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Illoura stud, Moorlands, hosted the sale, with Bundara Downs, Bordertown, Wingamin, Karoonda, and Anna Villa, Weetulta, also vendors at the sale.

Each of the four studs offered four rams, of which twelve sold to a top of $5500 twice, averaging $3625. Two more rams sold afterwards in private selection.

Illoura stud principal Allan Piggott said the sale was "fantastic".

"It was very pleasing to see a lot of confidence in the industry," he said.

"The result was probably a bit surprising when we consider the season, and the fact that so much of the country is short of feed at the moment, but the people here knew what they were after and they were willing to bid up."

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Anthony Ferguson, Anna Villa, agreed that the result was pleasantly surprising.

"The sale went extremely well, a lot better than how we thought it was going to go," he said.

"There might have only been low buyer numbers, but everyone was here to buy. There were new faces and a lot of repeat clients too, and they were after numbers which worked out well."

Wingamin's Clive Shillabeer said there was a good showing of repeat clients, as well as a few new buyers, and a solid interstate presence of buyers at the sale.

The top price was first achieved with lot 8, a May 2018-drop Bundara Downs ram with with post weaning values of 18 weight, -0.7 fat and 1.8 eye muscle depth, and was bought by KP&JA Farr, Loxton, who bought two more rams at $3000 each.

Bundara Downs' Steve Funke said it was a buoyant sale, and a better result than last year, which was the stud's first year as a vendor at the sale.

The stud won the supreme champion ram broadribbon at this year's Royal Adelaide Show, and Mr Funke said the sale result 'topped it off nicely" leading up to Bundara Downs on-property sale on September 18.

He thanked Illoura for hosting the sale.

"It's pretty special of Illoura to let us all use their facilities," he said.

The second $5500 top was achieved with lot 10 selling to Craig Hicks, Strathalbyn. Landmark stud stock's Richard Miller, who shared the auctioneering duties with Elders' Tom Penna, said the July 2018-drop Wingamin ram, which had a PWWT of 17.1, PFAT of -0.7 and PEMD of 2.1 was "as good a ram as you'll ever see".

"It was very well-balanced, with good figures, and there was good competition for the ram, as there was for the Bundara Downs top price ram," Mr Miller said.

"The two top rams will go on and do a good job."

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In the ewes, 63 out of 77 averaged $551 and topped at $950 twice, a significant jump on the 2018 Foundation Breeders sale top ewe price of $600.

Mr Penna said competition on stud ewes from all four vendors was strong.

The first $5500 top price ewe was bought by Millinup White Suffolks, Porongurup, WA, via phone for lot 29, a July 2018-drop Wingamin ewe with 14.9PWWT, -0.8PFAT and 1.6EMD, while the second went to Yendora White Suffolks, Macarthur, Vic, for lot 43, an April-2018 drop Illoura ewe with 16.4WWT, -0.1PFAT and 2EMD.

Yendora White Suffolks were the sale's volume buyers, taking home 21 ewes to the equal top ewe price, averaging $610.

Yendora White Suffolks stud principal Rodney Morgan said he was impressed with the figures of the ewes on offer, and picked out those from the catalogue which had particularly good eye muscle depth, a trait he was focusing on in his own stud.

Other volume buyers included RT, RG&KA Martin, Emu, Vic, buying one ram at $3000 and and seven ewes to $600, averaging $529, as well as AC&HK Dakis, Monak, Bonnie Doon, which secured nine ewes to $500 averaging $433, while Stormy Lodge Pty Ltd, Wagga Wagga, NSW, took six ewes to $450, averaging $416.

After the sale, the remaining 14 ewes were sold via private selection, resulting in total clearance of the ewes.