Bouyant NE Merino sale, despite dry times.

Eight studs were represented at the Benalla Showgrounds sale, which was topped twice by Toland Poll Merinos, Violet Town.

Mr Riddle said he was worried before the sale because of the tight season.

“We all know the further north you go, the harder it gets and they are selling off ewes,” Mr Riddle said. “The number of ewes being joined is down, so I thought it would be fairly tough.”

He said it was probably one of the best sales held for a long time, both in terms of clearance and average prices.

Toland Poll Merinos, Violet Town, achieved top prices for two rams, which went to Violet Town’s Lyndon Kubeil and Simon Edwards, Euroa.

The first top priced Toland ram, lot 9, weighed 86.5 kilograms and had figures of 5.5 millimetres of fat, 39 mm of muscle, a 19.5 micron fleece, standard deviation of 3.5, coefficient of variation of 17.9pc and comfort factor of 99.8pc.

The second top price ram, lot 10, was bought by Lyndon Kubeil, Violet Town.

It had an 18.2 micron fleece, a standard deviation of 3.9, coefficient of variation of 21.3pc, comfort factor of 99.5pc, weighed 92.5kg, had 8.5mm of fat and a 37mm muscle area. 

Mr Kubeil said he thought the ram was a “really balanced sheep”.

“He’s got good growth, with good fat, muscle and wool quality, as well,” Mr Kubeil said.

“I’ve been focusing on growth, fat and muscle in the Merinos,” Mr Kubeil said.

“Finding an animal that has both the wool quality and those attributes is not always easy – when you find them, you have to pay for them.”

Toland stud principal, Phil Toland, said he was pleased with the outcome and the overall sale.

“They were looking for balanced sheep, with good growth, fleece weight, positive fat, muscle and worm resistance,” he said.

As the signs in the industry were good, he said he was confident the sale would go well.

“We have good wool prices and it’s the same with the meat side,” Mr Toland said.

But he said stud breeders were aware of the tougher times due to the drought.

“There are less ewes to be joined, so really means demand for rams won’t go up.”

Bindawarra, Giffard West, sold the top priced Merino ram, which also took out the Champion Wool Ram ribbon.

Bindawarra stud co-principal, Steve Harrison, said the stud had won the Wool Ram ribbon for the last two out of three years.

“We have placed a strong emphasis on that sort of breeding, over a long period of time,” Mr Harrison said.

The ram was sold for $3200 to Andrew Zerbe, Zerbe Partnerships, Molesworth, who also paid $3000 for lot two. The top selling ram had figures of a 17.3 micron fleece, an SD of three pc, co-efficient of variation of 17.4pc and comfort factor of 99.8pc. It weighed 101kg, had a fat depth of five mm and 41mm of eye muscle.

Bennman, Everton Upper, took out the ribbon for champion all purpose ram class, which achieved second top price of $2700 for the stud.

Co-principal, Dean Bennett, said the ram weighed 104kg, had an eye muscle of 41mm and 7mm of fat.

“He had the biggest eye muscle in the shed and very good wool figures, as well,” he said.

“He has very good bone and feet and a big white muzzle – he’s a very masculine looking ram.”

The ram had an 18.4 micron fleece, a standard deviation of 3.7pc, a co-efficient of variation of 20pc and a comfort factor of 99.5pc.

Mr Riddle said credit went to each of the vendors.

“This is a very good, progressive group, with the same way of thinking in the direction they want to go,” he said.

Breeders were concentrating on an all purpose animal, rather than just a wool sheep. Mr Riddle said judging for all purpose ram and champion wool ram before the sale helped breeders focus on presenting the best animals they could.

Elders district wool manager, Rex Bennett, said buyers came from Culcairn, NSW to Cavendish, down to Woodside, Gippsland, as well as locally. Volume buyers included Rob Rentsch, Cavendish, and the Foats of Woodside, who each took four rams.

“The line up is probably as even as it has ever been. Each vendor has done a terrific job, considering the season. There were no disappointments, when you walked into the shed,” Mr Bennett said.

He said the autumn had been the toughest for some years, and while it had rained, the region was not out of the woods yet.