REDUCED pastoral demand did not quell the success of Mt Alma Dohne stud's on-property auction at Coonalpyn on Wednesday, with a full clearance of 90 rams.
Foreseeing the absence of drought-affected northern pastoral clients, Eric and Sophie, Ike and Carolyn Ashby put up a reduced offering compared to those previously put forward in their on-property auction.
The rams were still met with great demand from a strong South East buying force, with a full clearance at an average of $1738.
Stud principal Eric Ashby was extremely pleased with the result, saying they had been fortunate to have a massive pastoral following in previous years and knew many would be missing this year.
Mr Ashby said they continued to receive great feedback about the job their rams were doing.
"A lot of our buyers are loving the fertility and the ability for Dohnes and our sheep to turn their lambs off early," he said.
"We've also got a big following throughout the South East, with those buyers putting the rams over composite-type ewes to get into the wool game."
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As is tradition at Mt Alma, the proceeds of lot 1 went to this charity - this year $3200 paid by Pindari Poll Merino and Dohne stud, Waterloo, was split between Buy a Bale and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
The top price ram made $3600 and was bought by Brian Calderwood, Coolibar Dohne stud, Tumby Bay.
The 118 kilogram ram carried an 18.9 micron fleece, with 3.3 standard deviation, 17.5 coefficient of variation and 99.5 per cent comfort factor.
The Calderwoods bought four rams in total, averaging $2450.
South East buyers were active with S&R DiGiorgio & Sons, Lucindale, the volume buyer, taking 18 rams to $2400, averaging $1863.
PS Jenkins, Mount Gambier, bought 10 rams to $1200, averaging $1060, while Egremont Pastoral, Lucindale, bought six rams to $2900, averaging $2033, and Corlas Pastoral, Western Flat, bought five rams to $3000, averaging $2560.
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Elders stud stock manager Tom Penna said Mt Alma rams had had great success in pastoral areas and previous sales had been underpinned by strong competition from Broken Hill clients.
"Those buyers get great results out of the Mt Alma sheep but due to their circumstances they're unable to operate and without that demand, we were still really pleased with the sale," he said.
"It's one of those years where not everybody needs rams but there were enough new buyers to cover the people that didn't need rams this year."
Landmark stud stock manager Gordon Wood described the full clearance as a tremendous result, which demonstrated the rams doing ability in all conditions.
"These sheep do very well in the pastoral regions, as well as the wet country down in the South East," he said.
"They've got really white, bright wools that cope with both the bush and 40-inch rainfall.
"That's one of Mt Alma's great strengths - they've got rams that will perform in both of those extremities."
Elders and Landmark conducted the sale, with Mr Penna and Mr Wood the auctioneers.
