AFFORDABLE buying was the order of the day at Castle Camps' Border Leicester & White Suffolk stud's annual on-property sale on Friday last week at Keith where 21 rams sold at the $500 base price.
The dry season across the Upper South East took its toll on the clearance rate with paddock feed short and many producers unsure about how many ewes they will be mating later this year.
Castle Camps stud principals Ian and Sue Carr have been breeding Border Leicesters since 1979 and White Suffolks since 1993 but in their second sale they are still establishing an auction following.
The 12 registered bidders from across the SE were winners, able to buy structurally sound rams with length, volume and high performance figures.
The Border Leicester and White Suffolk offering topped at $1100 multiple times.
The two breed averages were nearly identical with 33 August 2014-drop Border Leicesters averaging $684 and 26 July-August 2014-drop White Suffolks averaging $685.
The Border Leicester average was back on 2014 but the White Suffolk average was up by nearly $30.
KD Day & Co, Padthaway, bought two of the $1100 top price White Suffolks with the other knocked down to SR&HM Graetz, Willalooka.
Two volume orders by noted first-cross ewe breeders accounted for most of the Border Leicester offering.
P&L Livestock's Garth Manser and client Greg Bowering, Weopa Pastoral Company, German Creek near Mount Gambier, were the sale's biggest buyer with 18 rams including the two $1100 top price rams for a $778 average.
One of their top picks, a son of Castle Camps Wilson 2nd 12 347, had the second highest Border$ index in the sale at 125.89 while the other, a son of Castle Camps Knight 12 228, had a Border$ index of 119.33.
"We were looking for good conformation and rams sound on their feet but also tight in their wools," Mr Manser said.
Competing on many of the same rams were Rick Pitt, Lucindale, and Quality Wool's Bill Lively, Naracoorte.
The duo bought 12 rams for a $558 average.
Mr Carr said he was not surprised by the result given the season and hoped to sell many more rams in coming weeks.
"We were really happy with the quality of the rams we put up. We just needed a few more buyers," he said.
Catherine Miller
Stock Journal's livestock editor and South East correspondent.
Stock Journal's livestock editor and South East correspondent.
