A small discerning crowd bid higher than expected for scanned and lambed ewes at a special sale of store sheep at Wycheproof on Friday.
Weather conditions, although remaining extremely dry over a large area of the eastern states, appeared of little concern for those intent on buying, while longer-term lines of unjoined crossbred young ewes were considerably more difficult to shift.
The market toppers, sold at $256 per head, was an outfit of Merino ewes with Poll Dorset and White Suffolk marked young lambs at foot.
The February-shorn, Lewisdale-blood three year-olds, March/April 2015-drop, was sold by RW & JW Coatsworth, Wycheproof, to the Elders Swan Hill branch.
The next lot to test the market was a pen of scanned in-lamb young crossbred ewes.
Sold at $218/head, these April/May 2017-drop and March-shorn line of 144, were depastured with White Suffolk rams in early January, and detected with 87 single and 57 twins.
A draft of unjoined Border Leicester Merino young ewes, May/June 2017-drop, November-shorn, appeared good buying on the day.
Offered by Edwards Rivers, Moulamein, NSW, the drafted line of 538 made $181, $176 and $172, while a yard of 100 BLM ewe lambs, also unjoined, made $164 on a February shearing.
Joined and scanned Merino ewes on the other hand met with strong inquiry.
Sold to interests at Kilmore, a line of 158 May/June 16-drop ewes, Strathdale-blood and September-shorn, made $238, offered by JD & KL Collins, on a December joining to White Suffolk rams.
T & MF Gaylor also enjoyed strong interest on a pen of 2014-drop Merino ewes, August-shorn and Gunbar-blood.
Sold to Elders Jeparit at $236 these offered a mid-December joining while other lots of scanned in lambs and depastured young ewes also strong strongly from $220 to $238 a head.
A pen of two to four year-old ewes, joined and scanned, made $172, and yards of 5-6 year-old ewes made from $133 to $161/head.
Merino wethers, which were well represented, were sold to good support from the processing sector and graziers.
JK & E White sold yards of Nepowie-blood wethers, May/June 17-drop, and November shorn, at $142 and $138, while CKJ & CM Hutton sold a September-shorn pen, May/Jun 17-drop, Oakbank-blood, at $148.
Other yards of 2017-drop wethers made from $112-$137/head, and included several February-shorn lots that were returned to the paddock.
The market of 5000 was conducted by Elders Rural Services.