*79 of 84 rams sold to $6200, av $2202
Poll genetics at the Boorana Poll Merino stud came under good competition at the stud's eighth annual on-property sale on Wednesday.
Stud principal, Will Lynch, Glenthompson, presented a line up of 84, August-September 2021-drop Poll Merino rams which sold to $6200 and averaged $2202.
The average was slightly down on 2021 but the top price exceeded the 2021 sale by $1600.
Buyer of the top lot was the Tasmanian-based Brooklands Merinos, Oatlands, operated by the Nicholas family.
Buyer representative Dale Bruns operated on behalf of Brooklands, and said after the sale that the Nicholases had inspected the ram at the Southern Merino Field Day the week prior to the sale and liked the ram's "tremendous length of body and great topline".
"They were looking for something with a long staple but also a balance of density, and this fellow has staple length and thickness as well," Mr Bruns said.
"He is a beautiful ram, soft with a good barrel and a 'siry' type."
Mr Bruns said the Nicholas family had operated a horned stud for some time and were picking up the momentum on the poll side.
"They are getting the right sires in there to take the polls forward," Mr Bruns said.
The top ram was lot 12, tag 6260, with a 17.4 micron fleece, a standard deviation (SD) of 2.4 microns, a coefficient of variation (CV) of 14.7 per cent and comfort factor (CF) of 100 per cent.
Mr Bruns said Brooklands had lambs on the ground by a previous Boorana sire and "were happy with the way they are going".
"This fellow will be a good addition from outside the circle," he said.
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Will Lynch said it was a successful sale with some new buyers, but mostly repeat buyers.
He said the flock had been un-mulesed for 13 years and were "doing the job".
Mr Bruns said the Brooklands sheep were quite plain with a long staple and were "in the box seat to go non-mulesed" at some stage.
He said the industry needed to prepare for non-mulesing and set up with a type of sheep that could cope without mulesing.
Mr Bruns said in the past 10 years Will Lynch had done a great job of buying top end sires to accelerate the type of sheep he wanted - a free growing, loose skin type and not type-complicated.
Mr Bruns also purchased six rams for Cressy House Estate, Cressy, Tasmania.
He said the client was looking for rams around 19 microns with good bone and which would "give a bit of punch in the wool".
The top lot to Cressy House was lot 61 at $3600 for tag 740, with a 19.1 micron fleece, an SD of 3.1, CV of 16.2 and CF of 99.5.
Long-time supporters, PJ & VJ Tischler, Tarraleah, Edenhope, purchased four rams including lot 73 for $3400. The ram was tag 337 with a 17.8 micron fleece, an SD of 3.2, CV of 16 and CF of 99.4.
The same buyer bought lots one and two of the sale for $3200 each and lot 69 for $2400.
S & Y Brady paid the second top price of the catalogue at $4600 for lot 36, a ram with 19.2 micron fleece, SD of 2.7, CV of 14.2 and CF of 99.8. The same buyer paid $3000 for lot 18.
One volume buyer was Grampians Farm Holdings, Cavendish, with 14 rams to a top of $4000.
The top lot was tag 147, a son of Calcookara 400, with a 16.1 micron fleece, SD of 2.7, CV of 16.9 and CF of 99.9pc.
Manager Andrew Boal said they had been buying at Boorana for three years and liked the wool type and size of the sheep.
He said the Grampians operation was a Merino flock that was un-mulesed and Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) accredited.
Elsdon Estate, Perth, Tasmania, bought two rams to $4000 for lot 65 a 19.3 micron ram with an SD of 2.7, CV of 14.1 and CF of 99.8.
An Ararat-based producer bought two rams including lot 27, with a micron of 16.8, SD of 3.1, CV of 18.1 and CF of 99.4, for $4000 and lot 83 for $3200.
CK & AJ Bush paid to a top of $2800 for five rams.
Also putting together five rams was Western District Pastoral paying an average of $1320.
