IT was a quality line-up of Prime SAMM and White Suffolk rams which greeted buyers when they walked into the shed for the Royston on-property ram sale at Napier on Monday.
Royston stud principals Alan and Sandy Forbes celebrated their 16th annual on-property sale with a bang and the top-priced Prime SAMM topping the sale at $4600.
The family supplied both lunch, dinner and refreshments for all their buyers and guests in attendance.
The rain didn't deter local buyers from attending the sale nor did it deter interstate buyers from securing the stud's genetics.
An overall offering of 99 rams filled the shed, consisting of 49 soft, white woolled Prime SAMM sires and 50 good strong bodied, well-muscled White Suffolk rams and when selling was completed 65 rams had sold under the hammer for an average of $1495, which was up $78 on last year.
Broken down 43 Prime SAMMs sold under the hammer for an average of $1767 which was up $230 on last year while 22 White Suffolks sold under the hammer for an average of $964, which was back $270.
Elders auctioneer Preston Clarke said the rams were presented very well.
"It was a great sale and the top-price in the Prime SAMM offering was amazing," Mr Clarke said.
"We thought it would be the opposite as there are more White Suffolks in the area.
"The Prime SAMM buyers were definitely trying to select rams with a higher MWP+ index."
Mr Clarke said the White Suffolk rams were of really good quality.
"The White Suffolks were great and given the quality of them it was disappointing that there wasn't a better clearance."
The top-priced Prime SAMM ram was knocked down at $4600 by Mr Clarke to South Australian buyers and stud breeders, Campbell and Francesca Lawrie, Lawral Park, Ungarra.
Their pen eight beauty had Australian Sheep Breeding Values of 7.1 for weaning weight (WWT), 8.1kg post weaning weight (PWWT), 1.7 post weaning eye muscle depth (PEMD), 0.5 post weaning fat depth (PFAT) and a MWP+ index of 148 to go with wool figures of 23.4 micron and 95.8 per cent comfort factor (CF).
Mr Lawrie said it is their sixth year purchasing from the stud.
"We've had really good results from the rams we have purchased and we find they perform really well," Mr Lawrie said.
"We were selecting stud sires today.
"We tend to consider a few things when we select rams, such as: good feet, bright white wools as well as good muzzle, constitution and body depth."
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The couple also secured two more rams, taking a team of three back to South Australia, pens 15 and 23, taking their average to $2700.
"We have 600 Prime SAMM stud ewes and a commercial mob too," Mr Lawrie said.
"We will use the pen eight and 15 rams over our stud ewes as that's what we selected them to cover."
The second top-priced ram in the Prime SAMM offering sold to NP & KA Linden, Lilliput, Victoria, for $3600, which bought through Elders Mt Barker agent Dean Wallinger.
The $3600 gem had ASBVs of 6.5 WWT, 7.9 PWT, 1.2 PEMD, 0.1 PFAT and an MWP+ index of 150 along with wool figures of 19.4 micron and 99.7pc CF.
Mr Wallinger rounded out their sales with another ram for $2300, averaging $2950.
The $2600 third top-priced Prime SAMM ram which had an a MWP+ index of 149, went home with NI Thorn & Co, Tambellup.
The Tambellup buyers finished with a team of two rams for the day at an average of $2450.
Loading up four Prime SAMM rams after the sale at an average of $1725 was Kojonup buyer R & E Guidi which paid a top of $2500, twice.
The Prime SAMM volume buyer was Peniup Views, Jerramungup, which took home a team of seven rams.
Peniup Views paid a top of $1500 and an average of $1029.
The offering of White Suffolk rams was sold in the last half of the catalogue, directly after the Prime SAMM offering.
WJ Hunt & Co was eager to take home some of the White Suffolks on offer, securing a team of three rams at an average of $1333.
Its first purchase was the top-priced ram in the White Suffolk run in pen 52, selling for $1900.
This ram weighed in at 100.5 kilograms (a week prior to the sale) and had post weaning raw scans of 36mm for eye muscle depth and 2.5mm for fat, when scanned at 200 days of age.
Volume buyer in the White Suffolk offering was Keelocking South, South Stirling, which purchased seven rams for an average of $914 and to a top of $1200.
Trailing closely behind, finishing with a team of six rams was Amerillup Pastoral Co, Lower King, which averaged $1033 and paid to a top of $1200, twice for its selections.
Katanning buyers, PC & WE Bessell-Browne, rounded out the sale, purchasing the final ram for the day, taking its team total to six at an average of $700.
Pleased with the outcome of the sale was stud co-principal Sandy Forbes.
"Our Prime SAMMs sold really well due to their genetic base and top performing LambPlan ASBVs," Ms Forbes said.
"The rams are bred in wet country so they perform well here and are suited to all environments, including drier inland areas.
"Our clients say they are getting good results with a good lamb turnoff and wool.
"It's also great to have some interstate support too."
Ms Forbes was also happy with the White Suffolk results.
"We had two volume buyers that were missing today," she said.
"But considering it's our second year breeding them, we have had positive comments from buyers.
"They are really happy with the type of sheep we are breeding so that's positive."
