'Crispy white wools' draw strong competition at Rices Creek's SE ram sale
A big gallery of largely repeat buyers lifted their sights at Rices Creek Poll Merino stud's 18th annual South East sale at Tintinara, ensuring it was again one of the benchmarks of the selling season.
The Vandeleur family enjoyed a total clearance of their 84 April and May 2025 drop rams for a $2923 average - up more than $850 on 2025's sale.
A sale high of $7500 was reached three times with the trio of rams all penned in the front row.
Two of the three sale toppers were knocked down to studs with the Bury family, Jaburee stud, Wilmington, securing a replacement in lot 6A which had come out of the stud reserves.
Stud consultant Josh Cousins - who did the bidding on their behalf - said the ram was "structurally sound with a real lustrous wool."
"That nourishment was oozing out and he had a really square backend on him," he said.
The 19.8 micron, long stapled ram was a son of Hamilton Run 220157 and weighed 115kg with an eye muscle depth of 44mm and fat depth of 5mm.
At lot 7, Lee Slape, TS stud, Coomandook, paid the same money for a 21.3M 104kg son of Rices Creek 230895.
Long-time supporter Peter Glynn and his son Jack, Glynnard Props, Rhynie, bought the other $7500 ram- lot 4, RC250096, which was also by a Hamilton Run sire.
Mr Glynn was impressed by the 20.9M ram which had a 44mm eye muscle depth and a yearling body weight of 120kg -51pc higher than the average of the group.
"It was mainly his meatiness and he had a beautiful clean head," he said.
He said he had continued on Rices Creek bloodlines because they were "doing the job for them" in their self-replacing flock of 1500 ewes.
This included consistently high lambing percentages and impressive growth in their wether lambs.
"We bought a little mob from the Bradfield dispersal so I will put him (the lot 4 ram) with those ewes," he said.
Glynnard Props also bought lot 45 for $5500.
The strength of the sale was the depth of bidding from commercial buyers from the high rainfall South East and western Vic to the pastoral zone.
The sale's volume buyer was the Doering family, Walmona Pastoral, Truro, with 11 rams for a $1881 average while Yalcowinna Station via Broken Hill, NSW, took home seven rams at the $1000 upset price.
Cavanagh Farms, Tintinara, took home six rams for a $3350 average.
Several years since becoming a member of MerinoSelect and building the sire linkages in their stud flock, the Vandeleurs displayed ASBVs on many of the sale rams for the first time.
"Not that we are gospel on that but it will be another tool in selecting sheep," he said.
"It is becoming more wide spread so we can't not use them."
Spence Dix & Co auctioneer Luke Schreiber said it was noticeable that buyers were willing to "push a little bit harder" for the better quality rams.
"Obviously they are getting the results, that mix of the Hamilton Run and Rices Creek influence is starting to come right through with some consistency now," he said.
"There were rams in the last row still making over $3000 but there were still opportunities in that $1200 to $2000 price range too."
Mr Schreiber shared the auctioneering duties with Elders Keith branch manager Steven Doecke who said a feature of the line-up was the rams' "crispy white wools".
Stud co-principal Mark Vandeleur said it was pleasing to see the commercial breeders who have stuck with the Merino industry being rewarded and in turn having the confidence to bid up.
"From that result it is good to know that we are going in the right direction with that meat and wool combination," he said.
"We still have to have the basics right, whether they are going north or to the deep south the feet have to be right."
He said it was good to see buyers with lesser budgets successful in the second half of the catalogue.
Rices Creek - which last year celebrated its stud centenary - will have another 215 Poll Merino rams on offer at its Mid North sale at Saddleworth on August 25.
