SOLID buying support from local and interstate stud breeders pushed prices to a top of $22,500 for a Yonga Downs White Suffolk ram at the Perth Royal Show All Breeds Ram and Ewe Sale.
With 31 registered buyers in the stands and more logged on to the AuctionsPlus platform, bidding was solid throughout the sale, resulting in good results for most vendors across the board.
Selling agents Elders and Nutrien Livestock cleared 22 of the 34 rams offered under the hammer for an average of $4918, which was up $168 on last year's sale and now sits as the best average the sale has recorded in the past decade.
Last year the agents sold 24 from 35 rams under the hammer for an average of $4750 and a top price of $30,000.
The clearance rate for the rams was further improved post sale with a couple of the passed-in rams also finding new homes.
The single ewe offered in the sale also found a new home when it sold at $1500.
Elders stud stock prime lamb sire specialist Michael O'Neill said it was a quality line-up of rams across all breeds.
"It was a solid market overall and we saw some very good highs in the sale," Mr O'Neill said.
"The rams with good figures with good quality data and high indexes sold to strong enquiry.
"The clearance across all breeds was solid and similar to last year.
"The final results were on par with expectations given presale enquiry.
"It was also a surprise to see there was some late interstate interest on several rams which was very pleasing and great to see."
Nutrien Livestock Breeding representative Roy Addis said he felt a little disappointed with the final sale result.
"In general the sale lacked a bit of buying support across all the breeds given the quality of rams on offer, which is a bit disappointing for the vendors," Mr Addis said.
"The sought after sheep within the different breeds which had both eye appeal and good figures attracted very good buying support."
With another quality line-up of White Suffolk rams offered and both local and Eastern States' buying interest, the breed took the number one mantle this year securing the sale's top price and also the top breed average.
Achieving the $22,500 top price after creating plenty of interest among buyers was an upstanding sire from Brenton and Harriet Addis's Yonga Downs stud, Gnowangerup.
When the classy ram came in front of the selling podium in lot 13, buyers kicked into action.
Elders auctioneer Preston Clarke took an opening bid of $12,000 on the well-muscled ram and from there he had his work cut out when two buyers entered a bidding war for the ram - one in the stands and the other on the end of a phone.
In the end it was Nutrien Livestock State manager Leon Giglia, who fired in the final $22,500 bid and announced the ram was headed to the Ledwith family's Kolindale stud, Dudinin.
Kolindale principal Luke Ledwith said he was impressed by the ram's length of body and structure when he viewed it onfarm prior to the sale.
"When I saw him onfarm he stood out," Mr Ledwith said.
"He is a big, long-bodied ram with a nice White Suffolk head and a v-shape in the chest for ease of lambing.
"He is a perfectly made ram and is hard to fault.
"Along with his physical presence, he also has a good set of figures which includes high growth numbers and a good fat figure which isn't always that easy to find in combination."
The early June 2021-drop ram is sired by Yonga Downs 190384 and out of Yonga Downs 180658.
It has Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) of 0.47 birthweight (BWT), 11.72 weaning weight (WWT), 18.65 post weaning weight (PWWT), 2.47 post weaning eye muscle depth (PEMD), -0.26 post weaning fat (PFAT) and a terminal carcase production (TCP) index of 151.69.
The ram will be a new bloodline for the Ledwith's flock and they will use him over both Kolindale and Ashbourne blood rams.
Losing bidder on the ram was the Blechynden family, Southdale stud, Brookton, who bid with the assistance of Nutrien Livestock, Pingelly/Brookton agent Chris Turton.
South Suffolk
The South Suffolk breed led the sale with a single entry from the Bingham family's Iveston stud, Williams and it sold in a single bid of $2500 to long-time client Anne Kennedy, EK & L Kennedy, Mia Springs stud, Williams.
Ms Kennedy said the ram had good length and depth of body, as well as very good muscling.
The 120kg, May 2021-drop ram is by Windle Hill 190926.
It had raw scans at post weaning (November 2021) of 26.9mm eye muscle depth and 3.9mm fat to go with a post weaning weight of 64kg.
Ms Kennedy said they only registered the family's stud last year after it was initially started by her father in 1973.
"We have 110 registered ewes in the stud currently to breed rams for our own use and sale," Ms Kennedy said.
"This year we will join 500 Merino ewes to our South Suffolk sires."
Suffolk
Next into the ring was an offering of seven Suffolks from six vendors and at the conclusion of the run, four had sold under the hammer for an average of $3100 and to a top of $4200.
Last year three Suffolk rams sold from five offered at an average of $3967 and to a top of $5000.
