IT was a huge day at Dudinin on Monday when the Ledwith family, Kolindale Merino, Poll Merino and White Suffolk studs, hosted WA's biggest on-property ram sale.
With dams full, feed in paddocks and rain coming down on the shed during the sale adding even more value to crops, there was plenty of confidence among the buyers.
And it showed as they pushed prices to a high of $9000 for a Merino ram and cleared nearly all the rams on offer, ensuring it was a sale to remember for the Ledwith family.
All up the Ledwiths put forward 599 rams which showed the traits Kolindale sheep are renowned for and with strong competition throughout from 83 registered bidders, who travelled from as far away as Condingup in the south east, from Badgingarra and Piawanning in the north, nearly all found new homes.
In the breakdown, there were 74 Merinos, 274 Poll Merinos and 251 White Suffolks offered.
When the final ram was bowled over after more than five fours of selling and the numbers crunched, 586 or 98 per cent had sold under the hammer for a combined gross of $997,550, an overall average of $1702 and a top of $9000 for a Merino ram.
In comparison, in last year's sale the Ledwith family sold 461 rams from 468 at an average of $1698, meaning this year's average was up $4 and an additional 125 rams were sold.
Merino and Poll Merino
It was another huge yarding of Merino and Poll Merino rams lined up by the Kolindale stud and the Elders selling team, led by Nathan King and James Culleton, who had the task to find them new paddocks to call home.
All up 348 rams were offered and with strong buying support from returning and new clients, the majority of the rams received good competition from multiple buyers to ensure a very good clearance for the stud.
By the end of the offering Mr King and Mr Culleton had cleared 335 or 96pc under the hammer to 46 different buyers for a gross of $660,250, a top of $9000 and an average of $1971, which was up from last year's average of $1865 when 325 from 330 rams sold.
In the breakdown, the Ledwith family offered 74 Merinos and sold 66 under the hammer at an average of $1976 (back $169 on last year), while their 269 of 274 Poll Merinos sold for an average of $1970 (up $188 on last year).
The sale started with a run of 44 March shorn, shed-prepared rams and it got off to a great start when these averaged $3249.
Leading the way in these pens was an upstanding Merino ram in pen three.
When Mr King stood over the big, deep, square Merino ram, buyers quickly gathered and it was not long before he had an opening bid of $5000.
Eventually it was return buyers Peter and Linda McCrea, PL & LK McCrea & Lazy MC6, Salmon Gums, who were written into the clerking sheets as the buyers at the sale's $9000 top price.
Ms McCrea said she picked the ram out as it was a good all round sire.
"He is a big, well-grown, square ram with a sound structure," Ms McCrea said.
"In addition to his great make and shape he has a nice, white, bright wool we look for."
The extra soft-handling, stylish crimped wool ram has current wool figures of 19.7 micron, 3.4 SD, 17.1 CV and 99.7pc comfort factor (CF).
Along with securing the day's top-priced ram, the McCreas also purchased another soft-handling, medium wool Merino ram in the very next pen at $4000.
It had wool figures of 19.1 micron, 3.0 SD, 15.6 CV and 99.5pc CF.
Ms McCrea said her father-in-law started buying at Kolindale in 1963 and they had no preference for horned or polled rams, they just liked to buy the best rams possible.
Both the rams purchased will be used in the family's small nucleus flock of ewes to breed rams for their own use.
This joining season they are looking at mating 1800 ewes, all up to Merino rams, for an end of March/April lambing.
The top price for a Poll Merino ram and second top price overall was $5000 and it was also set early in the line-up when Mr King stood over a classy, long-bodied, free-growing ram in lot one.
Placing the winning bid this time were return buyers Michael and David Sudholz, S & M Sudholz, Piawanning.
Michael Sudholz said they liked the ram as it had a nice long body and a quality wool.
"He is a good all-round ram with both good wool and carcase traits," Mr Sudholz said.
"We like the Kolindale bloodline as the sheep have good body size and growth and quality wools.
"They are really all round productive sheep."
The ram which was the Sudholz family's only purchase on the day, will be used in their nucleus flock of 100 ewes to breed rams for their sizeable sheep enterprise in which they join close to 5000 ewes.
