ANIMATED bidding from a large buying gallery pushed up the top average prices – compared with last year – at Flairdale Poll Merinos' 11th on-property sale at Cooke Plains last Thursday.
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Buyers from across South Australia and the Western Districts of Victoria bid on the 70 rams in the main auction to $3800, paid by repeat client Jeff Burgess, Gulnare. Mr Burgess took four rams averaging $2800.
Sired by Wallaloo Park 779, the 102-kilogram ram carried a 19.9-micron fleece of 16.1 per cent coefficient of variation, 3.2 standard deviation and a 99.6pc comfort factor. He also had solid carcase traits with 36 millimetres of eye muscle depth and 10mm carcase fat.
Flairdale principal Wayne Lehmann described the ram as a good all-rounder. "He was a great big solid sheep, very well-covered with well-nourished white wool," he said.
"He's a big upstanding ram with plenty of wool on him, which is a good example of what we try to breed here – to keep that big body and keep the bales full."
Also strong on top-end rams were Trevor and Fred Laskey, Orroroo, who took the second-top-price ram at $3400. By Gunallo 203, it measured 92kg, 19.1M, 12.6CV, 2.4SD and 100CF. The Laskeys bought seven rams – five of them above $2000 – averaging $2185.
Pitlochry Station via Salt Creek took nine in the main auction to $1100, av $677, and a further two in a mini-auction at $400 each.
Kangaroo Island producers BA&DJ Paxton, repeat buyers at Flairdale, bought five to $3200 averaging $2420.
Mallee buyer Graham Buchanan, Karoonda, bought four to $3000, averaging $1350.
Victorians DF&CK Clark, Nhill, took rams at $2400 and $800, and Darryl Frahn, Murray Bridge, $2400 and $2000.
The sale was conducted by Landmark and Elders with Malcolm Scroop and Tom Penna auctioneers.