Achieving the breed's $4200 top price was a ram from the O'Neill family's Annaghdowns stud, McAlinden.
Bidding opened at $3500 on the ram which showed plenty of stretch and volume and after some quick back and forth it was knocked down to Donald Cochrane, Perth, who was bidding on behalf of first time buyers the Creagh family, Natawandi stud, Nillup.
Simon Creagh said the ram had a great topline and structure with really good even muscling as well as a good PEMD figure.
The July 2021-drop ram is sired by Blackbutt 122236 and it had ASBVs of 0.30 BWT, 15.20 PWWT, 1.67 PEMD, -0.39 PFAT and a TCP index of 141.90.
Cheetara stud principals Nick and Gina Cheetham, Narembeen, offered two rams and sold one for the breed's $3600 second top price to a Northam buyer operating on AuctionsPlus.
The long and thick sire was sired by Kerangie 192465 and had ASBVs of 0.43 BWT, 8.51 WWT, 13.65 PWWT, 1.31 PEMD, 0.17 PFAT and a TCP index of 128.54.
Richard Philipps and Sally Larkin's Karinya stud, Boyup Brook, sold its sole entry at $2400 to return buyer the Crombie family, RD & SM Crombie, Windsor stud, Babakin.
The 2021-drop ram by Bundara Downs 194577 had ASBVs of 0.44 BWT, 9.14 WWT, 14.37 PWWT, 1.54 PEMD, 0.04 PFAT and a TCP index of 137.42.
Rounding out the studs to sell in the Suffolk run was the WA College of Agriculture, Narrogin's Collegian stud which sold its sole entry for $2200 to the Creagh family, Natawandi stud, who bid again through Mr Cochrane.
The May 2021-drop son of Collegian 186011 had 0.25 BWT, 6.29 WWT, 9.42 PWWT, 0.7 PEMD, -0.51 PFAT and a TCP index of 115.90.
White Suffolk
This year six White Suffolk studs offered eight rams and one ewe in the fixture and by the end of the run, five rams and the ewe were headed for new homes.
The five rams sold to the sale top of $22,500 and for a $7460 average, which ranked as the best breed average on the day while the single ewe sold for $1500.
While the clearance for the rams was back on last year, the average was up $3385.
In last year's sale eight White Suffolk sires were offered and sold to a top of $7600 and an average of $4075.
As previously mentioned the Yonga Downs stud led the way for the breed selling the $22,500 top-priced ram.
The next best price in the offering was $4400 paid by the Glass family, Fenwick Farm stud, Calingiri, for a sire from the O'Neill family's Annaghdowns stud.
The June 2021-drop ram is by Ashmore 170293 and out of Detpa Grove 140840.
It had ASBVs of 0.36 BWT, 11.41 WWT, 17.96 PWWT, 2.05 PEMD, -0.38 PFAT and a TCP index of 149.60.
The Bingham family's Iveston stud offered two rams in the run and sold one for $3800 to the Schulz family, WB & BM Schulz, Williams.
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The well-muscled, growthy ram, which finished first in its class, had ASBVs of 0.43 BWT, 11.27 WWT, 17.58 PWWT, 1.52 PEMD, -0.46 PFAT and a TCP index of 144.76.
The ram is a son of Jusak 199223.
Glenn and Kay Cole, Sasimwa stud, York, sold their single entry for $3400 to Daniel Griffiths, Arcane stud, Donnybrook.
The 135kg sire is by Kiara 180012 and had ASBVs of 0.76 BWT, 10.90 WWT, 17.09 PWWT, 0.73 PEMD, -0.98 PFAT and a TCP index of 133.28.
The Squiers family's Shirlee Downs stud, Quairading, offered two rams in the White Suffolk run and sold one under the hammer for $3200.
The stretchy ram which also showed good width and muscling was purchased by a Mt Barker buyer operating on AuctionsPlus.
The ram is a son of Ashmore 190625 and Burra Park 180063.
It had ASBVs of 0.35 BWT, 11.09 WWT, 17.36 PWWT, 2.10 PEMD, 0.11 PFAT and a TCP index of 146.40.
The Cheetara stud offered the sole ewe in the sale and it sold at $1500 to the Fairclough family, Stockdale stud, York.
The 2021-drop ewe, which showed a great structure, was by Anden 180179 and out of Cheetara 170325.
It had ASBVs of 0.52 BWT, 11.36 WWT, 17.12 PWWT, 0.5 PEMD, -0.55 PFAT and a TCP index of 130.06.
