STUD records were smashed at the 15th annual Uralba White Suffolk sale at Cleve on Wednesday last week, as the Dolling family cleared all 90 White Suffolk rams on offer.
A gallery of 34 mostly repeat buyers helped Uralba achieve a record top price of $2100, along with a record sale average of $1190.
This year's results topped the stud's previous top price of $2000 - set in 2008 - and exceeded last year's average by $59.
The 11 to 14-month-old paddock-reared rams had good early growth figures, with the majority weighing more than 50 kilograms at weaning and a large number in excess of 100kg on sale day. The sale line-up featured two quads, 11 triplets and 67 twins, with just 10 rams coming from single births.
Rod Hannemann, Cleve, paid the top price for U2521Tw - a Detpa Grove 100765 son. He was swayed by its strong estimated breeding values of 16.6 post-weaning weight - the highest in the catalogue - +1.6 for muscle and its Carcase Plus index score of 200.2.
A regular buyer, Mr Hannemann has seen the benefits of buying higher performance rams and aims to buy one or two of the best rams on offer each year. Later in the sale, he bought four rams at $600 each for another family member.
The sale was 'hot to trot' in the first half, with lot 45 the first ram to sell for less than $1000.
Two regular Uralba bidders paid the $1800 equal second top price.
Simon Allen, Kym Allen & Co, Kimba, secured two rams in the first five lots at a $1550 average, with his $1800 buy - a son of AI sire Wheetelande 7064 - the heaviest ram in the catalogue at 116kg.
Also from Kimba, RE&LJ Jericho paid $1800 for another W7064 son, with their two purchases averaging $1650.
The success of W7064 as a sire in this Uralba drop was outstanding, with two sons also retained for Uralba stud duties. This ram was reserve junior champion at the Royal Adelaide Show in 2013. The 15 W7064 sons offered in the sale averaged $1353, 14 per cent above the overall sale average.
Roger and Chris Lienert were again prominent top-end buyers, paying to $1700 and averaging $1440 for five rams, with sons of DG 100765 prominent among them.
Sale regular Gavin Masters, Verran, was active from the start of the auction, bidding $1300 for lot 1, a ram with 15 PWWT, 2.2 PEMD and a Carcase Plus score of 202.1.
Mr Masters and his son Ashley bought 11 rams to $1600, averaging $1345, for their Verran and Warramboo properties.
Trent and Ang Harris, Cleve, were the sale's other big volume buyers, taking 10 rams from $650 to $1500, averaging $1100.
Stud principal Paul Dolling was delighted to achieve an increase in top price and average while offering 10 more rams than last year.
"We are delighted with the support and thank our clients for the confidence they have expressed in our genetics," Mr Dolling said. "The feedback we are getting is they are seeing the benefits of using our genetics with many already having sold new season lambs up to $160 a head.
"This has resulted in them bidding with confidence, even at the top end of the sale."
The sale was conducted by Landmark and Elders with Landmark stud stock's Gordon Wood taking the bids.
