Yentrac principal Rob McCartney was “stoked” by the stud’s strong sale at Tatura on Wednesday.
All 73 rams offered were sold and averaged $1205, which was more than $300 above last year’s average.
The sale kicked off with specially selected Poll Dorset rams that were auctioned individually. One of these was snapped up by new clients, the Mark Bros, from near Mathoura NSW, for the sale high of $3050. They will use it to breed their own rams.
The replacement ram was a May 2015-drop and tipped the scales at 132 kilograms, making it one of the heaviest in the sale draft. Its eye muscle area (EMA) scanned 34 square centimetres in April.
The ram, which Mr McCartney described as big, long and clean, was sired by Yentrac 82-09 (which itself was by a Banyenong West ram), which has bred very well fore the stud.
Return buyers, the Boyd family, Terrick Terrick, paid $2050 to secure the second highest-priced ram, a Poll Dorset by a Hillden ram.
The draft of 58 Poll Dorsets, most of which were sold via pick of the pen, av $1193.
The Ferguson family, Womboota, NSW, supported this strong result by buying 10 of the top end Poll Dorset rams, paying up to $1300.
Once again all of the Southdown rams offered at Yentrac’s Tatura sale were purchased, depsite the McCartney family offering 15 this year compared to nine last year.
And demand was so strong that this year’s equal top-price of $1650 was $650 more than last year’s result, and the av of $1250 was more than $400 up.
John Drysdale, Yarck, bought the tow “big, bold Southie rams” (as described by Mr McCartney) at $1650. The rams’ EMAs scanned 23.77sqcm and 21.65sqcm in April.
“I’m stoked,” Mr McCartney said.
He said commercial prime lamb producers were buoyed by solid lamb prices and a promising-looking season.
He said support from repeat clients and attracting new clients indicated Yentrac rams were “doing the job” and the stud was reaping the benefits of investing in stud sires, whose influence he hoped would be seen right through their progeny.
This year is the fifth the family has held a sale in Tatura as well as their longer standing sale at Burrumbeet, which this year will be on October 19. Mr McCartney said they held two sales to continue servicing different clients.
The sale was conducted by Rodwells Shepparton with Shelby Howard calling the sale.
