Terrick West
59 of 71 Poll Merino rams sold to $4000, av $1962.
A STRONG on-property sale topped of a successful week for the McGauchie family’s Terrick West Poll Merino stud.
Earlier in the week, they sold all five rams offered at Sheepvention ram sale in Hamilton, for a top of $14,000 and an average of $6700.
At the fall of the hammer at their 27th annual on-property sale, 59 of their 71 large-framed, dual-purpose rams had sold for an average of $1962.
Although slightly down on last year’s 65 of 70 clearance and $1838 average, principal Ross McGauchie was very happy with the sale.
He said the sale overall was “very solid” and the first half of it was” very strong”, with a couple of the higher priced lots going to studs.
Esteemed sheep classer Chris Bowman, Hay, NSW, bought the two of the highest priced sheep of the sale.
He secured the top-priced ram for $4000 for the Duncan family of New Zealand stud and commercial operation Craigneuk at Maniototo.
Mr Bowman said the Duncan family had seen Terrick West and other studs’ sheep at the Australian Sheep & Wool Show, Bendigo, and had also gone out to inspect Terrick West and Poll Boonoke rams.
They purchased one ram of the Terrick West draft at Sheepvention for $10,000, and they asked Mr Bowmanto call in to the on-property sale to see if there was another ram that would suit their operation, which includes breeding Merinos and halfbreds.
Both rams they purchased from Terrick West were by Coddington Poll 13.5034.
“I selected sheep that are very good on confirmation, very good feet and very good depth of body,” Mr Bowman said, adding a deep barrel was imperative in NZ as animals with them tended to do better in colder climates.
“And obviously they have very good wool quality with long-stapled and soft wool.”
The sale-topping ram’s wool measured 18.3 micron, 2.4M standard deviation, 13.1 per cent co-efficient of variation, and 100pc comfort factor.
Mr Bowman purchased the equal second highest-priced ram at $3750 for the Johnston family’s Austral-Eden stud, West Wyalong, NSW.
He said he picked the 20.3M ram for its “gutsy” and quality wool, on a large, correct frame.
Rod Vearing, Ararat, was one of the sale’s volume buyers. He has been using Terrick West rams for at least seven years and this year, purchased five chosen for their quality of wool and frames, to help him grow larger sheep. He plans to join the rams at Christmas time.
Mr McGauchie said there were a couple of people who usually bought four or five rams that did not attend the sale which reflected many in the region de-stocking in the past few difficult seasons.
He said in such climates, people bought selectively.
“One of the good things is people are very selective and are happy to pay good money for the top rams.
“It’s very pleasing first 20 (rams) made $2500 to $3500 – it’s a lot of money for rams; and while a couple of them are going into studs, most of them going to commercial guys who are just trying to breed good sheep, and they’re having really good results with them and they’re coming back and happy to buy those good rams.”
Mr McGauchie said as the wool price had steadied, his clients were increasingly looking at wool quality as well as size and structure.
“Perhaps in the last three or four years, a bit bigger sheep that didn’t have to be as smart in the wool were the ones making the most money, but today they needed to have both.”
