Volume buyer picks up 15 Southdown rams at Kirkdale sale in Tasmania

Kirkdale Southdowns topped at $6000, achieving a slightly above average sale despite a less successful clearance rates in Tasmania on Thursday.

The on-property sale at Evandale, Tasmania, offered 62 pure Southdowns rams and sold 46 to average $1347 and top at $6000.

"Our average was up a fraction on last year but we haven't had a good of a clearance as normal," stud principal Andrew Hogarth said.

"It wasn't a record-breaking sale by any means but it was pretty good considering the season," Mr Hogarth said.

"It was around what I expected ahead of the sale.

"I said if we sell three quarters of them I'll be happy and that's about what we did."

Another 24 Southdown-Charollais cross rams were offered and 19 sold to average $1210 and tops at $2200.

Stud Southdown ewes sold to full clearance with 19 averaging $632 and topping at $1100.

"He was the kind of sheep I'm trying to breed," Mr Hogarth said of the top-priced Southdown ram.

"He was a real true Southdown; not a big-framed sheep but as thick as a brick and all meat," he said.

"You wouldn't have picked the weigh in him and that shows how much meat he had in him."

Top-priced buyer was Tim Fincham of Burando Southdowns, Yea, who purchased five rams in total for an average of around $3500.

The Lot 30 ram weighed 106 kilograms and was a twin with a high IMF index, which were all traits Mr Fincham was attracted to.

"He had a great depth of body, he was powerful and he had a nice clean face and clean legs," Mr Fincham said.

"They are one of the best Southdown studs in Australia and I think some people have forgotten about them a bit," he said.

"I had an idea the sale might be a bit cheaper because a lot of studs have bought earlier but I think they were better sheep.

"I think they should have made double what they made."

Mr Hogarth's neighbour, commercial producer Adam Gedrych, Evandale, was a volume buyers of the sale, picked up 15 rams in total.

Mr Gedrych is going to use the rams to put over his cross-bred Merino ewe flock.

The sale sold to two states, Tasmania and Victoria, with a couple of Charollais-cross rams sold to Yarram Park, Willaura, and the top-priced ram going to Yea.

"Most of the purchasers were in the shed on the day," Mr Hogarth said.

"There probably wasn't quite as many people here as normal but that was to be expected because things aren't quite as buoyant in the ram job at the moment.

"That has a fair bit to do with the season and not a lot of people are looking to buy new rams this year."

The buying gallery on the day was mostly a local crowd with many of the rams selling back into Tasmania around the Midlands region.

"That's where they normally go back to for my sale, local guys put them over cross-bred ewes and ewe lambs," Mr Hogarth said.