The state's terminal sire sales have produced plenty of five-figured rams, but it is the 90 per cent-plus clearance rates and lift in average at many sales that have surpassed pundits' predictions.
Early in the season, hopes of on-property sales eclipsing last year's results were not high, but stud stock agents say the season turning from famine to feast in many areas of SA and the eastern states, along with the bounce back in lamb prices, have helped drive confidence up.
Ashmore White Suffolk stud, Wasleys, received the top money for the season with a stud ram making $23,000, while Newbold stud, Gawler River, notched up the $20,000 highest price Poll Dorset ram.
Elders stud stock manager Tony Wetherall says the White Suffolk, Poll Dorset and Suffolk sales have gone "exceptionally well", helped by producers lifting their ewe numbers and some flocks switching more to prime lambs than wool.
"The early sales were good but as the season progressed the sales have just got stronger," he said.
"The COVID-19 glitch in (Vic) processing was short-lived and things are nearly back to normal. People have to eat, whether that is here or overseas, and they want our lamb."
Nutrien SA studstock manager Gordon Wood says the results were also "above and beyond" what he expected.
"At the start we had lamb prices falling and thought COVID may be a stumbling block," he said.
"We had some fears about how the Merino sales would go and while there were less concerns for the terminal sales, I didn't expect we would have quite the level of demand we have."
Both auctioneers say online selling platform AuctionsPlus has been a major contributor to the success, enabling strong competition even when the stands have been sparsely occupied.
Mr Wetherall said many studs utilised AuctionsPlus for the first time but were likely to interface their sales again, recognising that it was a great advertising tool.
"AuctionsPlus has made people look at the figures and do a lot more homework about what they are looking for and the videos have been a help," he said.
Mr Wood said there was some concern that stud breeders may set their buying limits lower for their next sire due to no shows being held, but this has not occurred.
"One of the highlights for me has been at many sales on the rostrum and looking over at the AuctionsPlus bid spotter and seeing the bids adding up before we even start offering the rams," he said.
"When you see that demand that certainly augers well for the rest of the sale."
He says it will be interesting to see next season whether buyers physically make a return to the sales.
"Across the whole world there are more and more people using the internet to buy a pair of boots or a jacket or even a farm and livestock and not having to take a day to be at a sale, they can keep baling hay, shearing or marking lambs or whatever they are doing," he said.
"I do hope though that it doesn't diminish our crowds in future, because that is what makes the atmosphere at an auction."
Many terminal breeders are attuned to using Australian Sheep Breeding Values as a selection tool, but both Mr Wetherall and Mr Wood say buyers paid even more attention to these figures this year.
The only confusion for some was the replacement of the Carcase Plus index with the Terminal Carcase Production index, which has a much lower scale.
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