This year the family will join 4500 ewes to Merino rams and 400 Merino ewes to Poll Dorset sires for an April/May lambing.
Mr Sudholz said they had just finished shearing in August and were happy with how their wool came off.
"Our clip averaged 19 to 20 micron with a 5.5 kilogram cut," he said.
Also not afraid to bid up in the run of March-shorn rams was repeat buyer Lockerbie Trading, Beverley, which bid to $4500 for a deep-bodied polled ram in lot 10, which had wool figures of 20.4 micron, 3.4 SD, 16.6 CV and 99.5pc CF.
Another buyer in this category was KJ & BI Couper, Hyden, which went to $4250 for a Merino ram with wool figures of 20.0 micron, 2.9 SD, 14.7 CV and 99.6pc CF.
Along with this ram, the Coupers purchased another three Merinos and one Poll to finish with a team of five at an average of $3460.
Also bidding up strongly at the top end for two Poll rams was LD & JF Hall & Sons, Corrigin, which averaged $3475 across the pair that topped at $4250 for an 18.3 micron, 99.3pc CF ram, while WS Brown & Co, Hyden, collected three Polls to a top of $3750 and average of $3017.
Other buyers to buy bigger teams in the price range were B & M Waddell, Springfield Farm, Newdegate, which purchased 10 Polls at an average of $3090, while buyers of more than five years, E & H Tomsic, Karlgarin, purchased eight Polls at an average of $3069 with the support of Westcoast Wool & Livestock sheep manager Lincon Gangell.
Mr Gangell said the Tomsic family liked the Kolindale bloodline for its good body size and wool cutting ability, along with its wool quality.
Return buyer Mitch Mouritz, RBY Mouritz, Hyden, whose family has been buying from the stud for more than 40 years, continued the tradition and was very strong at the top end.
He finished the sale with two Merinos and six Polls at an average of $3094 and top of $4000 paid for a soft-handling, bright white woolled Poll ram measuring 18.9 micron, 3.3 SD, 17.2 CV and 99.6pc CF.
Mr Mouritz said they continued to return to the stud and buy because the sheep were good doers and suited to their environment.
"They have good growth and frames plus good, white, stylish wools with plenty of staple length," Mr Mouritz said.
The Mouritz's flock averages 19.5 micron across their mature sheep while their cut is about 7kg.
This year the family is aiming to join 4500 ewes to Merinos and another 2700 Merino ewes to White Suffolks.
Mr Mouritz said they aimed to sell their wethers off as lambs so they could run more breeding ewes.
Another strong buyer in the sale from the Hyden area was the Varone family, Marlu Farms, which averaged $2719 across a team of 16 Polls which included a ram at $3800.
Mario Varone said they liked the Kolindale sheep because they were big framed sheep with nice fine wools.
"They are the ideal sheep for Wheatbelt conditions," Mr Varone said.
The Varone's mature sheep average 21.5 micron and an 8kg cut.
This season the family will join 3700 ewes to Merinos and is hoping for another successful lambing like this year in which they achieved 103pc.
Return Jerramungup-based buyer of more than 15 years, Paul Barrett, again had a major influence on the sale early, paying to a high of $4000 for a 19.3 micron, 99.4pc CF Merino ram.
All up Mr Barrett purchased nine Merinos and seven Polls at an average of $2538.
Like in past years, the Fowler family's Chilwell account, Condingup, featured regularly in the buying sheets.
With Nutrien Livestock Breeding representative Mitchell Crosby, buying for them they secured a team of 44 rams including five Merinos and 39 Polls at an average of $1856 and to a top of $3500 - to be the clear volume buyers on the day.
Included in the team was a very special ram whose $1500 proceeds were being donated by the Ledwith family to the Shearing For Liz Pink Day fundraiser charity for Breast Cancer Research - WA.
The Fowler family has been buying from the Ledwiths for 10 years and like the bright, white wools of Kolindale sheep.
Mr Crosby said they were chasing rams that had good constitutions and carried long-stapled, bright white wools.
There were a couple of other return buyers to have an influence on the sale result when it came to buying large drafts and they were the Edwards family, Brooklands Park Pastoral, East Pingelly and MP Slade, Fitzgerald.
