THOUSANDS of people flocked to the Balaklava races the week before last to back a winner, but the astute punters were back at Jamestown for the Hamilton Run Poll Merino and Dohne sale.
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Principals Greg Andrews and Nicole Luckraft had some outstanding rams that were sure to be winners.
On offer were 100 Poll Merino rams, 100 Dohne rams, and 241 Dohne and Poll Merino ewes - and all were cleared.
Of the 72 registered bidders, 59 were successful in buying.
The regional spread of buyers was from across SA and Vic, with strength in numbers from the Mid North, Upper North and the South East in particular.
There were no price extremes, only solid bidding throughout, and this reflected the evenness on offer.
The sale started with the 100 Poll Merino rams, and the early lots attracted a lot of bids - the first 20 sold from $2200 to $3200 and averaged $2643. The middle ground was solid, as buyers with lesser budgets took over. The total draft averaged $1478.
The $3200 top price ram in this draft went to long-time supporter of Hamilton Run genetics, Matt Pammenter, Terinlee Pty Ltd, Jamestown, who bought through Quality Livestock's Brenton Jones.
The ram, HR P553, was a twin, with a huge greasy fleece weight percentage of 138. The 108kg youngster impressed with his 18.7 micron, 99.6 per cent comfort factor, and eye muscle depth of 41. This was one of five rams Terinlee bought, averaging out at $1860.
The biggest volume buyer was Susan Carn, Carn Nominees, Quorn, who operated through Elders Port Augusta. The repeat buyer, with the help of assistant Marnie Smith, paid from $700 to $1200 for 16 Poll Merino rams.
Other prominent Poll Merino buyers included DA&BD Nutt, through Elders Orroroo, with seven rams from $1400 to $2000; AL&JC Woolford, through Elders Port Augusta, seven, $800 to $1300; Pitlochry Station, SAL Naracoorte, six,$800 to $1300; and Merngenia Station, Elders Peterborough, six, $800 to $1300.
In the Dohne sale, the second ram of the 100 offered set the $4200 top price in this section, and the overall sale, and made $1518 average. HR 120051, with an index on 131.2 and outstanding figures across the board, attracted plenty of pre-sale interest.
The ram was one of three bought by Vic producers Nick and Helen Stanislawski, Nareen. They bought privately last year for the first time, putting the Dohnes over their Merino ewes to improve their constitutions and gain the benefits of hybrid vigour.
Russell and Marnie Kamp, RMK Pastoral Pty Ltd, Keith, have been strong supporters of the Hamilton Run Dohne program for several years, and were the biggest volume buyers of Dohne rams, taking nine from $1500 to $2600 to average $1967.
The Kamps, buying through Elders Keith, were also strong bidders on the 241 ewes. In fact, they were so strong that they outbid all others for the five pens offered.
The 106 Dohne ewes were offered in three pens, selling to a high of $167 and average of $163, while 135 Poll Merino ewes were offered in two pens, topping at $172 and averaging $161.
* Full report in Stock Journal, September 12 issue, 2013.
