PROSPECTIVE buyers were greeted with a fantastic line-up of meat sheep at Bob and Idrienne Neill's Wheetelande White Suffolk ram sale last week.
The grassfed rams quite clearly displayed their rapid growth and high-muscling capabilities in what has been a very good feed year at Farrell Flat, with the draft of 104 main auction rams ranging in bodyweight from 110 kilograms to 168kg and averaging 125kg.
Aged 13 months to 15mo, their structurally sound frames were packed with red meat.
"They are the best line-up we have ever had," Mr Neill said.
Elders auctioneer Tom Penna endorsed that, describing them as "a draft that would hold up anywhere in the country and the figures back up what you can see visually".
Elders Jamestown clients have been a huge part of Wheetelande's success since former agent Richard Amey introduced many of them to the Wheetelande sheep.
The 104 rams all cleared at auction to a top of $2400 and averaged an extremely healthy $1089. Fourteen more were sold immediately afterwards, making the day's clearance 118 rams at a $1031 average.
The importance of the Jamestown clients was easily seen post-sale with 60 rams going to buyers from there.
A majority of the balance of buyers came from the Upper, Mid and Lower North regions.
One exception was the buyers of the $2400 top price ram. This went to Grant and Debbie Bingham, WA, buying through Landmark Perth.
They connected via phone with Landmark Jamestown's Don Cullen and were successful on lot 7, Wheetelande 137469Twin.
With a post-weaning weight of 16.8 - the highest in the catalogue - muscling of 1.2 and a Carcase Plus index of 196.8 (also the highest in the catalogue), this was a ram the Neills originally planned to keep, but when the original ram catalogued had to be withdrawn due to lameness.
Don Cullen had a big day out as he also bought 14 other rams for three Landmark Jamestown clients: IP, PL & TI Sparks were the most prominent with eight rams from $1000 to $1200.
Heading all buyers on an individual basis were prominent repeat buyers, the Robinson family, through Elders Jamestown, with Merv, Henry and Daniel having a great day's shopping for 11 in the main auction, from $700 to $1500, and two more immediately afterwards, totalling 13 rams, at $1100 average.
* Full report in Stock Journal, October 16, 2014 issue.