Buying through Elders stud stock representative Russell McKay, the Edwards family, which has been buying from Kolindale for 11 years, secured 17 polled rams to a top of $2100 and an average of $1447.
Mr McKay said he was looking for productive bold crimping wools on Poll Merino rams with frame and early maturity.
Jeff Edwards said he was getting good results from the Kolindale bloodline which included selling a line of 608 1.5-year-old ewes last year for more than $300.
"Our mature ewes average 19.5 micron and cut about 7kg," Mr Edwards said.
"The Kolindale blood has certainly added value to our flock over the years."
This season the Edwards will join 6500 ewes to Poll Merino rams for a June lambing and will be hoping to replicate the lambing percentage they achieved this year which was 104pc for ewes joined.
Elders Albany representative Nigel Hawke again this year represented the MP Slade account at the sale and he worked his way through the catalogue to finish with 15 Poll Merinos under the hammer at an average of $1153 for the Fitzgerald operation.
Mr Hawke said this year the operation would join 12,000 ewes to Merinos and another 3000 Merino ewes to terminal sires.
"Today I was looking for Polls with white wools under 20 micron which will be able to handle the wetter environment," Mr Hawke said.
Elders stud stock manager Tim Spicer said it was a good, strong, sale from beginning to end and it was up on last year following the trend of other sales this year.
"It was noticeable right through the catalogue that certain types were severely chased and that included those with good carcase and wool traits," Mr Spicer said.
"It was pleasing to see new buyers at the sale again competing strongly against regular clients that know what the Kolindale sheep can do.
"To offer close to 350 rams and nearly sell them all at an average of more than $1900 is a great achievement and credit to the Ledwith family.
"The result was a great reward for their continued investment in their breeding program which included buying a Collinsville sire for $115,000 in July."
White Suffolk
Before the Merinos got underway, the day kicked off with an increased offering of 251 White Suffolk rams following the Ledwith family's purchase of the Ashbourne White Suffolk stud, Katanning, at the end of last year.
The Nutrien Livestock auctioneering team led by Mark Warren and Ben Hankinson, rattled through the very even line-up in two hours and when the final ram was knocked down, all 251 rams offered had been sold to 33 different buyers under the hammer to a top of $2000 and an average of $1344, which was up $44 on last year's result.
In 2021 the Ledwith family offered 136 rams and sold them all for an average of $1300, so not only was the average up compared to last year, but the family also sold an additional 115 rams under the hammer.
Nutrien Livestock Breeding representative Roy Addis said the Ledwith family presented a great line-up of rams, all carrying Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs).
"It was the largest line-up of White Suffolk rams offered in a single vendor sale and it gave purchasers a great selection of sires to choose from to suit their production systems," Mr Addis said.
"The sale was strong throughout and it was great to see a solid result across both the Kolindale and Ashbourne rams.
"The final sale result was certainly stronger than expected in terms of both clearance and prices.
"The rams and the final sale result were a credit to the Ledwith family and all the staff involved."
The $2000 top price was paid by return buyer Lizzi Kerse, Altek Farms, Muntadgin.
Ms Kerse said the top-priced ram had a nice long body, good depth and a nice barrel as well as a good set of figures.
"He will match in well with what we have purchased in the past from Kolindale," Ms Kerse said.
The upstanding Kolindale blood ram, which is by Booloola 180263, had ASBVs of 0.23 birthweight (BWT), 9.19 weaning weight (WWT), 15.29 post weaning weight (PWWT), 0.97 post weaning fat (PFAT), 2.08 post weaning eye muscle depth (PEMD), -0.19 intramuscular fat (IMF), 0.18 shear force (SHRF5) and a TCP index of 138.84.
Along with purchasing the top-priced ram, Ms Kerse also purchased two of the sale's equal second top-priced rams at $1900.
The first one knocked down at this value to Ms Kerse was again a Kolindale blood ram and it had ASBVs of 0.33 BWT, 10.15 WWT, 16.06 PWWT, -0.44 PFAT, 0.96 PEMD, -0.31 IMF, 1.86 SHRF5 and a TCP index of 138.99.
Also heading home with Ms Kerse at $1900 was a Kolindale blood ram with ASBVs of 0.11 BWT, 7.57 WWT, 11.50 PWWT, 0.63 PFAT, 3.49 PEMD, -0.03 IMF, -1.84 SHRF5 and a TCP index of 143.17.
