Maiden Merino ewes make $215 at third annual AWN Livestock Wickepin sheep sale

The AWN/Dyson Jones livestock teams offered a good quality yarding of 4332 Merino ewes and wether lambs in forward condition after favourable winter and spring conditions in paddocks from new and return vendors.

The sale attracted a big crowd to the saleyards with strong agent representation from AWN/Dyson Jones and other companies, seeing local and interstate grazier buying interest at the sale and through the AuctionsPlus platform.

The AuctionsPlus interfaced sale received 1258 catalogue views seeing five active buyers from WA and South Australia placing 24 online bids with two lines of ewes sold online.

AWN Livestock auctioneer Jay Macdonald worked hard to extract bids from the cautious buying gallery which largely made for a buyer's market with graziers securing good quality breeding ewes and wether lambs at good value for money.

Values varied across each description, with larger lines more sought after than any smaller drafts.

In the spring shorn line-up, 1.5-year-old ewes sold to $215, 5.5yo ewes at $95 and wether lambs $87, late winter shorn 1.5yo ewes sold to $180, autumn shorn ewes returned $166 for 1.5yo ewes and $113 for 5.5yo ewes, a small line of young summer shorn ewes made $80 while unshorn wether lambs sold to $91.

Values peaked at the outset with the opening line of 394 September shorn Fern Park blood 1.5-year-old ewes offered by KM Pauley & Co, Fern Park stud, Wickepin, knocked down to the bid of AWN Livestock, Central Midlands agent Greg Wootton representing a New South Wales buyer via phone.

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The following draft of 243 September shorn Seymour Park blood 1.5yo ewes offered by A & E Quartermaine & Son, Harrismith, sold for the $204 second top price to Tony Douglass, AWN Livestock, Esperance, on behalf of HJ & TM Hill, Esperance.

Mr Douglass said the Hills looked for big-framed ewes with quality wool types to join to White Suffolk and composite terminal sires for prime lamb production.

Return vendor Linton Park Farms, Cuballing, sold its annual draft of 363 July shorn Fern Park blood 1.5yo ewes to a southern coast buyer operating on AuctionsPlus for $180.

Nutrien Livestock Wickepin agent Ty Miller snapped up a couple of pens of well-bred and presented ewes at good value paying to $170 for 205 August shorn Fern Park blood 1.5yo ewes from regular vendors BP Sinclair, Newdegate.

A South Australian buyer also bidding on AuctionsPlus collected a draft of 153 April shorn MPM blood 1.5yo ewes from Cuballing graziers RJ & BR Harris for $166.

Mature ewes topped at $113 for 132 April shorn MPM blood 5.5yo ewes trucked in by fellow Cuballing vendors GD & FE Alcock and knocked down to volume buyer of value at the sale JR & JC McNeil, Hastings.

In addition to the older ewes, the McNeils finished the sale with 129 young ewes and two drafts of unshorn wether lambs totalling 403 head.

Nutrien Livestock, Brookton/Pingelly agent Chris Turton secured two drafts of unshorn wether lambs on behalf of a Pingelly client, paying the section's $91 top price for 458 Fern Park blood lambs offered by Linton Park Farms and $85 for 246 Orrie Cowie blood lambs consigned by MA & HN Lange, Narrogin.

Mr Turton said the lambs would be shorn and grown out on stubbles and potentially carried for up to three years.

He said they were keen to secure better quality wether lambs in the yarding and the two lines purchased were similar type sheep.

A Wandering grazier collected two lines of wether lambs paying to $87 for 207 October shorn Wallinar blood lambs offered by MR & KM Edwards, Piesseville.

AWN Livestock auctioneer Jay Macdonald said there were some very good ewes and wethers in the yarding which sold well and he appreciated the support from local vendors with the company looking forward to continue hosting the sale annually.

"Better well-presented lines sold around expected rates while lighter smaller lines attracted limited competition," Mr Macdonald said.

"A good line-up of wether lambs sold well to expected and slightly dearer prices.

"It was good to see a bit of support on AuctionsPlus from WA and interstate.

"Thank you to the sale's vendors for entrusting AWN Livestock/Dyson Jones to market your livestock and to the transport companies for presenting the sheep in a timely manner."