A TOTAL clearance of 90 Poll Merino rams in the main auction at Hamilton Run signalled a successful beginning to a new era at the Jamestown stud.
After dispersing the White Suffolk and Dohne studs in November last year, Hamilton Run principal Greg Andrews said all their effort had been directed at maintaining the quality of their Poll Merinos.
"We were happy with the sale and there was good demand for the top quality rams," he said.
Buyers at their on-property auction could see the quality and consistency in the sale lineup, with the 90 main auctions rams selling to an average of $2292.
Mr Andrews was pleased, especially given there was less demand than usual from pastoral clients due to seasonal conditions.
The top price ram made $4400 and was sold to BN&RJ McLaren, Kingston, who bought four rams in total, averaging $3750.
Their biggest buy weighed in at 125 kilograms, carried an 18.3 micron fleece, with a standard deviation of 2.7, a 14.8 coefficient of variation and 99.8 per cent comfort factor.
Other rams to cause significant bidding competition included Lot 3 which made $4200 to the same buyer, and Lot 4 which was bought for $4200 by Erewhon Pastoral, Penola.
Lot 53 also attracted a winning bid of $4200, bought by Narioota, Spalding.
Erewhon Pastoral took five rams in total, averaging $2960, to be one of the sale's volume buyers.
Other active bidders included Carn Nominees, Quorn, who bought six rams to $3400, averaging $2617.
AL,JC&AA Woolford, Wilmington, took six rams to $2000, averaging $1683, while Narioota bought six, averaging $3300.
RJ&SM Simpson, Jamestown, bought six to $3800, averaging $2600.
Landmark auctioneer Gordon Wood said the spread in Hamilton Run clients, from Broken Hill to the lower South East, showed the rams adaptability to different environments.
He also said it was evident this season that ram buyers had been focusing on buying rams with high fleece cuts.
"Whether they're finding that in ASBV's, or as here today where they're on a Greasy Fleece Weight Percentage, any of those rams that are 10 per cent or above the average are attracting significant buyer competition," Mr Wood said.
"If you can couple that with some really good carcase attributes then that's a winning combination. They're the sheep people are chasing.
"Even though the wool market has taken a check in recent weeks, it is still a really profitable part of people's enterprises."
Elders South East livestock sales manager Laryn Gogel was full of praise for the depth and quality of the Hamilton Run catalogue.
"The objectives that Greg and Nicole are breeding for, which is that good, crisp white wool and consistency of carcase were evident right the way through even to the young rams in the mini auction," he said.
Elders and Landmark conducted the sale, with Mr Gogel and Mr Wood sharing auctioneering duties.
