Repeat buyers compete with new interstate interest at Radnor ram sale

A few new faces, including some from interstate, competed strongly against repeat buyers at the Radnor Merino and Poll Merino stud ram sale at Langhorne Creek on Friday.

Repeat top price ram buyers David and Brody Lock, Lock Haven, Mundulla, again bid the strongest for the $4400 sale topper.

The Radnor Syndicate-blood Poll Merino at Lot 8 weighed 104 kilograms, with a 43.5 millimetre eye muscle depth, 7.5 carcase fat, and carried 21.2 micron wool with 3.7 standard deviation, 17.3 per cent coefficient of variation and 99pc comfort factor.

Brody Lock said they were willing to go hard on the ram as the last of their four selections, after also buying Lot 1 and Lot 2.

He said Lot 8 was a "well-rounded ram with good staple length and meat attributes".

"We like Radnor rams as they are dual purpose without taking too much focus off wool cut and quality," he said.

"Especially in years like this when the wool market does pick up, we can benefit from having good wool on top of a good meaty Merino.

"Lot 8 was a well covered ram with a good frame - real complete and dual purpose.

"He had a longer staple length than the rams we bought in Lot 1 and Lot 2, but still had good wool with good eye muscle."

The three Lock rams averaged $3200, and are bound for their top replacement maidens - "to help us keep improving our breeding flock".

The improvement of the season has seen their lambing percentage go from 100pc to 121pc this year - 300 more lambs than last year.

"We won't buy more rams this year though, as they have pulled through pretty well from last year," David Lock said.

Lot 1 won't head straight to the South East though, with Radnor planning to show him at the Adelaide Show next month.

Radnor stud principal Steve Koehler said the Collinsville Syndicate-blood ram was 9kg heavier than any other ram in the shed - "which shows he is doing well".

The ram weighed 118.5kg with 44EMD and 8.5Cfat, plus 19.2M wool with 3.1SD, 16CV and 99.7CF.

Overall, the Koehler family sold 28 rams from 52 offered, averaging $1450 - a slight increase on the 2025 sale.

The sale's $4000 second-highest price ram in lot 6 sold to a new client John Johnston, Coonabarabran, NSW, who breeds his own rams and saw the Koehlers displaying at Broken Hill Agfair.

"We talked about what genetics he was needing," Mr Koehler said.

"He liked the bone and meat side of our rams, as well as our really white wools.

"He buys one ram a year and lot 6 was it.

"His mother was fine medium champion Merino ewe at Bendigo and Adelaide shows a few years ago, while his sire Doedae was a very good young ram of our own.

"The last time we did a ET program, we did a batch of Doedae - Merino ewe and a poll ram - it was the best ET program we ever had - got 10 rams out of it."

The 102kg ram "still had his lambs teeth", plus 40EMD and 7.5Cfat, and 17.8M wool with 2.6SD, 14.7CV and 99.9CF.

The sale was conducted by Nutrien and Elders.

Nutrien Murray Bridge agent Mark Thurston said while there was a few volume buyers missing, the new NSW interest after AgFair, which included another buyer from Temora, NSW, helped increase the average.

"It's good that they have been getting that exposure, especially when the rams present so well," he said.

"It's just been a bit tough going as there isn't the sheep numbers around and it is the peak of the ram selling season."