased two Poll sires at $4600 and $4200, while PS Climie & Co, Cranbrook, averaged $3340 over a team of two Polls and three Merinos which topped at $4000 for a Poll.
Also buying strongly were return buyers Rob and Jason Melchiorre, Melchiorre Farms, Narrogin, who secured four Merinos and three Polls at a $2586 average and MA, GD & BA Cowcher, Williams, which averaged $2386 over a team of five Merinos and two Polls.
But it was not just the top end of the sale which was a highlight, so too was a band of loyal clients that again put together large teams of rams and weren't afraid to bid up when purchasing.
Heading this charge were the sale's most prominent buyers Ben and George Fowler, Congeling Park Grazing Co, Williams, who amassed a team of 36 rams (27 Merinos and nine Polls) at an average of $2225.
Despite their significant ram requirements, they bid to a top of $3800 for a March shorn 113kg Merino ram which had wool figures of -0.9 micron, 3.2 SD and 99.5pc CF and 120pc GFW.
This year represented the Fowler's 19th year of buying from the stud and George Fowler said they continue to return because they like the consistency and productivity of the Angenup sheep.
"They have good fine-medium wools and do well in our area," Mr Fowler said.
The Fowlers run a large Merino flock over properties at Williams and Boyup Brook which are joined to both Merino rams and White Suffolk sires.
The next biggest buyer was long term local Kojonup client the Leusciatti family, M & L Leusciatti, which was a force in purchasing 15 Merino rams to a top of $3900 and an average of $2740.
Long-term Williams buyers Patrick and Helen Williamson, who have been buying from the stud since 1987, also operated strongly throughout the sale.
They finished the sale with a team of 14 Merino rams at an average of $2564 and to a top of $4200 paid for a 112kg May shorn ram with wool figures of -1.5 micron, 3.2 SD and 99.8pc CF.
Their son Simon trading as SP Williamson, Kukerin, also bought in the sale in his own right this year and purchased five rams at an average of $1200.
The Williamsons, who between them will join 5400 ewes to Merino sires across the two operations, like the Angenup bloodline for its wool quality and cut.
Client of 13 years Chad Ferguson, Twin Oaks Farming Co, Wandering, was also busy during the sale and finished with a team of 14 Merinos to a top of $2900 and an average of $1850.
Mr Ferguson said they liked the growth rates the Angenup sheep provide.
"When we swapped to Angenup rams 13 years ago we noticed an improvement in our sheep in the first couple of years," Mr Ferguson said.
This year the Wandering enterprise is aiming to join 3500 ewes to Merino rams and 800 Merino ewes to Poll Dorset rams for a May lambing.
There were a number of other buyers which put together double figure teams and they included Blackwood Grazing, Karridale, which finished with four Merinos and eight Polls at a $1700 average, while Ferncourt Enterprises, York, purchased seven Merinos and four Polls at a $1409 average.
There were another two buyers in this category and they were RA & MA Wright, Kojonup, which purchased 10 Polls for a $2170 average and Scolari Farms, Kojonup, which secured 11 Merinos for a $900 average.
