Late entrant to the ram team comes out on top of the Willandra Merino sale

Wool quality was at the front of mind for buyers at the Wells family's Willandra Merino ram sale, Wednesday, September 24, held on-property, near Jerilderie.

Buyers from as far as Tambo, Qld, to Keith, South Australia, and down to Bendigo, Vic, stepped into the market.

The sale resulted in 99 of 100 rams selling to a top of $16,000, for an average of $3345.

In the breakdown 79 of 80 Poll Merino rams sold to $16,000 for and average of $3445, while 20 Merino rams sold to $10,000 for an average of $3145.

Willandra 0157 claimed the top-priced ram title and was purchased by long-time clients in the McKinnon family, Deniliquin.

The young ram, by Jolly Jumbuck 213004, recorded a fibre diameter of 22 micron, with a standard deviation of 3 micron, a coefficient of variation of 13.7 per cent, and a comfort factor of 99.1pc.

Weighing 133 kilograms, he scanned a fat depth of 7.5 millimetres.

Willandra stud principal Ross Wells said the ram created interest while in the stud's display at the Merino National Sheep Show at Dubbo earlier this year.

"He wasn't even shown, he didn't have him in the show team," he said.

"When you stood back and looked at him, he was massive, he was a big weight, he was so round and so deep, and that takes away the fact that he is a lot longer than you think he is because he is so big.

"We took him up to Dubbo and we just displayed him, we thought he was a good ram after Bendigo and the Dubbo entries had to in when we were on the road to Bendigo.

"But then we spotted him and took him up to Dubbo and got him interested up there."

The second top-priced ram, Willandra 0002, was purchased by first-time buyers Peter and Louise Capel, Bungulla Partnership, Manilla, for $10,000.

The Merino ram tipped the scales at 94kg, with a fibre diameter of 20.8 micron, while recording an SD of 3.1, a CV of 15 and a CF of 99.5pc.

He scanned an EMD of 38.5mm, with a fat depth of 4mm.

Mr Capel said the Willandra sheep were well known for their wool quality and their structure, which drew them to the southern stud.

"Just the structure of that was as good as it was in the offering here today," he said.

"He had a beautiful topline and beautiful leg setup; his wool was probably as good as the wool as there was in the offering there today.

"We'll use him over our stud ewes, we're up in a summer rainfall area, so the quality of the wool is very important and the brightness of the wool.

"To handle that summer rainfall country, we have clients in northern NSW and south-western Queensland, so they have to handle the summer rains."

He said the northern operation took a lot of pride in their wool quality throughout their 2500-ewe flock.

Volume and interstate buyers were active. Sleigh Pastoral Kooringal, Jerilderie, purchased 10 rams to a top of $5500 for an average of $3175, while TW Lord and Sons, Homeview, Junee, bought six rams to average $3375.

While Gulargambone purchasers, Merri Merri, secured 16 rams to a top of $4250 for an average of $2666.

Chris Bowman, Hay, purchased the line of rams on behalf of the 5000-ewe operation. He said they had been long-term clients of the stud.

"They like animals because they are good-boned animals, quick maturing and very deep-set bodied, they like the barrel in the sheep, and you've got to have a barrel for doing ability and fattening," he said.

"They like to come here and get a dual purpose sheep, they cut a good amount of wool and have the meat with them."

Interstate buyers included Narada Grazing, Tambo, Qld, who secured Willandra 0041 for $6500 and Willandra 0239 for $3750, while Freemantle and Bell, Loddon, Vic, purchased three rams for an average of $3666.

Willoway Farming, Koorinda Park, Keith, South Australia, took home four rams with a top of $9250 for an average of $6125.

Chris Muenster, manager of Koorinda Park, said the property was the 1618 hectare ram breeding operation for the Willoway Group, joining 2000 ewes a year.

He said the operation produces approximately 700 rams a year to be used through the group's additional properties.

"He was a big square upstanding ram and he has got to look like a ram, you can get rams that have a head that looks like a ewe," he said.

"But they have to have that masculine head and good bone, and we find the rams from Willandra do have good bone.

"We have to get our wool cut up and these boys do cut wool."

Mr Wells said the results surpassed expectations.

"I thought it was the best sale since 1998 when, in three hours, we sold 610 rams for a gross of $525,400," he said.

"This was a record gross for an on-property sale at that stage and remained so until 2011.

"These two sales, I guess, gave me the greatest amount of pleasure of all the 47 sales we have held. Two very different sales at very different times."

The sale was conducted by Nutrien Deniliquin and Elders Jerilderie with Peter Godbolt, Nutrien, and Harry Cozens, Elders, as auctioneers.

AuctionPlus provided the online interface.