FIRST-TIME Ramsgate buyers Geoff and Sue Zacher, Coonalpyn, took home the $2400 top-price ram at the Merino stud's on-property auction on Tuesday last week.
The Tintinara stud's 111-kilogram ram had fleece measurements of 19.6 micron, 99.8 per cent comfort factor, 13.5 coefficient of variation and 2.6 standard deviation. Mrs Zacher said they were impressed by the ram's nice wool and body depth.
"It is our first time buying here at Ramsgate," she said. "We went all-in on the one."
Stud owner Jed Keller said the ram was a good combination of wool and carcase.
"He is a dual-purpose ram which ticks most of the boxes, with good bodyweight, 19.6M wool and a good SD," he said. "He will hold his wool (measurements) later in life."
Of 66 rams offered, 53 were sold with an average price of $1086.
Mr Keller said he was happy with the result.
"We lacked a couple of buyers for a stronger clearance," he said. "We had a few new buyers this year as well as quite a few regulars, although many of them had enough rams already this year otherwise they might have boosted our clearance."
While the Zachers went all-in on the top-price ram, Keilira Props took 12 for a $966 average; Bill Walker bought eight for his clients, averaging $900; and Mount Boothby took five, averaging $1360.
Elders Keith manager and auctioneer Steven Doecke said it had been a consistent sale throughout.
