PRICES reached a high of $4150 for a ewe during the Cranston family's Kingslane UltraWhite stud sale, held via AuctionsPlus last Wednesday.
A total of 47 head of sheep were on offer, with 17 of them being ewes and the remainder 30 rams.
The sale overall sold to a 77 per cent clearance rate.
The stud held a January sale this year, where it offered a total of 30 ewes and 45 rams, selling to a 75pc clearance.
Throughout the sale, a total of 28 registered bidders logged on to AuctionsPlus from Western Australia, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, with an additional 15 guests who logged on to view the auction online.
Elders stud stock manager Tim Spicer said this sale wasn't quite as strong as the stud's summer sale, although the sale did attract new buyers.
"There was really good solid competition on the ewes," Mr Spicer said.
"It was really positive to see all the ewe lots sold and bought by mainly WA clients."
Mr Spicer said buyers were more selective on the rams.
"The rams showing good shedding characteristics sold in the sale, while many of the passed in lots sold immediately after the sale," he said.
The ewes were catalogued sell and with strong buyer competition and support all to 17 ewes sold during the online Helmsman auction.
The top-price ewe sold for $4150 to a South West buyer.
The ewe weighed 62 kilograms and had Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) of 7.33 post weaning weight (PWWT), 3.48 post weaning eye muscle depth (PEMD), 1.11 post weaning fat (PFAT), 14.31 worm egg count (WEC) and a terminal carcase production (TCP) index of 136.52.
This particular buyer rounded out its purchases with another seven ewes to finish with eight ewes at an average of $2238.
A Wheatbelt buyer and Victorian buyer both bought three ewes each.
The Wheatbelt buyer bought to a top of $1650, averaging $1550 and the Victorian buyer averaged $1233 and paid to a top of $1450.
MORE STORIES:
In the ram section of the catalogue values peaked at $4000 with the top-priced ram sold to Max Whyte and Gail Cremasco, Brimfield White Suffolk and Poll Dorset studs, Kendenup.
The ram catalogued in lot 26 weighed 100kg and had ASBVs of 14.55 PWWT, 2.14 PEMD, -0.76 PFAT, 24.3 PWEC and a TCP index of 150.
Mr Whyte and Ms Cremasco rounded out their sales with two more rams to average $2383 for their three purchases.
Mr Whyte said it was his first time buying from the stud.
"I selected mainly on the shedding side of things, he seemed to be a good shedder," he said.
"We are taking a stab in the dark at the moment, we bought some UltraWhites last year from Hillcroft Farms.
"We also bought some SheepMaster ewes from the Carnamah sale.
The rams purchased by Mr Whyte and Ms Cremasco from Hillcroft Farms will go over the SheepMaster ewes and Mr Whyte said he would use the Kingslane rams over Poll Dorset and White Suffolk ewes.
"We want to get into the shedding breeds because we want to breed what people want to buy," Mr Whyte said.
"I believe going forward that people are going to want to buy shedding breeds and that they will be something of the future."
Mr Whyte said he would keep the ewe lamb progeny and build up their numbers.
The second top-price ram sold for $3000 to a South West buyer, which also purchased another ram at $2200.
Their $3000 purchase has ASBVs of 11.78 PWWT, 2.23 PEMD, 1.35 PFAT, 6.29 PWEC and a TCP index of 133.84 and weighed 107.5kg.
Volume buyers in the ram offering was a Great Southern buyer which secured five rams at an average of $1760, topping at $2500.
Trailing close behind, securing four rams was a South Australian buyer that paid a top of $2200, averaging $1775.
A Wheatbelt buyer was also eager on the Kingslane genetics, successfully purchasing three rams to a top of $1500, averaging $1533.
