Border Leicester rams sell to fierce competition at Womboota sale
New and returning buyers led a fierce competition for superior rams at the Womboota Border Leicester sale on Thursday, September 25, at Womboota.
Clients from Cooma, Deniliquin, Bendigo, Vic, Euroa, Vic, and surrounding districts were keen to get their hands on well-presented rams at the Womboota sale despite the drop in ewe numbers across NSW and Victoria.
Elders agent Matthew O'Connor led the sale beside Wilson Beer, Nutrien Ag Solutions.
Mr O'Connor said the sale proved to be up on last year's sale and prices were reflective of the current market.
"The sale was very reflective of how many ewes have been purchased in the local area recently and we now have a very strong understanding of the number of ewes that have been processed in the last two years," Mr O'Connor said.
Mr Beer agreed on the sale trend.
"Rams sold really well, but ewes were reflective of the current market," Mr Beer said.
Out of the 71 Border Leicester rams offered, 56 were sold to an average of $976 and out of the 15 ewes on offer, two sold for $250 each.
Malcolm Starritt, Womboota Border Leicester stud, said he was happy with how the sale ended.
"There was a lot of online interest in the ewes, but we didn't sell many on the day, but our rams sold well," Mr Starritt said.
"We had new clients, which was great to see.
"The sale was better than last year, although we are still seeing those people breeding sheep still in a lull.
"The high prices have started but it will take time to get back to sustainable prices for us selling sheep stock, but I am happy the rams were very buyable today."
Two rams were sold to the top price of $2300.
Repeat buyer Mick Griffin, Bundara, Lake Rowan, was pleased with his purchase of one of the top lots, a 35.1-micron ram with a birthweight score of 0.33.
"We have been buying rams for around 15 years for Womboota," Mr Griffin said.
"We bought four rams on Thursday, we are first-cross breeders and we think these rams will work great."
Frame and weights were high on the priority list for Mr Griffin and is part of the reason he continues to come back to Womboota.
"We are trying to focus on good frame and good post weaning weights, we are wanting to get our lambs turned off a little bit earlier so they are ready to join at that eight to nine months mark," he said.
Quality micron scores were a contributing factor when choosing rams for Mr Griffin's first-cross breeding operation.
"To Malcolm's credit, he has started micron testing which is good if you can't make the sale, we try to steer away from the broader end of the Border Leicesters," he said.
The Gurak family secured the other top-priced ram at $2300.
