Strong Morton sale on increased offering

The Border Leicesters were the stand out performers for stud principals Emily and Scott Davidson with the average lifting $276 and another 14 more rams sold than 2017.

Five stud Border Leicester rams kicked the sale off topping at $3000 and averaging $2520.

Greg Fisher, Clover Ridge, Marcollat, bought the top price in the stud offering but the $3600 top price actually came in the flock rams at Lot 19.

Elders livestock sales manager southern Laryn Gogel again put in the winning bid for Clover Ridge for an August 2017 drop with a Border $ index of 122.1.

Clover Ridge won many of the bidding duels with eight rams for a $3113 average.

The blue ribbon Naracoorte first cross ewe lamb sale vendor expects to offer 1400 head at the sale next month.

Mr Gogel said they were not necessarily chasing the highest index rams but those animals with a good spread of figures and more importantly good constitution, bone and carcase merit.

“We are very conscious out at Clover Ridge that got to get constitution and coverage right – we want a dual purpose Border,” he said.

“Wether lambs are the flip side of producing ewe lambs and big part of the program out there.”

“We carry the top end through to kill so know how they do and generally there are a few store wether lambs we sell so looking for those buyers to be able to get good growth from the lambs too.”

Fellow Naracoorte sellers, the Lambert family, Bimbimbie Props, Wattle Range, also bought astutely throughout the catalogue with 12 rams for a $2000 average.

A woolly ram from Morton’s 2018 Royal Adelaide Show team sold for $2600 to Cloverlea Partners, Naracoorte, for stud duties.

Bidding changed a gear as those looking for Poll Dorsets entered the stands.

Several buyers had the same limit with a $2000 high reached nine times among the May 2017 to July 2017 drops.

S&R DiGiorgio & Sons, Lucindale, bought five of the sale topping rams in their tally of eight for a $1950 average.

LS Johnson & Son, Naracoorte and FR Loechel, Lucindale, each bought two rams at $2000.

Karatta Pastoral, Binnum, was the sale’s dominant force across both breeds with 17 Border Leicester rams for a $1731 average and eight rams for $1150 average.

Those with a lesser budget were still well catered for with 18 Poll Dorsets knocked down at $800.

Bidding fell silent in the final few pens as buyers filled their orders.

“We are very pleased with the averages of both breeds especially increasing our numbers a bit,” Mrs Davidson said.

“Last year we had a lot of enquiry after the sale so decided to put a few more in.”

Elders and Pinkerton Palm Hamlyn & Steen conducted the sale with Ronnie Dix and Josh Manser the auctioneers.

Mr Dix said being one of the last sales for the SA ram selling season some years it was stronger than others.

“Buyers had gone through the catalogue and certainly knew the ones they wanted and were prepared to pay for them,” he said.

Morton’s five stud rams reserved for the Horsham Border Leicester Show & Sale in Vic on October 29, which were on display, also drew strong interest.