Merinos gross more than $300,000 at Australian Sheep & Wool Show sale

Merino rams and ewes grossed more than $300,000 at a special sale at the Australian Sheep & Wool Show in Bendigo on Sunday.

Local and interstate studs offered up some of their top, ribbon-winning stock with sheep sold across the country.

The sale included four elite ewes from the Collinsville Merino stud, Hallett, SA, a first for the stud.

Overall, the sale saw 62 sheep sold from the 87 offered for an average of $5023 and to a top of $16,000.

The top-priced ram, Lot 7, was sold by Rangeview Merino stud, Darkan, WA, to Victorian studs Owrie Cowrie, Nhill, and Oakbank, St Arnaud.

"[Oakbank stud co-principal] Jack [McRae] showed me the ram this weekend and I thought he was magnificent, so we decided to go in on him together," Owrie Cowrie stud principal John Dalla said.

The July 2023-drop ram had an 18.2-micron fleece with a standard deviation (SD) of 2.8, coefficient variation (CV) of 15.3 and comfort factor (CF) of 99.4 per cent.

The ram was also one half of the August-shorn National Merino Pair that won on Friday night.

The sale-topper was sired by Rangeview Lawrie 24ET and out of RV 293 Rockbank Rafer.

Rangeview stud principal Jeremy King said their clearance rate was as much of a highlight as the top price.

"Under the current conditions, we were really happy to be able to clear all the rams today to good homes," Mr King said.

The stud offered seven rams, with six selling under auction and one sold privately immediately after the sale.

The Western Australian stud sold to four states outside of WA, including Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Tasmania.

All seven rams went to first-time clients of the stud.

"We've only ever sold four [rams] here, so to bring seven over to sell was a bit worrying, but it paid off," Mr King said.

"Our on-property sale top is only $6500, so this is the place to be.

"We have limited clients in WA, being a fine wool stud."

Elders studstock manager Ross Milne said the top-priced ram was a "very good" sheep.

"He had a good, sturdy outlook to him and he went to a good program," Mr Milne said.

The top-priced ewe, Lot 2, was sold by Collinsville for $13,000.

The ewe was knocked down to Darriwell Poll Merino stud, Trundle, NSW, and Towonga Poll Merino stud, Peak Hill, NSW, to be utilised in both stud's embryo transfer programs.

Darriwell stud classer Russell Jones said the ewe would be flushed later in the year, with her first lambs expected on the ground in April 2026.

The May 2023-drop ewe had a 20.4-micron fleece with an SD of 2.5, CV of 12.2 and CF of 99.9pc.

The ewe was sired by Emperor 170351 and out of Masterbuilt 170044.

Mr Jones said the top-priced ewe was a "very big" ewe at 120 kilograms.

"She's got a very good structure, and is a very long-bodied ewe with beautiful wool on her," he said.

He said the ewe would mix well with the Darriwell and Towanga genetics.

"We'll be able to embryo transfer the ewe to bring more progeny of that quality," he said.

"That's what we're after, that body size and meat content."

Mr Jones felt the ewe would make back the $13,000 paid for her at Bendigo.

"By the time her lambs hit the ground, the industry is going to be stronger and our wool prices will be better," he said.

"We're confident you'll always get paid for good sheep."

Mr Milne said the opportunity to buy a Collinsville ewe didn't come too often, and therefore, there was plenty of interest.

Collinsville stud manager Tim Dalla said he was "extremely delighted" with the sale of the top-priced ewe.

"It's not very often that anyone offers elite ewes, particularly Collinsville," he said.

Mr Dalla said the ewe was a "big, barrelly" ewe.

"She's deep, long, with a really white long staple and good testing wool," he said.

"Probably her depth of pedigree and genetics is what they really liked."

The second top-priced ram of the sale, Lot 40, was sold for $15,000 by Nerstane Merino stud, Woolbrook, NSW.

The August 2022-drop ram was sold to Bungulla Partnership, Manilla, NSW.

Mr Milne said the sale "met expectations".

"It's very hard to measure this sale on how it's going to look in August, September or October," he said.

"Good sheep always sell well, and I think that was proven today.

"They were happy to invest in the sheep they wanted.

"There was a good crowd in attendance."

While Glendonald Merino stud, Nhill, achieved an impressive top price of $11,000, it was one of the studs that saw a disappointing clearance rate.

"We only sold four of the eight rams in the auction," Glendonald stud principal Robert Harding said.

"It was a fairly tough sale, which was expected with the amount of money people have spent on feeding sheep."

Queensland buyer Will Roberts bought one of the Glendonald rams for his stud Victoria Downs, Morven, Qld.

Mr Roberts bought Glendonald's Lot 35 for $8000, along with another ram by Wililoo Merinos, Woodanilling, WA, for $4000.

He agreed the sale was "a bit tough".

"The Glendonald ram I bought was a good price but I thought the other ram was a bit cheap," he said.