THE buyers' registration list was a good indicator the Far Valley Dohne on-property ram sale at Arthur River was going to be strong, with a handful of interstate breeders among the 26 lining up for the stud's top genetics.
Four studs from South Australia and New South Wales and another from Chile, South America, had all selected rams from Far Valley, but none factored in the strength of Mitch Applegate, Mollerin Rock Dohnes, Cadoux.
His quick and decisive bidding left no doubt which way the duel for the $6100 top-priced sheep would finish as his adversary relayed his phone bids through Dohne consultant Murray Drage.
Mr Applegate said he came to the sale with a plan to buy two rams, but after inspecting the top-priced ram in pen 37, he decided to forego his first choice earlier in the sale and invest everything into a single sire.
With encouragement from Dohne assessor and sale auctioneer Nathan King, and buoyed by the young sire's strong set of estimated breeding values, that were backed by quality wool and good make and shape, he set to work.
"I came to the sale to buy lot 13 but this ram just had the eye muscle and growth rate we were looking for combined with the wool figures we wanted," Mr Applegate said.
He had used Far Valley genetics previously after buying from the sale in 2017.
As part of a younger farming generation, he was bucking the cropping trend, saying he became interested in livestock and genetics during his time at the WA College Of Agriculture, Cunderdin.
Since buying the Mollerin Rock stud, he had held five on-property ram sales and become deeply immersed in the genomics of sheep breeding.
He had a specific plan to use the sire over a line of recently purchased Dowell stud ewes and a small line of his own breeding.
The ram was by FV 204706, and at 180.23, was ranked in the top five per cent of the latest Dohne data base index run August 21, 2023.
Its index was made up of maternal weaning weight 0.48 (top 30pc), weaning weight 4.85 (top 30pc), yearling fat 0.52 (top 20pc), yearling eye muscle depth 1.66 (top 10pc), yearling fibre diameter -1.31 (top 5pc), yearling clean fleece weight 8.74.
Mr Drage's losing bidder was the partnership of Justin Tombs, Harewood stud, Armidale, NSW and Badgebup breeder Rachael Browne, Chirniminup stud, and it was the only ram on which they bid.
The ram was one of seven that topped the $3000 mark.
The first to hit $3000 came via a buying order held by Elders Williams agent Graeme Alexander and was paid for pen four by return buyers Darren and Fiona Cameron, Koonik stud, Goroke, Victoria, who bought last year's top price Far Valley ram.
This time they teamed up with Chanarcillo stud, Chile, with semen collection the first step planned for the ram on its way to the east.
Next was pen 10 at the same price paid by RG & ME Marsh & Son, Karlgarin, who took home seven rams including others at $2100 and $2000.
Former Kintail Park buyer Brian Trundle, Kulin, last bought at Far Valley in 1999, but after Kintail Park's dispersal he was happy to return for this year's requirements.
After selling off part of his farmland, Mr Trundle needed fewer rams and went hard on the three he wanted, paying up to $3400 for one of the day's highest-priced rams.
He also bought others for $2200 and $1900 to set a strong tempo in the early stages.
By the time the auctioneer reached the final lots, the current industry uncertainty was evident.
The $1670 sale average was a dip on the $2008 achieved last year and the clearance rate was lower - this year 95pc of the 115 rams offered cleared under the hammer, compared with last year when all but one of the 115 rams sold.
For Far Valley stud principal David Kain, the sale signalled harder times but he was pleased so many people were still optimistic.
It was a view reiterated by Mr King who said sales so far this year showed genuine sheep people seemed to be positive and understood the cycles of the industry and it was a matter of time before it bounced back.
It was the second Dohne sale at which he had sold this year and he said there were some top rams, and while figures were important, visual aspects such as wool quality, body and constitution were equally as important to buyers.
Another young farmer Ben Creek, B & E Creek, Mayanup, who has taken over full management of the family's two properties from his father Richard, said it was clear there was a lack of confidence in the sheep market but he was optimistic it would return to more buoyant times.
"We love sheep and in the Boyup Brook area you have to be diversified," Mr Creek said.
"We have a lot of country you can't crop so they have an important place."
They bought six rams and among them was the equal $3500 second top price sheep of the day - a son of FV216137 represented by eight lots including many of the top sellers.
They run separate Dohne and Merino flocks on the different properties and took particular notice of the EBVs.
They bought six rams and paid $2500 and $2000 early in the sale before lot 99, with a massive 202.4 Dohne index, went under the hammer and fetched $3500.
It was a must-have on the Creek's shopping list based on figures alone, but they also considered it an exceptional sheep visually.
"It was the one ram we really wanted because he had some of the best figures for carcase and wool and he also looked the part both in body and wool and it is not often you see it all in one sheep," Mr Creek said.
Another late star in the catalogue was lot 96 that also made $3500 and again had the make, shape and high index to ignite a burst of competitive bidding.
This time the buyer was Tasman Farm, Boyup Brook, which also paid $3400 for another of its four rams.
Tasmand Farm invested a significant $2775 average for its selections.
One final ram to note was one bought by Jesse Martin & Co, Williams.
Bidder Michael Martin paid a $3400 top for eight rams and said they traditionally bought at the top-end of the sale, but this year they bought less than usual.
He said they planned to increase their cropping and had cut breeding numbers purely because of lower sheep returns.
Mr Martin said many other people were doing the same, but they were still running 4000 ewes.
This year he paid more attention to wool quality saying they had been concentrating on carcase and it was now reflected in their wool.
They also paid $2800, $2500 and $2300 for other top sheep.
One other notable buyer was Alex and Georgina Mattschoss, Clover Downs Dohne stud, Barabba, South Australia, who left a buying order with Mr Drage for another FV 216137 son.
He bought pen six for $2800.
Volume buyers included locals David Robinson who bought eight for up to $1700 (2); CM & EJ Buller, Darkan, bought five for up to $1600; Johnson Farms, Many Peaks, bought five for up to $2700; and Sam Burges, Arthur River, bought four for up to $2800.
