Kerrsville Merinos, Konongwootong, celebrate a century of sheep breeding in western Victoria

Many generations of the Plush family gathered at the sale to celebrate 100 years of sheep farming in the family and reflect on years gone by.

Kerrsville stud co-principal Robert Plush said the day was a proud moment for him.

"I left school and came back to work on the farm ever since, and my brother did the same," he said.

"He has gone his way, and I'm still running Kerrsville and running Merinos here with my daughter Sarah."

He said he was also very proud of the work former generations had achieved in the region since his grandfather William Plush was allocated Kerrsville as a soldier settlement farm in 1923.

"My grandfather spent three and a half years on the western front... and then he decided to run his own st, and when he got this block, he chose fine wool sheep, and that's been the mainstay income for the family for 100 years," he said.

"It's helped with the expansion and it's been sheep that's been paying for the next paddock, and the next paddock after that."

Mr Plush said the stud was always evolving for the future and decided to auction ten non-mulesed rams for the first time.

Regarding the main ram sale, Mr Plush said he was satisfied with the result of 38 of 57 rams sold to $3800, with an average of $1365.

"Under the conditions, we are pleased with how things turned out," he said.

"Prices are a bit tough, but I thought the clearance went well for us."

The top price of $3800 was Lot 37 Kerrsville 21-0577, a Poll Merino September 2021-drop ram weighing 100 kilograms, sold to Cameron Delahoy, Ballintubber, Bulart.

Lot 37 was sired by Kerrsville 190574 and had a micron of 15.5, a standard deviation of 2.5, and a coefficient variation of 15.9.

Mr Delahoy was also the biggest volume buyer of the day, buying seven rams averaging $2028.

"There was some good staple length and character in the wool here today, and I thought some nice good-bodied rams throughout too," he said.

"In terms of our volume buying, we've always looked to purchase this many rams over the last couple of years since we expanded our own commercial business about five years ago.

"This sale was a bit cheaper than normal, so we thought to purchase a bit more than normal and push our budget a bit more to get that top-priced ram."

Mr Delahoy also said it was great to see Kerrsville celebrate its centenary and was always impressed with its yearly offerings.

"My grandfather started buying here, and my dad also bought here, and now I have started to buy here too, so there's three generations buying here," he said.

"I myself have always liked coming here as I like their sheep and like where they are heading as well with their breeding."

Both Poll and horned breeds were offered with 31 of 48 Poll Merinos sold with an average of $1416, while 7 of 9 horned Merinos were sold to $2000 and averaging $1142.

The ten non-mulesed rams were offered in a mini pick-of-the-pen sale after the main auction.

In that sale, two non-mulesed rams were sold, both for $1000.