VOLUME and repeat buyers have dominated Boorana Merino stud's annual sale at Woorndoo, with a Tasmanian purchaser picking up 14 rams.
The top-priced ram, Lot 1, sold for $5200 to Glenlea Park Merino stud, Keith, SA.
Glenlea Park genetics have been the backbone of Boorana since 2010, with the stud making several major sire purchases from the SA operation.
The auction saw 59 of 68 rams sold for an average of $1908, only slightly lower than last year.
Glenlea Park stud co-principal Peter Wallis said he liked "everything" about the sale topper.
"He is a fairly hard sheep to fault," Mr Wallis said.
"His structure is very good, he has exceptional wool - both quality and quantity.
"I thought he has a lot of potential."
The ram, tag 5041, was sired by Glenlea Park Big Ben, purchased by Boorana at the 2021 Adelaide Ram Sale for $56,000.
"It makes it easier because we are buying with a level of confidence that he has a very-good sire," Mr Wallis said.
He said Big Ben's influence was evident in other rams offered at Boorana on the day.
"That gives you confidence the ram is going to breed a little-bit predictably," he said.
"He has similar genetics to our flock, so he should fit in well."
Mr Wallis said buying the ram was a "safe option".
"If you buy from other sources, you get more outside genetics, but you are not sure of the background or how they are going to breed," he said.
"A ram like this is fairly much a safe bet."
The ram had an 18.8-micron fleece, a standard deviation of 3.6, a co-efficient of variation of 19 and a comfort factor of 99.7 per cent.
Boorana stud principal Will Lynch said considering the seasonal and economic outlook, the sale went "pretty well".
"Most of the rams went to western Victoria, with some to Tasmania," he said.
He said he wasn't surprised Mr Wallis purchased the top-priced ram.
"The sire of that ram is now dead, so it was a good opportunity to keep that bloodline going," he said.
Mr Lynch said Lot 1 was "clearly the best ram in the sale".
"He is a great, all-round sheep, with beautiful, white wool," he said.
"He carries a lot of wool and stands well."
AWN auctioneer Geoff Rice said there was a good clearance, which was above the average for the season.
"We are getting some really-good clearances," Mr Rice said.
"The actual meat job is a little-bit soft but the wool job is still quite good.
"I think the rams stood up and sold really well."
He said the top-priced ram was "the full package".
"He had a beautiful staple of wool on him and was also a dual-purpose sheep who can do anything you want," he said.
He said he appreciated the way Mr Lynch "doesn't punch the feed into them".
"You get them well and truly in their working clothes, so they go home and don't drop off in that first month to six weeks," he said.
"What you buy here is what you get at home, which is what the commercial breeders really want to see."
Cressy House, Longford, Tas, took the lion's share of rams, buying 14.
Other volume buyers came from Cavendish, Willaura, Edenhope, Mount Mercer and Meerlieu.
Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
