*50 of 59 rams sold to $4750, av $1762
A LIFT in average price from $1601 to $1762 at a clearance rate of nearly 85 per cent were the highlights of Montrose Hill's on-property ram sale.
The offering by George and Helen McKenzie, Illabarook, of 59 horned and polled Merinos saw a poll ram top the sale at $4750, up from the top of $4000 in 2020 when 50 sold under the hammer.
Mr McKenzie said the competition was very pleasing, and particularly the assistance of the underbidders throughout.
"As a commercial sale it went very well with the top lots selling extremely well and there were enough rams passed in to say that everybody was satisfied," he said.
"There's nothing worse than selling 60 out of 60 and have people leaving without a ram.
Mr McKenzie said they had lost a few clients 15 years ago because they did not breed poll Merinos, and some of them had come back this year.
It had been a challenging period from April due to wet conditions and the rams were a credit to the work of stud overseer Matt Brehaut.
"The top priced ram was the best in the shed," he said.
Montrose Hill retained the right to collect semen from the young sire.
"He's gone to a very good flock and he will be well looked after," he said.
The 15-month-old horned ram was an embryo transfer sired by Nerstane 318 and had figures of 15.5 micron, 2.5 standard deviation (SD), a co-efficient of variation (CV) of 14.5 and comfort factor (CF) of 99.9 per cent.
The buyers were regular clients, Jim and Peter Renkin, Lima.
Mr McKenzie said the Renkins also bought poll rams on the day and were looking for sheep that handled their country where average rainfall was more than 1000 millimetres.
Australian Wool Network livestock and property manager Ron Creek, Bendigo, said the Renkins were looking for bloodlines that suited rainfall regularly above 1000mm and even up to 1500mm.
"We need sheep that are good and white in the wool to handle the conditions in the Lima valley on the eastern slopes of the Strathbogie Range," Mr Creek said.
He said the Renkins had purchased rams from the Nerstane family background and they were a bit freer in the wool and that meant they dried out very well.
Volume buyer was regular purchaser from the stud, Stonyhurst Pastoral, Beeac, with six rams.
The top price of the Stonyhurst draft was Lot 17, a horned ram with a 15.5 micron, an SD of 2.3, a CV of 14.3 and a CF of 100pc.
The same buyer paid $3500 for Lot 53, another horned ram with a fleece that measured 14.5 micron, an SD of 2.4, a CV of 13.6 and CF of 100pc.
Kithbrook Estate bought three rams to a top of $3500 for Lot 28, a 17.6-micron poll ram with an SD of 2.2, CV of 16.1 and CF of 99.8pc.
Mitch Brennan, Ballyrogan, bought three rams to a top of $2500 twice.