WAKEFIELD PARK
*69 of 100 White Suffolk rams sold to $1300, av $816
DESPITE only recording a 69 per cent clearance rate at their recent ram sale, Wakefield Park White Suffolk stud principals Gary and Marlene Wake are optimistic about the future.
The Cavendish stud offered 100 rams at their 24th annual ram sale, and sold 69, 28 less than last year.
The $816 average price wasn’t far behind last year’s average price of $834.
Mr Wake said it was one of the best lineups they had ever offered, and with the way the industry is looking at the moment, he expected better results.
“We just lacked competition,” Mr Wake said.
“There was only one big volume buyer, and then there were a few who bought five or six, but the rest only bought one or two.”
He said the rams on offer met current industry standards.
“We are focusing on lower birth weights, with higher muscling and conformation, which is what the industry is focusing on at the moment,” he said.
Those who did attend purchased high quality rams at good value.
The top-priced ram, Lot 32, was snapped up by Michael and Bett Egan, ‘Pearl Ridge’, Tarrayoukyan, for $1300.
The duo have been purchasing from the stud for five years, and have had continued success.
“This ram we bought today has identical figures to the one we bought two years ago, who made us excellent money,” Ms Egan said.
The ram recorded Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) of 0.36 kilograms birth weight (BWT), 9.5kg weaning weight (WWT), and 14.9kg post-weaning weight (PWWT).
Ms Egan said they really liked the look of him.
“He didn’t necessarily have the best figures, we just really liked the look,” she said.
“He’s got a big, deep rear hindquarter, which is where all the weight is.”
They said the ram would be joined alongside three other Wakefield Park rams to a mob of 300 ewes in late December.
The big volume buyers of the day were John and Kym Lyons, Melville Forest, who took home 12, to a top of $1100 (three times), av $900.
They have been buying from the stud for over a decade, and said when selling lambs over the hook, they’re hitting good weights.
“They’ve got good muscling, and good conformation,” John Lyons said.
“We always buy here in bulk, in the past we’ve bought 18 rams at one time.”
John Northcott, ‘Avonhurst’, Merino, bought six rams.
Mr Northcott said the rams he selected were “outstanding”.
“They’re good value rams for the sort of quality that you’re getting,” Mr Northcott said.
Landmark stud stock manager Andrew Sloan agreed with the stud principals, and said it was the best lineup he has ever seen from the stud.
“It was a wonderful lineup, it was a shame that there were a couple of volume buyers who normally buy that didn’t turn up today,” Mr Sloan said.
