Offered 65
Sold 65
Top $2500
Av $1372
A TRANSITION into an auction format started off promisingly for Woodoona Poll Merino Stud, with a full clearance at their inaugural on-property sale last week.
The Borrika-based stud had sold by private selection for more than 50 years but made the leap into on-property sales in a bid to attract new buyers and give clients a bigger selection.
In the breakdown, 65 of 65 rams sold for a full clearance with a top price of $2500 and an average of $1372.
Stud principals Nick and Ian Wood said they would sell another 60 rams by private selection.
Ian said he was pleased with the consistency of prices, and the full clearance, at their first sale, which attracted 22 registered buyers from the Mallee, South East, the Barossa, and Far West NSW.
“There were four new buyers and our regular buyers got their rams as well,” he said.
Among the regular buyers were Robert and Anne Simcock, Tailem Bend, who bought a 14-month-old, 109-kilogram ram for the top price of $2500.
Mr Simcock said he was impressed by the wool coverage and greased tip on the ram, which boasted fleece figures of 18.2 micron, 2.8 standard deviation, 15.4 coefficient of variation and 99.9 per cent comfort factor.
The Simcock family have bought from Woodoona for more than 30 years.
“The Merino line we’ve got has been going for 35 years and we’ve just kept the same bloodline going,” Mr Simcock said.
Landmark auctioneer Gordon Wood said the sale lineup was a tremendous representation of the Poll Merino breed.
“They’re a real modern Merino – plain bodied, fast growing, white wools with plenty of nourishment and they’ve (Woodoona) maintained a high bulk of wool on their sheep,” he said.
Mr Wood said the sale result was fantastic for the stud and buyers.
“To have a full clearance, a top of $2500 and average of $1372 is a very solid sale but it’s still affordable for clients that have been buying privately for a very long time,” he said.
The Simcocks bought seven rams at an average of $1886, while the sale’s volume buyer was Boolkamena Station, Menindee, NSW, who took 12 to $1900, averaging $1433.
Keilira Proprietors, Kingston, took ten rams to $1900, averaging $1410, while Wyndham Proprietors, Wentworth, NSW, took seven rams to $1500, averaging $1243.
The sale’s second highest-price ram sold for $2200 to Pahl Family Trust, Murray Bridge.
