WA stud sells the top-priced Merino ram at the annual Bendigo sale

Rangeview sold lot number 94, a Poll Merino, for $24,000 to NSW buyer Anthony Frost, Crookwell.

Selling agents Elders and Nutrien offered nearly 100 rams from Victoria, NSW, South Australia and WA.

The July-2021 drop ram was by Ban 190, out of Blue 645.

He had a 20.4 micron fleece, a standard deviation of 3.4, a co-efficient of variation of 16.5 and comfort factor of 98.8.

Mr Frost said the ram displayed overall correctness and a great wool cut.

"I liked his structural correctness and that he is a good, heavy cutter," he said.

He said he had been working on setting up a Poll Merino stud for the past few years.

"He will fit pretty well in our program," he said.

Mr Frost said he wasn't surprised by the price and was willing to pay for the right animal.

"We have tried some of the horned rams from WA before, so we know they work," he said.

Vendor Jeremy King said he was very pleased with the price and that he'd sold the other three rams he brought to Bendigo.

"I was judging here last year and there was a real demand for Poll Merino sheep - I thought I had some pretty handy sheep, so I was happy to bring them here and offer them up.

"I am pleased they were valued."

Mr King said there was a lot of interest in the ram - "he has very, productive, rich wool, that is hard to come by."

Elders Hamilton stud stock manager Ross Milne said the sale was well-attended and the average was up almost $400 on the 2022 Merino ram sale.

"It was a very good sale, we're happy with it," he said.

"It had very similar numbers to last year, we sold 79 last year and averaged $4957.

"It was a good sale, good crowd, good atmosphere, the majority of vendors will be very, very happy with the outcome.

"Obviously coming into the ram sale season there's always that level of uncertainty, particularly with where the industry is at the moment and it sold above most people's expectations which is really positive."