BUYERS upped the ante at Netley Park stud's 26th annual ram sale on Thursday last week at Bordertown, with the average on the Border Leicester offering surging nearly $600 and Poll Dorset draft also up nearly $100.
With lamb prices around $10/kg and mutton prices also exceptional, as well as young Border Leicester-Merino ewes cracking $500 in NSW recently, there was plenty of optimism among the 33 registered bidders who extended their budgets for both maternal and terminal sires.
The multiple top prices in both breeds demonstrated the evenness of the offerings.
In a total clearance, 87 August and September 2020 drop Border Leicesters averaged a sensational $2226, while 66 of 80 May-June 2020 drop Poll Dorsets averaged $1569.
A sale high of $3000 was reached three times for the August/September 2020 drop Border Leicesters, with the trio all in the first 10 lots.
Lot 6- a 91kg ram sold to the Williams family, Willswood Farms, Bordertown.
In the blue ribbon Naracoorte first cross ewe lamb sale last year Willswood Farms sold 1232 ewe lambs to a $386 high, averaging $332 for the draft and will have another 1300 lambs on offer in November.
The lot 6 ram was among the seven Borders they bought for a $2543 average.
"We like the length and wool type, the Netley Park rams keep growing out and they are not pumped up (with feed) so what you see is what you get," Tim Williams said.
Also at $3000, BH&L Loller, Brimbago, bought lot 7 and lot 8, weighing 85kg and 88kg respectively.
Their agent, Elders Bordertown's Wade Broadstock said the Lollers had gained a great reputation with their first cross ewes selling each November on AuctionsPlus to largely repeat buyers.
They will offer another 350-400 ewes this year.
Two Western Vic orders dominated the Border Leicester buying with WA, RG & NW Robinson, Ullswater,taking home 12 rams for a $1750 average and Westwood, Patyah, averaging $1990 for their 10 rams.
There was also two state bidding on the Poll Dorsets, but three local buyers outlaid the $2600 highest price for their top picks.
BL&KJ Staude, Bordertown, took both rams in the first pen at $2600 each.
These rams had the highest Stockscan eye muscle areas in the catalogue at 42cm2 and 43cm2.
PW Scown & Sons, Mundulla, bought the next pen of two rams also with plenty of muscle for the same money.
The other $2600 Poll Dorset -lot 10- sold to Willswood Farms in their four buys.
GL&SM Maddern, Kanviva,Vic, found great value securing nine Poll Dorsets to $1300 for a $1100 average, while PJ Leach & Co, Mundulla, put together eight rams to $1800 twice, averaging $1488.
Stud principal Michael King said it was easily his highest grossing ram sale.
"We had an exceptional sale in the Borders and just lacked a couple of buyers in the back end of the Poll Dorsets," he said.
Spence Dix & Co's Kym Lovelock - who is Mr King's agent - said it was pleasing to see so many repeat buyers who were having success with Netley Park genetics return year after year.
"One client of Netley Park in the last week sold 300 (Poll Dorset-Merino) lambs at $236 each so one of have bought rams are doing well with them breeding lambs with early growth," he said.
He said it was pleasing to see the sale attract a few new buyers in the Border Leicesters from as far afield as Kangaroo Island too.
Spence Dix & Co conducted the sale with Jono Spence, Dean Coddington and Luke Schreiber sharing the auctioneering.
Start the day with all the big news in agriculture. Sign up here to receive our daily Stock Journal newsletter.
