*97 of 120 rams sold to $5000 (twice), av $2131
TASMANIAN orders and strong support from mainly western district buyers held the key to the annual Nareeb Nareeb on-property sale.
The Beggs family offered 120 rams, including 108 polls and 12 horned Merinos, with buyers showing a definite bias to the polled sheep offered.
Nareeb Nareeb stud principal Richard Beggs said the overwhelming message had been that the demand from clients was for Poll Merinos, hence the percentage of polls in the sale catalogue.
"Our push towards polls is a result of our clients showing through their lack of interest in the horned rams, because of the depth in the polls," Mr Beggs said.
"We will be joining with entirely poll rams next year.
"Ourselves and the marketplace don't want horns.
"We passed a lot of the Merinos in today, and people here today who have never bought polls before, bought polls and not Merinos."
He said the spring-drop rams had more bloom than the autumn-drop polls and as a result the demand lifted once the spring-drop lots were reached.
"The autumn-drop polls sold well and then once we got onto the spring-drops, away we went," he said.
"There were people holding out for those sheep."
He said a plan to shift to spring-drop joining would also simplify the stud operations.
He said the Tasmanian buying power reflected the long-term connection to the bloodlines and what they did for their operations.
"The sheep do well down there as they do here," he said.
Top price was $5000 - that was called twice - are both going to repeat buyers Geoff and Errol Matuschka, Tabor.
The buyers also paid equal top money in 2020.
The first was Lot 57, a spring-drop poll with an 18-micron fleece, a standard deviation (SD) of 3.4, a co-efficient of variation (CV) of 18.8 and greasy fleece weight index (GFW) of 104.
The second ram at $5000 was Lot 72, another spring-drop poll with an 18.5 micron fleece, an SD of 3.4, a CV of 19.4 and GFW of 117.
Nineteen rams were knocked down to Panshanger Estate, Longford, Tasmania, to a top of $4500.
The top lot was a spring-drop poll with an 18.8-micron fleece, an SD of 3.2, and a CV of 17.5.
It had a GFW index of 126 and body weight index (BW) of 124.
Another volume buyer who returned after buying 22 rams in 2020 was Western District Pastoral Co, Yarram Park, buying 16 rams.
Rockview Partnership purchased 10 rams to a top of $4250.
The top ram was Lot 61 which had a 17.2-micron fleece, an SD of 3.1, CV of 17.8 and a GFW of 104.
Two rams went to L & MS Ham, Freshwater Creek, with both making $4000.
The first was Lot 55, a ram with a 20.1-micron fleece, an SD of 3.2, CV of 15.8 and BW of 106.
The second ram at $4000 was Lot 73, with figures of 17.7 micron, a 3.8 SD and GFW index of 104.
Cressy House, Tasmania, bought four rams to a top of $2750 on two occasions.
Also heading to Tasmania is a draft of six rams purchased by Ellenthorpe.