* 9 out of 10 stud rams sold to $15,000, av $7444
* 23 of 26 stud ewes sold to $4,500, av $2,771
* 69 of 89 flock rams sold to $6,500, av $2507
WHILE the sale did not reach the heights of last year in terms of price, one of the stud principals of Gamadale stud believes there is a good market for Australian Whites across the eastern states.
But a positive for the Lascelles stud was their seventh annual sale attracted bids from across SA, NSW and Tasmania once again, much like last year.
Gamadale Australian White stud principal Ben Rowney said the lower prices were expected due to the market but he was "fairly happy with the sale."
"We've cleared a fair few rams today and I think our prices today were still good in today's market, that's for sure," he said.
The stud sold 9 of its 10 stud rams to $15,000 to average $7444, while 68 of 90 flock rams offered sold to $6500 to average $2507 under the hammer and 23 of 26 ewes sold to $4500, with an average of $2771.
Mr Rowney said a wetter-than-normal year helped with his ram presentation, and recent dry weather gave an good finish to his sheep.
"That certainly helped things along more for us, and everything around the place is looking really good," he said.
"There's plenty of feed about for us and sheep are doing alright,"
He also said recent purchases of two rams from Tattykeel in Oberon, NSW and a ram from Bungarley in Tarcutta, NSW brought in a slightly different focus for genetics for this year but he aimed for consistency with his lineup for the sale.
"We use a lot of our own rams and chase different things, and we find that keeping our own stock and using our rams keeps things pretty consistent," he said.
"A consistent sheep from start to finish is the type of sheep we want to make and we're getting to a way where that type is coming right through."
"We try not to be too all over the place with different types and shapes."
The top-priced ram, Lot 32 Gamadale 220133, was sold for $15,000 to Dan Lustenberger from Bungarley stud.
Mr Lustenberger said he was looking to follow normal traits of the Australian Whites in his purchase, which he said the ram displayed to a high quality, and the ram will be used with Tattykeel 'Platinum' ET210184, which was purchased for a record price from Tattykeel stud last year.
"The main thing we looked for however was growth for our clients and his background in both his sire and grandsire which Gamadale produced shows great potential," he said.
"We were in a syndicate that bought Platinum from Tattykeel and a lot of his progeny will be going over this Gamadale ram just to get good growth and muscle."
Mr Lustenberger said Australian Whites were growing in popularity and the fact that many buyers from across eastern Australia attended the sale showed how well the breed does in different climates.
"There are a lot of people within 300 to 400 kilometres from us running Australian Whites especially in the hills in our region and throughout the Western Riverina," he said.
"Many rams tend to head from one area like the Riverina right up to another area like the NSW outback and still work well."
He was hoping for a good spring at his own stud.
"We are joining in October to have them ready for March just before winter lambing, so our purchase today will go straight to work."
