ALL but one ram was sold at auction during last week's Mallee Hill ram sale, with 89 from 90 hitting an average of $1228.
The Ceduna-based stud's 17th annual sale saw a top of $2800, with second-time buyer John Pearson taking home the coveted ram over the other 22 registered bidders.
The sale team averaged 20.8 for micron, 99.5 for comfort factor, 14.9 for coefficient variation, 3.1 for standard deviation and 103kg for body weight.
The top price ram had figures of 19.4 for micron, 116.5kg for bodyweight, 8.5 for fat and 43 for eye muscle depth.
Mr Pearson said the ram was big with white wool and had the perfect shape he was chasing.
"I came here last year for the first time and picked up a few rams which have done well for me so I knew I'd come back," he said.
"I had my eye on Lot 5 but I wasn't sure I'd be able to get him because he had a bit of interest so I was lucky to snap him up.
"I picked up a few more and they'll all go over ewes in November and December and will hopefully have lambs on the ground come April."
Mr Pearson took home a further four rams to a total average of $1740.
RELATED:
An unnamed station buyer from NSW through Quality Livestock was the volume buyer, picking up 24 rams during the sale, to a top of $1200 for Lot 48 and an average of $908.
Malleeview Pastoral were also active on the day, taking home eight rams to a top of $1300.
This was also the first year the sale was interfaced with AuctionsPlus, opening the stud up to interstate buyers according to Quality Livestock auctioneer David Whittenbury.
"We had a few active bidders on AuctionsPlus and although none of them took home a ram, it gave the a taste of what Mallee Hill has on offer," he said.
"The sale was strong throughout and that's shown with 89 of the 90 rams sold at auction and the last ram sold immediately after the sale.
"The number of rams was down on last year but the quality has increased which is a testament to Warren and what he's doing with his program."
Stud principal Warren Beattie said he was pleased with the interest in this year's sale and was confident in the future.
"We'll head to the Adelaide Ram sale and hopefully pick up another sire there," he said.
"We've got ram lambs on the ground already that are fitting our plans nicely and our target of a low micron animal on a large frame.
"We spent time taking our rams around this year to build our client base and with our sale now on AuctionsPlus I think it's going to open us up even more."
Quality Livestock conducted the sale.
