A QUICK off-auction discussion has seen a Terrick West stud Merino ram sell for $80,000 and the McGauchies set a new national high for the year.
The ram, one of three in the pen that won honours at the Loddon Valley Merino Field Day in March, has been put straight to work.
“We intended to keep him although we knew there was a fair bit of interest,” said Terrick West  principal Ross McGauchie.
“Straight after the sale in Adelaide last week, we were approached by leading classer Paul Cousins who asked if we would sell the ram.
“We said an offer would be considered if it was significant. A few minutes later, he came back with the offer and we shook hands.”
The deal was sealed with Kamora Park Poll Merino Stud, South Australia, buying the ram  with semen shares going to Wiringa Park Merino and Poll Merino Stud, Rices Creek Poll Merinos, and Stud Park South Merinos.
The buyers said: “This elite sire truly ticks all the boxes – exceptional growth, robust constitution, and lustrous wool. His breeding values reinforce his impressive phenotypic appeal, making him a standout in every way.”
Mr McGauchie said the sale was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The top ram was taken straight to an artificial insemination centre.
Paul and Josh Cousins from Cousins Merino Services negotiated the sale of the 133kg ram which had a 18.6 micron fleece. The new benchmark for 2025 was one of a string of successes for Terrick West in Adelaide last week where the stud topped the Adelaide Show auction. Another of the Loddon Valley-winning pen of three fetched $20,000.
“The third ram had sold for $7000 at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show auction in July. We were pretty happy with that at the time ... prices have improved since then,” Mr McGauchie said.
“It is a huge honour to sell to such good studs. We have been very proud of the ram we have followed him since he was a little fella ... I think I had looked him over every day for the last three or four months.
“His genomics testing was as good as anything there is in the country at the moment.” The McGauchies claimed first and second in the fibre meat plus class in Adelaide.
The March shorn class was assessed by both a wool and carcass judge, as well as points being allocated from wool tests and carcases scans.
The two rams had been grand champion and reserve grand champion recently in Dubbo.