North East Merinos
52 of 60 Merino and Poll Merino rams sold to $4500, av $1699
BUYERS from Gippsland, the Western District and southern NSW boosted local competition at last week’s North East Merino ram sale.
The $1699 average was comparable to last year’s result, but it was sustained over 11 more rams sold.
Stuart Fox, Fox Pastoral Company, Merton, again purchased the top-priced ram. He paid $4500 for a Toland Poll Merino ram, by a ram from West Australian stud Anderson Poll. The yearling ram’s wool fleece measured 16.6 micron, 3.3M standard deviation, 19.6 per cent co-efficient of variation and 100pc comfort factor.
This quality wool was on a 88.5-kilogram frame, and it also was scanned 6 millimetres for fat and 37mm for muscle. Its ASBV for yearling worm egg counts was -63 per cent, when the average for this trait is -9pc.
Mr Fox has been buying Toland rams for seven or eight years and this year purchased a second at $2000. They join about 7000 Merino ewes (about 4000 of which are back to Merino rams), Mr Fox said the sale-topping ram “ticked all the boxes”.
“We’re big fans of Toland and like what they’re doing; they’re easy care, dual purpose animals,” he said.
In their second year participating in the sale, Steve and Lisa Harrison, Bindawarra Merinos, had the second top-priced ram with a Poll son of Willandra Desmond. The 18.9M, yearling ram was knocked down to Jarrod Demarco, Rodwells, for the Foat family in the Gippsland locale of Woodside.
Mr Demarco said Ryan Foat bred his own rams for use on the family farm, where they run 10,000 Merinos.
“We noticed the ram at the on-property field day; he’s a free-growing, big-framed ram with fine wool,” he said.
The 96kg ram scanned 7mm fat and 38mm muscle.
While three of their four Bindawarra sale rams were sold to Gippsland buyers, Mr Harrison said plenty of the under-bidders were from the north east and it would encourage the family to bring more rams next year.
Three buyers secured four rams each: Keeyuga Pastoral Co at Glenaroua (all Wirrate rams av $1187.50); NF Gibb & Sons at Bobinawarrah (all Bennmann rams at $1000 each); and DM&CM Jackson (all Hynam Poll rams av $1275).
The group’s president Simon Riddle said it was exciting the clearance was solid, despite more rams being offered.
