*69 of 70 Poll Dorset rams sold to $1700, av $1031.
Heyfield stud Pinora Poll Dorsets recorded its highest average on record during its 13th on-farm ram sale today.
The stud recorded a 98 per cent clearance rate as repeat and long-term buyers made up most of the crowd.
Pinora stud principal Kelvin Sundermann said it was one of his best sales to date.
"To have a very consistent price the whole way through and to see all but one of our rams sell was fantastic," he said.
"Most years we might sell on average 60, sometimes down to 50-something rams so the result today was very good.
"The sheep job is that good at the moment, the lambs are selling well, older sheep are selling well and that translates back to people coming to buy the rams here today."
Mr Sundermann said the rams presented well considering a drop in rainfall in the last month.
"We've had a pretty tough three years and in the last few months it looked like it had turned the corner but it's just really dried up in that last few weeks and now we're really back to square one," he said.
"All our rams are fed on lucerne hay and while we're fortunate enough to have irrigation, if the season continues to worsen we'll be back to buying feed in and hand feeding our stock."
The top-price ram, lot one, was bought by long-term repeat buyer Rob Anton, A & P Anton and Sons, Toongabbie, for $1700.
The ram weighed 111 kilograms, had an eye muscle depth of 50 millimetres, an eye muscle area of 39.5 square centimetres and a fat depth of 5mm.
"He has a good, lean frame, a good weight and he could easily be used as a stud ram," Mr Anton said.
"He's a July-born ram and he's put the weight on very well, he stands up well and has not too wide shoulders which is good for lambing and overall he's just a very nice ram.
"He weighs 111 kilos and out this way these guys have had a very tough season and they've done a fantastic job to present them because they're probably 10 kilos heavier than what they were last season."
Mr Anton, who has attended each of the 13 on-farm Pinora sales, will join the ram to his commercial herd for prime lamb production in mid-November.
"We'll put him over out third, fourth and fifth lambers and they're fairly big ewes which you'll need for him," he said.
"We mainly use the Dorsets on our third, fourth and fifth lambers and then we use Southdowns on our maidens and older ewes."
Volume buyers included repeat purchasers C and R Hayes, Toongabbie, who bought 11 rams and JH and AM Cameron at Buchan who bough six rams.
M and N Bracecamp, Berrys Creek in South Gippsland also bought eight rams at the sale.
Landmark Greenwood auctioneer Gordon Connors, Sale, said the rams presented "exceptionally well" considering the dry conditions at Heyfield.
"I've done every sale for Pinora and it was probably the most buoyant sale to date," he said.
"The quality of rams have just improved and improved and every year you get the same people coming back with a few newbies as well so the word is spreading.
"We had 15 to 16 buyers, most of them were local, plus two buyers from East Gippsland and two buyers from South Gippsland."