Poll Dorset
The Poll Dorset breed was the second last to be offered and it was also the breed with the largest number of rams on offer.
In the offering four studs offered 16 rams and when Mr Clarke knocked down the last one, 12 had been cleared under the hammer at an average of $4667 and to a top of $7000.
This compared to last year's sale when 12 rams sold from 21 offered to a top of $30,000 and an average of $5433, this year's average was back $766.
Leading the way in the run and selling the $7000 top-priced sire was the Levett family's Tipperary stud, Walkaway.
The thick, well-muscled ram was purchased by Rob Frohling, Aberdeen stud, Burrumbuttock, New South Wales, who operated on AuctionsPlus.
Mr Frohling said he saw videos and photos of the ram on AuctionsPlus and was impressed.
"He has both good eye appeal and a good set of figures," Mr Frohling said.
"He has good size and scale but still has a very good carcase and meat where it is needed
"We liked what we saw in the pictures and videos online and then we got someone in Perth to check him out, before we decided to buy him.
"We were looking for something a bit different so we decided why not give him a go.
"We have used his sire before and he clicked with our ewes so it will be interesting to see how this ram goes with the slightly different genetic background."
The ram is a son of Bundara Downs 170180.
It had ASBVs of 0.47 BWT, 10.93 WWT, 17.56 PWWT, 3.29 PEMD, -0.93 PFAT and a TCP index of 158.71.
Its PEMD and TCP index were the highest of any Poll Dorset ram offered.
Losing bidder on the ram was Les Sutherland, Sandown stud, Perenjori.
The next best price in the Tipperary offering of three rams was $5800 paid by Mt Ferguson Grazing, Boyup Brook.
The Boyup Brook enterprise went to this value for a ram which was sired by Tipperary 190324 and had ASBVs of 0.45 BWT, 10.98 WWT, 16.83 PWWT, 2.74 PEMD, -0.41 PFAT and a TCP index of 149.61.
The final Tipperary ram sold at $4400 to Janan stud, Dandaragan.
All up the three Tipperary rams offered and sold averaged $5733.
The Squiers family's Shirlee Downs stud offered eight rams and sold six at an average of $4633.
They claimed the second top price in the run when they sold an Ivadene 170139 son, which was of their winning interbreed group of three rams, for $6600.
The upstanding, well-muscled sire was purchased by the Pearce family, Orrvale stud, Kojonup, with the assistance of Nutrien Livestock, Kojonup agent Troy Hornby.
The ram had ASBVs of 0.51 BWT, 11.16 WWT, 17.29 PWWT, 1.94 PEMD, -1.0 PFAT and a TCP index of 139.51.
The next best price in the Shirlee Downs offering was $5000 and it was achieved twice.
Chris and Robyn Patmore, Riverbend stud, Eneabba, were the first to pay it when they purchased an Ivadene 170139 grandson which was also part of the stud's winning group of three rams.
The ram had ASBVs of 0.61 BWT, 10.56 WWT, 16.76 PWWT, 1.99 PEMD, -0.62 PFAT and a TCP index of 143.12.
Along with this ram, the Patmores also purchased two more Shirlee Downs' rams at $4200 and $3000.
The second ram to sell for $5000 in the Shirlee Downs team was a son of Melton Vale 190174 and it was purchased by Hillroy Farms Pty Ltd, Brookton.
This ram had ASBVs of 0.33 BWT, 11.16 WWT, 17.70 PWWT, 3.07 PEMD, -0.24 PFAT and a TCP index of 148.79.
The Brookton operation also purchased one of the passed in Shirlee Downs rams after the sale at $3000.
When it came to the Squiers family's Dongadilling stud, they offered four rams from this stable and sold two under the hammer to a top of $6000 and an average of $4500.
Achieving the stud's $6000 top price was its interbreed reserve grand champion meat breeds ram when it sold to the Lawrence family, Canternatting stud, Southern Brook.
The deep, well-muscled ram is by Ivadene 170139 and had ASBVs of 0.52 BWT, 10.55 WWT, 15.71 PWWT, 1.05 PEMD, -1.20 PFAT and a TCP index of 131.40.
The other Dongalling ram which sold made $3000 when it was knocked down to the Glencraobh stud, Kojonup.
Rounding out the Poll Dorset studs to sell was the Cheetara stud which offered and sold one ram for $2000 to the Janan stud.
The ram by Gooramma 190678 was sold with ASBVs of 0.38 BWT, 8.17 WWT, 11.31 PWWT, 0.79 PEMD, -0.93 PFAT and a TCP index of 129.40.