*93 of 98 Charinga rams sold to $30,000, av $3741
*80 of 84 Banavie rams sold to $22,000, av $3918
PLENTY of interstate competition, as well as Victorian buyers from a diverse area, saw a Poll Merino ram sell for $30,000 at the annual Charinga, Banavie and Gowandale sale at Berrimal.
Vendors Jo and Roger Polkinghorne and Tim and Karina Polkinghorne sold 173 rams by open auction and interfaced with AuctionsPlus.
Roger Polkinghorne said inquiry was very good but some regular clients were missing for various reasons.
"I was very happy with the sale; I was proud of the sheep, their staple length and cutting ability," he said.
"It's pleasing that our sheep turn up at seven months with 120 millimetres of wool.
"To have ewes with six months producing 6 kilograms of wool makes these sheep very profitable.
"The future is in sheep with quick-growing wools that can be shorn twice but cut big weights of wool that is rich and white."
He said the Masterbuilt sons were popular for their heavy-cutting capacity and dual-purpose as well.
Top price of the day was Lot 6, a Charinga ram, that made $30,000 to Banyanta Pastoral, Moulamein, NSW.
Mr Polkinghorne said the buyer wanted a big stretchy ram with "plenty of wool and plenty of meat" that would suit their high rainfall property.
Tim Polkinghorne said the sale was very good despite some buyers not being able to see the rams beforehand.
"We still had strong support from NSW and WA," he said.
He said the average was solid and demand was good throughout.
Lot 3, a Sweety son, went for $21,000 to John Humbert, Kedleston Park Poll Merino stud, Calivil.
Mr Humbert said the ram was very correct in his structure and had a "super long staple in the wool".
"We are six-monthly shearing and we want sheep that will do better than 12mm a month and he will do that at a canter," he said.
"He'll get a crack at around 100 ewes to see what he can do."
Top of the Banavie catalogue at $22,000 was the first pen, a May 2020-drop, 19.8-micron ram with a standard deviation (SD) of 3, a coefficient of variation (CV) of 15.2 and comfort factor (CF) of 99.8 per cent.
The ram had a staple length of 105mm and a greasy fleece weight (GFW) of 155pc.
It went for $22,000 to the Manunda Poll Merino stud, Tammin, WA.
A Banavie ram that was Lot 64 sold for $18,000 to Waralea Farms, Gairdner, WA.
The ram had an 18.5-micron fleece with an SD of 3, CV of 16.2 and a CF of 99.7pc.
It also had a staple length of 105mm and GFW of 154pc.
A Walgett, NSW, buyer operating through AuctionsPlus bought a draft of rams including Lot 70 of the Banavie offering for $10,000.
The ram had a micron of 20.9, a SD of 3.2, CV of 15.3 and CF of 99.99pc, along with a staple length of 110mm.
The same buyer also paid $10,500 for Lot 72.
Regular buyers, C & R Stapleton, Newbridge, NSW, bought two Charinga rams including lot 60 for $14,500.
The Real Deal son had a 17.9 micron fleece, an SD of 2.8, CV of 15.6 and CF of 99.7 as well as a 100mm SL and GWF of 160pc.
The same buyer bought pen one, a Neil son, for $7500.
The Bernarro Partnership, Beazleys Bridge, purchased rams including lot 73 for $8250, lot 76 for $7500 and lot 85 for $6000.
A buyer from Warren, NSW, bought lot 79 via AuctionsPlus for $12,000.
A volume buyer included Kaylock, Moulamein, NSW, taking 14 rams to a top of $5000.
Meanwhile, Lenny Polkinghorne and Maja Weiland offered a draft of 110 White Suffolk rams at their 21st annual ram sale.
Lenny Polkinghorne said the sale was unbelievable.
He said the pleasing aspect of the sale was that buyers were able to put together large lines of rams.
"Buyers were saying the rams were very similar and they could buy a pick of rams," he said.
"That's exciting for us because we try to have them even.
"A few have gone for stud use for the first time.
"But we are trying to produce a great line of rams for commercial clients and we have invested in what we think are top-end genetics and we roll that out to our commercial clients."
The top lot was a Premium 008 son that had a weaning weight (WWT) measure of 10.7 and a post weaning weight (PWWT) of 15.7.
Lot 5 sold for $4000, a Waratah son, with figures of WWT of 10.1 and a PWWT of 15.1.
Lot 6 was also a Waratah son and also sold for $4000, coming with figures of 9.8 WWT and 15.4 PWWT.
