IT may have been cold and wet but the bidding was hot and fast from the outset at the San-Mateo Poll Merino and Merino on-property ram sale at Brookton.
Offering a lineup of 121 rams consisting of 83 Poll Merino and 38 Merino rams, San-Mateo stud principals Nigel and Damien Morrison's commitment to breeding quality sires was once again recognised by loyal regular buyers and new clients alike.
Volume buyers were active throughout the catalogue and were being very particular with their selections, and knowing their purchases would perform well within their programs, they bought with confidence.
Elders stud stock representative and San-Mateo stud classer, Nathan King, said the original San-Mateo stud had beautiful wool and the Morrisons had invested a lot into genetics to maintain the wool and build better bodies.
"The Morrisons are really strong supporters of the Katanning ram sale and other local Western Australian studs," Mr King said.
"They invest a lot back into the stud and it is great to hear such positive comments from buyers about how good their sheep are.
"Like with any business the clients' opinion is really important and having such positive feedback is a great gauge of how the genetics are performing.
"San-Mateo's sheep have some of the most even wools you will find."
With this in mind it is no wonder then that the top price of $5000 for a Poll Merino sire was an increase of $1700 from the previous sale and the top prices and the average and gross figures all lifted significantly.
The Poll Merino average was $1632, while for Merinos it was $1454 and the overall average was $1574, with seven more rams sold than last year.
The $5000 top-priced ram was the first to go under the hammer and was snapped up by Clinton Blight, CJ & SH Blight, Seymour Park stud, Highbury, who also purchased a second ram at the sale for $3000 which was the equal second top price.
The $5000 top-priced ram was a big Poll Merino sire with measurements of 20.4 micron, 14.2 CV, 2.9 SD and a 99.9 per cent comfort factor (CF).
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Mr Blight said Mr King had informed him of the ram.
"Nathan saw him when he was cataloguing the rams for sale and let me know," Mr Blight said.
"He is the son of one of our own rams that the Morrisons purchased from us in 2019 for $10,200.
"He has beautiful purity and nice white wool that can handle plenty of water.
"He is a very similar style to his father and will be used as an outcross for our stud."
The $3000 equal second top-priced ram was also a Poll Merino and as mentioned previously was purchased by Mr Blight - the rams figures were 20.8 micron, 16.3 CV, 3.4 SD and 99.7pc CF.
Purchasing the other $3000 ram were buyers Tim and Andrew George, JE George & Co, Corrigin, who have been purchasing from San- Mateo for more than 15 years.
The ram had measurements of 20.3 micron, 16.3 CV,
3.3 SD and 99.7pc CF and was one of three Poll Merino rams the Georges bought for an average of $2167.
The overall volume buyer at the sale was once again repeat volume client, Atlas Farms, Calingiri, which finished with a truckload of 22, solely Poll Merino rams, to a top of $2700 and for an average of $2100.
Atlas Farms has been a regular buyer at the San-Mateo sale since 2017 and general manager Tim Johnston said everything they currently had onfarm was all from San-Mateo bloodlines.
"We have 5000 breeding ewes mated and these are all to Merinos," Mr Johnston said.
"The wool is especially good.
"Our lambing percentage is over 100pc, with the San-Mateo sheep having excellent fertility.
"We have some sheep in the Moora sale in November, these are our spare ewe hoggets, and we always get high prices for them, so we are really happy."
He said the San-Mateo wools really suited the environment west of Calingiri, where Atlas Farms is located.
New buyers Laurie and Anthony Carbone, Carbondale Farms, Bullsbrook and Watheroo, purchased a total of 12 Poll Merino rams, to a top of $2100 and an average of $1333.
Mr Carbone and children Anthony and Grace are expanding their Merino sheep breeding operation.
"We have 4500 Merino breeding ewes," he said.
"We like Merinos for their dual purpose attributes of wool and meat," Anthony said.
He said the line-up of rams at the sale was very consistent and catered to a very consistent wool type throughout the shed.
The Carbones selected Poll Merino rams that were all very similar to one another.
"We liked the bolder crimp and heavier cut," Anthony said.
"The rams had good structure and were medium framed."
The top-priced Merino ram sold for $2500 and was purchased by C & JM Parsons, Tenterden, who purchased a total of four Merino rams at the sale for an average of $1850.
The big Merino sire had measurements of 18.5 micron, 15.7 CV, 2.9 SD and 99.9pc CF.
Regular buyers, Chris and Brendan Luelf, Falconhurst Grazing, York, were once again volume buyers with their successful bids on 12 solely Merino rams, to a top price of $1700 and for an average price of $1275.
The Luelfs maintain about 3500 breeding ewes and have been buying from San-Mateo for about six years.
MA Hughes, Pingelly, took home a total of 11 rams, consisting of eight Poll Merinos and three Merinos, to a top of $1800 and for an average of $1309.
Regular volume buyers dominated the sale catalogue with Ellen Walker, Warranine Park, Brookton, buying seven Merino rams to a top of $2100 and an average of $1829, while KJ Hughes, Pingelly, also purchased seven rams, to a top of $1800 and an average of $1329, split between five Poll Merinos and two Merinos.
Seven was a popular number as CJ & T Butler, Shackleton, also bought four Poll Merinos and three Merinos for a top price of $1800 and an average of $1186.
San-Mateo stud principal Nigel Morrison said they were really happy with the results of this year's sale and the way their bloodlines were performing for their clients.
"The consistency is really evident in our flock, it is so much easier to pick out our sale team," Mr Morrison said.
"Thank you to all our regular and new clients alike, having a successful sale is very rewarding and makes all our work worthwhile."
