Agriculture
11 September, 2024
Ram sale season: Crows in Willera genetic swoop
SOUTH Australian buyers made their mark at Friday’s Willera Merino 6th on-property ram sale. Farmers Leap Produce paid the top price of $6500 for the sale’s premium index ram. The Padthaway rural business - the 10,000 acre property Limecoast...
SOUTH Australian buyers made their mark at Friday’s Willera Merino 6th on-property ram sale.
Farmers Leap Produce paid the top price of $6500 for the sale’s premium index ram.
The Padthaway rural business - the 10,000 acre property Limecoast property, near Bordertown, also has a vineyard and grows onions - was one of the volume buyers at the sale.
Six Willera rams bought for between $3000 and $6500 will go over the farm’s new first-drop Merino self-replacing flock.
Farmers Leap’s livestock manager Jo Roper said the top ram had met her specific objectives for the flock.
She said the ram had the right micron, fat and fleece measurements. Australian Sheep Breeding Values had several in the top 20 per cent - 9.02 adult weight, 2.51 yearling eye muscle depth, 0.52 yearling fat depth, 28.74 yearling clean fleece weight, 15.48 yearling staple length and -1.95 yearling fibre diameter.
The sale cleared 132 of 172 Merino rams at an average of $2217. Last year 153 of 177 rams were cleared with a top price of $5000 and an average of $2426.
Clearances at stud sales have been lower this season as the industry faces up to challenging weather and dryer conditions in some parts of Victoria.
South Australian buyers were also active online last Friday with the on-property sale running parallel on the AuctionPlus platform.
Willera manager Simon Coutts said a number of potential South Australian buyers had attended the pre-sale inspection at Willera’s Bears Lagoon property the previous week.
Mr Coutts said South Australian buyers were looking for strong returns on wool.
“Our buyer base in that state is certainly on the rise,” Mr Coutts said.
Willera has been part of the Classing Classics auctions in the state and has grown stud awareness with potential buyers in the south-east.
Local buyers were again well represented at the Willera auction, among them Borung’s Peter and Amber Gibson who are among regular auction and private buyers from the stud.
Daryl and Deb Hancock, who farm at Murphys Creek and own The Fat Butcher in Inglewood, picked up six rams in the afternoon’s bidding.
Beaufort’s Lal Lal Mawollock purchased 31 rams but was the under bidder on two of the top-priced rams. Glenera Pastoral Co with 11 rams, and Ben Nevis Farms, Langley and Glen Brae Pastoral Co, which each bought five rams
The lower price for all rams offered was $1500.