After a successful couple of days in the show ring at last week's Australian Sheep & Wool Show at Bendigo, Victoria, the King family's Rangview stud, Darkan, topped off its trip across by the Nullarbor, selling the $24,000 top-priced ram in the event's Merino ram sale.
Sale summary (Under the hammer results)
- Offered: 93
- Sold: 77
- Top: $24,000
- Gross: $417,450
- Average: $5421
All up in the sale, 24 studs from Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and WA offered 93 rams in the sale and sold 77 under the hammer at an average of $5421 as a result of strong buying competition from a registered buyers list just shy of 100 at the sale and another 12 active online bidders operating through AuctionsPlus.
In comparison, in last year's sale, 75 rams sold from 88 offered at an average of $5687.
Topping the sale for the Rangeview stud at a stud record price of $24,000, was Rangeview Lawry 24.At Bendigo, Lawry was sashed the reserve champion August shorn medium wool Poll Merino ram which added to the two supreme exhibit awards it had already collected at the Wagin Woolorama and Williams Gateway Expo earlier this year.
Bidding started at $10,000 on the well-made, four-tooth, August shorn sire and quickly passed the $20,000 mark as a number of interested parties raised their hands.
In the end it was Anthony and Krisi Frost and family, Thalabah stud, Laggan, New South Wales, which prevailed as the eventual buyers at $24,000.Mr Frost said they had been following the success of the ram and the stud at shows in WA this year and were impressed when they saw the ram penned up at Bendigo.
"He is a well-structured ram with good size but he is not over the top," Mr Frost said.
"He has the right size and constitution for our country.
"He also has a good breeding skin with a heavy wool cut and his wool type will complement ours.
"We have used Merino genetics from Rangeview in the past and they have worked well and now we are working a bit more on our Poll stud, we were keen to also try some Rangeview genetics in it, as we know they work.
"We have seen what Jeremy has been doing with the stud over the past couple of years so we are pretty confident this ram will be a good fit for us."
The ET-bred ram is by Banavie 190 and out of Rangeview Blue 645.It has current wool figures of 20.4 micron, 3.4 SD, 16.5 CV and 98.8 per cent comfort factor (CF).
Rangeview has retained 100pc semen marketing rights on Lawry and will exhibit it at the Rabobank WA Sheep Expo & Merino Ram Sale at Katanning before it goes to its new home.
Along with selling the top-priced ram, the Rangeview stud sold two other Poll rams at $10,000 and another at $5000.
The first of the Rangeview rams to make $10,000 was a fine-medium wool sire which was sashed the reserve grand champion fine-medium wool Poll Merino ram of the show.
The ram was purchased by Roger Mathews, Borambil stud, Corowa, New South Wales, through Nutrien Ag Solutions, NSW stud stock representative Rick Power.
Mr Power said the ram caught the eye of Borambil stud principal Roger Mathews for its structure, right amount of wool cut and its wool test fits the stud's program.
"He will be a different bloodline for the stud and we are hoping he will help sweeten up the wools and put some nourishment into their Poll flock," Mr Power said.
The ram is a full ET-brother to Rangeview's sale topper being sired by Banavie 190 and out of Rangeview Blue 645.
It had current wool figures displayed of 19.4 micron, 2.5 SD, 12.6 CV and 99.7pc CF.
The other ram to make $10,000 in the Rangeview team was its reserve grand champion fine wool ram when it was knocked down to the Hurlstone Park stud, Mulwala, NSW, which was operating on AuctionsPlus.
This ram is by Stillbrook 147 and had wool figures of 18.6 micron, 2.6 SD, 14.2 CV and 99.7pc CF.
The final ram in the Rangeview team to sell was also a full ET-brother to the stud's sale-topper and it sold at $5000 to the Koole Vale stud, Costerfield, Victoria.
It had current wool figures of 19.8 micron, 2.5 SD, 12.5 CV and 99.8pc CF.
Rangeview principal Jeremy King said he was very pleased with the prices he achieved in just his second time selling in the sale.
"I was judging here last year and I saw there appeared to be a real demand for Poll Merinos and so I thought given I had some pretty handy sheep this year I would offer them in the sale," Mr King said.
"I am pleased they were well received and sold well."
The Rangeview stud wasn't the only WA stud to offer in the sale - the Wise family's Wililoo stud, Woodanilling, was also on the vendors' list.
Wililoo offered one August shorn Poll Merino ram and two August shorn Merino rams and they all sold at an average of $4083.
Topping the Wililoo team was its Poll Merino sire when it sold at $5500 to return buyers the Steel family, Carribber stud, Southern Cross.
Buyer James Steel said they had purchased from Wililoo over the past three years and had been getting some good results with the Wililoo genetics, so they were keen to get another sire.
"I saw this ram when I got to Bendigo and was impressed with the good combination of wool and meat he expresses," Mr Steel said.
"He stands up well and has a really nice deep body and I think he will complement our program really well."
The well put-together ram is by a Moorundie sire and was sold with wool figures of 20.2 micron, 3.5 SD, 17.2 CV and 99pc CF.
The stud's first Merino offered, which was bred from pure Wililoo bloodlines and had wool figures of 20.7 micron, 3.3 SD, 16.1 CV and 98.9pc CF, sold for $3750 to AJ Mawson & JM Walker, Locksley, Victoria.
The stud's final Merino ram, which was sashed the champion strong wool Merino ram in the show and earlier this year the grand champion Merino ram at both the Wagin Woolorama and Williams Gateway Expo, sold for $3000 to RL & AH Rollinson Pty Ltd.
This ram is by Orrie Cowie Achiles and has current wool figures of 23.3 micron, 3.4 SD, 14.6 CV and 97.7pc CF.
The second top price was $16,000 paid bid by AWN stud stock for an August shorn Poll Merino ram from the Nerstane stud, Woolbrook, NSW, which sold from its team of four offered.
The son of Nerstane 190200 had wool figures of 18.1 micron, 2.8 SD, 15.2 CV and 99.9pc CF.
The next best price was $15,000 and it was recorded twice.
The first to do it was Langdene stud, Dunedoo, NSW, which also sold two rams at $14,000 to see its team of four all cleared at an average of $11,750.
The Langdene ram to make $15,000 was an August shorn Merino which was by Roseville Park 173028 and had wool figures of 18.0 micron, 2.8 SD and 99.4pc CF.
The other stud to sell at $15,000 was the Terrick West Poll Merino stud, Prairie, Victoria, which sold a March shorn Poll Merino ram at this value that had wool figures of 18.4 micron, 3.1 SD and 99.5pc CF.
All up Terrick West offered and sold five rams at an average of $7800, also in the team was a ram sold at $12,000.
Along with the Carribber stud which purchased the Wililoo ram in the sale, there were two other rams headed to WA when they were purchased by the Jackson family's Overton stud, Kojonup.
The Jacksons purchased a Poll sire from the Alfoxton stud,Armidale, NSW, which was by GP 191120 and has wool figures of 19.4 micron, 3.0 SD and 99.6pc CF for $4000 and a Poll sire from the Coryule stud, Willowvale, Victoria, that was by Grassy Creek 170080 and has wool figures of 18.4 micron, 2.4 SD and 99.6pc CF for $7000.