Ms Kerse said this year they were looking to join 2500 to 3000 Merino ewes to White Suffolk sires for an April/May lambing.
"We have already sold 1500 lambs this year in early September and they averaged 22-23kg dressed," she said.
"We were very happy with the prices we got for them given all the difficulties in terms of getting a booking space and trucks to cart them."
A third ram in the line-up made the $1900 equal second top price and it was again a Kolindale blood sire when it sold to Luzny Agri Holdings, Manjimup, who had left a buying order with Elders, Narrogin agent Paul Keppel.
This ram had ASBVs of 0.22 BWT, 9.14 WWT, 14.18 PWWT, -0.04 PFAT, 1.72 PEMD, -0.26 IMF, 1.25 SHRF5 and a TCP index of 137.68.
Along with this ram, Mr Keppel secured another three Kolindale blood rams and an Ashbourne sire to finish with a team of five at an average of $1620.
Return buyers Barry and Clayton Hardie, Hardie Nominees, Narrogin and Jeremy James, JJJ Farms, Hyden, were again very active at the top end.
The Hardies, who will mate 2500 first-cross Prolific-Merino ewes to White Suffolks this year, secured four Kolindale sires and one Ashbourne sire to a top of $1800 and an average of $1640.
When it came to Mr James, he paid a top of $1800 three times for a team of seven Ashbourne rams and one Kolindale sire which averaged $1588.
He said the rams would join the enterprise's sire battery which would be joined to 1250 first-cross Prime SAMM ewes for two lambings starting on April 20 and May 20.
Mr James said he was looking for low birthweight sires with good fats and growth rates as they aim to turn lambs off at 18 to 22 weeks.
"I like using the White Suffolk breed because of its ease of lambing, good growth rates and cleaner heads and tails which allows them to run through spring with very few grass seed issues," he said.
Already this year Mr James has sold 590 out of his 650 early born lambs and they averaged 27.6kg dressed when killed last week.
Another strong supporter of the offering was buyer of five years, Warren Thomas, RW & JM Thomas, Mt Barker, who averaged $1521 over a team of 13 Kolindale sires and one Ashboure ram that topped at $1800.
Mr Thomas said he liked buying from the stud as the rams were true to type and had good body length.
This season he is aiming to join 6000 Merino ewes to White Suffolk sires for an April/May lambing.
Also buying strongly from the Mt Barker area were Cluett & Sons, Porongurup and Talawa Grazing Co, Mt Barker, which both left their buying to Nutrien Livestock, Mt Barker agent Harry Carroll.
Mr Carroll purchased seven Kolindale rams for Talawa Grazing Co at an average of $1500 and six Kolindale sires averaging $1400 for Cluett & Sons.
As in the Merino side of the sale, the Fowler family, Chilwell, was by far the volume buyer.
Buying through Nutrien Livestock, Esperance agent Darren Chatley the Fowlers purchased a team of 40 rams (seven Ashbourne and 33 Kolindale) to a top of $1800 and an average of $1455.
The operation has been using White Suffolks for more than 15 years and likes the breed because it crosses well with Merinos and because it produces quick maturing lambs with length of body and thickness.
Chilwell this season will join 8000 Merino ewes to White Suffolk sires for an April lambing.
Another buyer to make an impact in terms of numbers was Nutrien Livestock Lake Grace agent Tyson Prater who purchased six Ashbourne rams and 17 Kolindale rams at an average of $1230 for the Cameron family, PW & ML Cameron, Lake Grace.
Mr Prater said he was chasing rams with good sound structures that would produce fast growing lambs as the Camerons aimed to turn off their lambs as suckers.
"They have already sold 600 lambs from this year's drop to WAMMCO in the first week of September and they averaged more than $190 a head," Mr Prater said.
"This year they are looking to join 3000 Merinos to White Suffolks for an April lambing."
Another strong buyer in the sale was regular Ashbourne buyer Red Hill Farms, Pingrup, which purchased 13 Ashbourne rams and two Kolindale sires at average of $1420 through Mr Addis.
Mr Addis said he was chasing rams with good growth for the operation which will join 3100 Merino ewes to White Suffolk rams this season.
