Small crowd of loyal clients bid up big on Kelvale Poll Merino ram offering

Buyers with big orders helped Kelvale Poll Merino stud achieve a strong clearance and healthy average at its annual ram sale at Keith.

With just 12 registered bidders in the gallery and another couple of AuctionsPlus it could have been a far less successful day for stud principals Stephen and Peta Kellock, but three buyers took home more than two-thirds of the catalogue to sell.

In the main auction, 112 May and June 2024 drop rams from 128 offered sold to $4600 twice and averaged $1340.

This was back on 2024's result where 120 rams averaged $1523.

All the data in lot 6 lined up for Hyfield Pastoral, Coombe, which were the first to pay the $4600 sale high for Kelvale 241287.

An 18.6 micron ram with a 70mm staple length fleece, the ram was backed with a great combination of Merino Select figures.

It ranked in the top five percent for yearling staple length figure of 24.1 and top 20pc for yearling eye muscle, as well top 30pc for breech wrinkle.

Hyfield Pastoral's Rodney Lush said the equal sale topper was one of three rams they bought that all matched for wool type.

He said using Kelvale genetics their self-replacing Merino flock was easy to manage.

"We have been non-mulesed for four years now and apart from crutching the flock at the right time they are easy to manage," he said.

"We don't have any trouble with body strike regardless of the year and the reproduction is there as well."

Several lots later, Neil and Simon Schuster, Freeling, who have been Kelvale clients for more than 30 years also paid $4600 for lot 20, Kelvale 241342.

The 19M ram ranked in the top 5pc for both YSL and EBWR, as well as the Sustainable Merino and Wool Production Indexes.

"He had a beautiful wool fleece and was a heavy cutter with 80mm staple length which we need shearing twice a year," Simon said.

Leading the volume buyers were Joe Verco and MaryLou Bishop, Quondong Station via Burra, and Patrick Rowe, JA Rowe & Sons, Almerta Station, Carrieton, who both took home 25 rams.

Quondong Station bid strongly right through the sale to average $1064 for their buys.

They also bought the only four rams to sell in the mini auction at $500 each.

The Rowes' 25 rams included 14 at the $700 base price.

Luke Nicolai, Nicolai Farms, Stewart Range, accompanied by AWN wool and sheep specialist Rob Williams and Elders Lucindale's Ronnie Dix,bid strongly for the ones they had ticked.

They secured 23 rams for a $1213 average, including two at $2400 each.

Another long-time sale supporter Greenwood Park, Auburn, took home nine rams, including lot 10 for $2200.

This was a ram which Kelvale had donated the proceeds in to Stand Like Stone Foundation's Poppy Crozier Memorial Fund.

Mr Kellock said the clearance was much better than expected.

"I expected that if we could get rid of 100, it would have been a good day so to sell 116 is a great result," he said.

"The Mid North and South East was good for us, a lot of guys on the EP couldn't hold their stock unfortunately, we normally have quite a few more clients from over there so that took top end competition out of it."

Mr Kellock said it had been a tough season to prepare rams but they had come ahead in the past month after the late break. He said they were lighter than usual but were still "reasonably well grown"

"The quality is still there and the wool has kept up," he said.

He was pleased to hear the positive feedback from their clients on how their genetics had performed when tested.

"We are starting to match the wool up with it, we have always been told heritability-wise that wool quantity and muscle and fat won't come together, but I think we are pushing through that barrier," Mr Kellock said.

Nutrien SA studstock auctioneer Gordon Wood, who was adding up the bids with fellow auctioneer Richard Miller,said the sale produced a healthy average but also represented "exceptional value".

"For anyone wanting to buy an unmulesed Poll Merino ram with top-notch performance data they were incredibly well priced," he said.

"To be honest, from the rail it was probably a little hard to pick which ram they were going to go for, it was not necessarily the phenotype or the data it was some stubborn bidders saying that is the one I want."

Kelvale has two rams reserved for the Classings Classic sale- the first time they have been part of the multi-vendor sale.