Seven Oaks South sire sells to $5000 in Merredin

It's here that two local studs, Seven Oaks South and Carribber, offer the best of their breeding rams and this year was no different, with both studs assembling an excellent team for Merino producers to select from.

A total of 167 Poll Merino rams were offered, with 139 selling under the hammer to gross $212,200 and average $1527.

The largest offering and first to go under the hammer was Matt and Sam Barnett's Seven Oaks South stud, Burracoppin, which presented 119 rams for sale and sold 103 under the hammer, grossing $173,300 and achieving an impressive average of $1683.

The $5000 sale top price came from the Barnett's ranks, but it wasn't in the first run as has usually been the case in recent years, but the 22nd ram offered by auctioneer Wayne Manoni, operating on behalf of sale co-ordinator Elders.

The quiet, unassuming sire had obviously made quite the impression on several clients and as a result a spirited bidding competition broke out.

Ultimately it was Tim Della Bosca, Yerbillon Park, Westonia, who triumphed and purchased the top sire for the sale top of $5000.

Mr Della Bosca was keen to find a ram which carried a heavy cutting wool that also measured finer in the micron than their current flock average of 22 micron.

This sire ticked both those boxes, with wool measurement figures of 20.4 micron, 3.2 standard deviation (SD) in addition to a 4.5kg wool weight, plus a 109kg large sturdy plain frame that carried plenty of meat.

The Della Bosca family currently runs 1500 Merino ewes, of Seven Oaks South bloodlines, and Mr Della Bosca said they were in the process of slowly building numbers up to 2500 since returning to breeding Merinos several years ago after total cropping.

He purchased a total of five rams at the sale for a gross of $16,800 and average of $3360.

Underbidders on the top ram and regular buyers at the sale, Shaun and Brendan Crees, Dulebanyundy Farm, Burracoppin, were among those volume buyers who were paying top dollar for Seven Oaks South genetics.

The brothers purchased a total of eight sires for a top of $4600, spending an average of $2625 to secure their ram requirements for another year.

A wide range of other buyers shared the remaining rams fairly evenly between them, ensuring everyone fulfilled their ram quotas, including notable volume buyers Sharman Farms, Cadoux, which purchased 11 sires for an average of $1186.

DJ & EA Brown, Albany, spent an average of $1505 to secure its 10 rams, while father-son team David and William Maddock, WE & D Maddock, Moorine Rock, with the help of William's partner Kaili Bradshaw, selected and purchased eight sires for an average of $800.

Another eight sires went to DJ & CA Palm, Mukinbudin, which paid an average of $1513.

Regular top price buyer and client Andrew Gillam, Gabyon Pastoral Co, Dongara, made the annual pilgrimage from the coast to Merredin to purchase two of the most outstanding Seven Oaks South sires.

He looked all set to take the top price title again for the stud, by first purchasing a long, stretchy sire for $3800, before being the successful bidder on a hotly contested ram with ideal meat and wool traits for $4800.

However, not only was Mr Gillam pipped at the post for the peak sale price, he also decided to purchase a third ram from the Carribber pens for the stud's top price of $2500.

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It was the first time Mr Gillam had purchased a ram from the Steel family's stud, but said he couldn't miss the opportunity to purchase such an eye-catching ram.

Offered as the second sire in Carribber's 48 ram catalogue, the top sire was among the 36 Carribber Poll Merino rams sold under the hammer, grossing $38,900 and achieving a $1081 average.

As one of the 11 rams which had been fed and shedded by the stud, this particular 110kg sire had been slated to represent the stud at the upcoming Perth Royal Show, after which it will travel to its new home in Dongara.

With wool results measuring 20.4 micron, 3.2 SD, 15.6pc CV and a comfort factor of 99.3pc, the upstanding sire had been blade shorn in March allowing for an extra long and free-growing staple.

It was this fact that first attracted Mr Gillam to the sire, who believes it will be a perfect fit for their nucleus breeding program, producing true dual-purpose Merinos throughout their 9500 head breeding ewe flock.

Of those 9500 ewes, 4500 are joined to Merino rams for replacement animals, while 5000 are mated to Poll Dorset rams for a first cross lamb production.

"He will be used in our nucleus flock of around 600 Merino ewes and service our internal breeding program," Mr Gillam said.

"We have been looking at Carribber sheep ever since we've been coming here, and this year it's obvious they've really put in the effort to present at more of a stud level.

"We like the direction they are heading and this is the year we wanted to make a purchase."

The rest of the 11 March-shorn sheep in the first run sold to strong competition, however once the sale moved into the April shorn sires, buyers became more selective.

It was once again a Higgins versus Harvey dual between two regular volume buyers of Carribber bloodlines, as SJ & TS Higgins coming out of the sale with the most rams, purchasing a total of 13 sires for a top of $1300, averaging $946.

Bruce Harvey, B & A Harvey, Moorine Rock, finished the sale with nine Carribber sires after he paid a top of $1600 on two occasions, averaging $1244.

Both vendors were happy with this year's sale result, with Carribber co-principal James Steel remarking that even though a few clients were missing they were pleased with the turnout and support of their regular clients.

Seven Oaks South principal Matt Barnett said it was a very strong sale and with the abundance of feed and water in the area buyers had confidence to carry their sheep through the next eight to 12 months.

"As long as my clients are happy, I am happy," Mr Barnett said.

"I had a lot of repeat buyers who are all long-term sheep men, excellent and experienced stockmen who I think do it really well and know what makes a good sheep."