A FIRST-time client who bought the top-priced ram in an overall spend of $70,900 as the volume buyer ensured last week's SheepMaster Mid West shedding ram and ewe sale was a success.
After hosting last year's inaugural SheepMaster combined sale involving Rainbows Rest stud, Dongara and Mogumber Plains stud, Mogumber, Liz Williams, co-principal of Mogumber Plains stud, had promised this year's sale sale would be "bigger and better".
Her prediction was spot on.
Moved to the Carnamah Ram Pavilion and with first-time seller Northern Valleys SheepMaster stud, Gingin, putting a toe in the water with a three-ram offering, last week's sale offered 27 more rams, added 70 Rainbows Rest young ewes and attracted more interest with 22 online bidders registered and 18 showing up in person.
The top sale price - for a Rainbows Rest ram the second year in a row - increased by $400 to $8000 and gross sale revenue jumped by 142 per cent to $232,100, with Rainbows Rest and Mogumber Plains selling all of their sheep and only the three Northern Valleys rams, put up as the last auction lots, passed in.
Vertically integrated food producer and processor PenAgri Farms Pty Ltd, Perth, which states on its website it has a three-farm aggregation in the Mid West totalling 11,562 hectares, was both volume and value buyer of the sale.
Headed by consultant to companies in the property, technology, agriculture and wine industries, Peter Fogarty as chairman, and former chief executive officer of Interflour Group and Harvest Road Group, Greg Harvey as managing director, PenAgri was formed last year, registered in February and has sheep, grain and carbon sequestration interests.
With general manager David Hester bidding as buyer number one, PenAgri bought a total of 24 Rainbows Rest rams and a pen of 10 May drop Rainbows Rest ewe lambs averaging 44 kilograms live weight.
The rams were bought at an average price of $2620 - just $12 less than the overall sale average - and included the $8000 lot nine a May 2021 drop, 96kg top ram which had eye muscle depth of 38.5 millimetres and fat cover of 5.1mm.
Mr Hester successfully bid $800 per head for the pen of ewe lambs.
He later confirmed PenAgri was a first-time buyer at the SheepMaster combined sale and in buying ewes and rams was establishing a SheepMaster flock.
He said the sheep would be run at Dongara but declined to make further comment.
"I'm not authorised by the (PenAgri) board to comment," Mr Hester said.
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At times during the early part of the sale he and bidder two, Murray Magini, S & MD Magini, Mokup, co-principal of the Crystal Ridge Prime SAMM operation who bought Blackwood SheepMaster rams at last year's sale, were standing next to each other and bidding against each other.
Mr Magini bought five Rainbows Rest rams to a top of $3500 at an average of $3300.
Repeat buyers, John Cunningham and son Nathan, Cunningham Enterprises, Morawa, also took five rams - two Rainbows Rest and three Mogumber Plains - at an average of $2740, including the $3900 and $3800 second and third top-priced Rainbows Rest rams.
"Our flock began as Dorpers, then became UltraWhites and we used to get UltraWhite rams from Geoff (Rainbows Rest studmaster Geoff Crabb) for the last five years and then Geoff went into the SheepMasters so we followed him," Nathan said.
"We think they're a cut above.
"We bought five rams last year from Rainbows Rest but we went for a bit of genetic diversity from Mogumber this year," he said.
Three buyers bought four rams each.
They were Gracemere Farms, Moora, which bought Rainbows Rest rams to a top of $3200 at an average of $2725, IR Mortimore, Narembeen, which bought to a top of $3400 at an average of $2450 split between Rainbows Rest and Mogumber Plains rams and repeat buyer Butt Farms, The Lakes, which bought to a top of $2900 also with a mix of Rainbows Rest and Mogumber Plains rams.
Apache Investments, Southern Cross, was the value-conscious buyer, taking three $1400 rams each from Rainbows Rest and Mogumber Plains and two $1600 rams, one each from Rainbows Rest and Mogumber Plains, for a total of eight.
The $2500 top-priced 104kg Mogumber Plains ram was sold to Weelhamby Holdings, Rothsay.
Bidding on behalf of undisclosed buyers Elders stud and commercial sheep manager Tim Spicer purchased five Rainbows Rest rams to a top of $3300 and a Mogumber Plains ram at $2300.
He also purchased two pens of Rainbows Rest ewe lambs at $1100 per head for an undisclosed buyer in New South Wales.
RE & CJ Teakle, Northampton, was the main ewe buyer with three pens of 10 ewes to a top of $1400 at an average of $1100 per head.
Elders auctioneer Preston Clarke described the sale as "outstanding" for the first sale in the Mid West and it attracted a lot of interest, he pointed out.
"There was really good support for the catalogue," Mr Clarke said.
Rainbows Rest co-principals Tristan Reed and his father Des said they were "very happy with the result".
"We were very happy with them (rams) and we're happy with what's coming for next year," Tristan said.
"We also used AuctionsPlus for the first time this year - we didn't have them last year - and there were a few sales on that too so it was worthwhile."
Mogumber Plains co-principal Peter Williams said he thought the quality of the rams they presented was better this year.
"We had some new buyers, we got a ram into New South Wales and we're not taking any sheep back home, so we're happy," Mr Williams said.
SheepMaster founder Neil Garnett said he was very pleased with the quality of the sheep presented for sale, particularly the ewes.
