Sohnic, Marnoo, Vic.
60/60 Polled and Horned Merinos, to a top of $3200 (2), av $1498.
A BOUYANT meat and wool market has lifted prices at the Sohnic Hose Merino sale, Marnoo, in Western Victoria.
In a total clearance, rams went as far away as Broken Hill, NSW, with Tony and Sally Bright, Mt Wododara, being one of the volume buyers.
Other volume buyers included NL and LJ Kingston, and Bretton Estate, both of Campbells Bridge, Vic.
The two top priced rams, both sold for $3200, went to the west of South Australia, to two studs, Pimbena, Wirulla, SA and Nantoura, Wharminda.
Buyer Bill Walker, Murray Bridge, SA, said he was prepared to pay more for the animals.
“That price is nothing to what you would have paid anywhere else,” Mr Walker said.
“It was a great sale but animals like that deserved a lot more, the genetics, quality of the fibre and the skin, we can’t get enough of that stuff.”
The first of the sale toppers was an April-May drop, coming in with a 20 micron fleece, comfort factor (CF) of 15, standard deviation (SD) of three and weighed 103.5kg.
The second ram was born in September, had an 18 micron fleece, 14.4 CV, 2.6 SD, and weighed 99kg at birth.
Both were from Sohnic sires.
Mr Walker said the Sohnic rams would thrive in the conditions around Ceduna and Port Lincoln.
“There is great fluid nourishment here, so they handle the elements really well out there, dust, rain, whatever is thrown at them, even drought,” Mr Walker said.
“But they are having a very good run over there, so they will enjoy themselves.”
The rams would be used to enhance the genetics at the two studs.
Joint stud principal Scott Nicholson said he was pleased with both the average and the full clearance.
“I think last year we averaged $1200-1220, so to get them out there and get them amongst it, was what I wanted,” Mr Nicholson said.
He said there had been some work on changing the composition of the sheep, in the last 12 months.
“I think it is a bit of natural progress, we took our sheep back a little bit, I guess, to get them where we wanted in terms of carcase,” Mr Nicholson said.
“We are trying to put a bit more density on that, and this is the first drop were we have seen that and hopefully people here appreciate it.”
Auctioneer, Landmark's Andrew Sloan said it was a strong sale and pleasing to clear all the sheep, with a reasonable average.
He said prices might remain buoyant, through the selling season, but it would depend on the weather.
“A lot depends on what comes out of the sky, in the next couple of months,” Mr Sloan said.
“If we do get a bit of rain and a few showers, it will be very good, especially on prices - if it dries up, we might see a few of the clearances a bit stretched.
“We will wait and see, within a month or two’s time, whether it was the right move or not.”
