Carunna Vale open the gates on first annual on-property sale at Jamestown

Local support was prominent at the first annual on-property Carunna Vale Poll Merino ram sale at Jamestown where all but two of 25 registered bidders took home rams.

The stud launched its ram-selling career with a top of $4000 twice and a healthy first sale average of $1695.

The sale included Bradfield bloodlines following Mr Hall's purchase of selected genetics from the Bradfield dispersal, giving existing Bradfield clients an avenue to continue accessing the genetics under the Carunna Vale banner.

The stud offered 80 and sold 66, with Lots 3 and 11 sharing the top price.

Mannanarie producer Steven Baynes secured Lot 3, while Lot 11 was purchased by long-time Bradfield client Ben Wetherall, Mangalo, via Cleve, on the Eyre Peninsula.

Lot 3 was a 116.5-kilogram ram, sired by Glenlea Park 073, with a 19.6 micron fleece, with 3.3 standard deviation, 16.8 coefficient of variation, 99.6 per cent comfort factor, 115pc greasy fleece weight, a 42.6 millimetre eye muscle depth and a fat score of 7.

Lot 11 weighed 111kg, sired by Rices Creek 2757, and carried an 18.1 micron fleece, with 3.2SD, 17.6CV, 99.8pc CF, 128pc GFW, 42mm EMD and a 7.4 fat score.

Mr Baynes who runs 1200 ewes said Lot 3 would be joined to the 2.5-year-old ewes in Mr Baynes' commercial flock.

Mr Wetherall bought two rams, including the $4000 Lot 11, and said he had supported the Bradfield breeding program since 2016.

He said Stace Bradtke and the Bradfield team had worked with his flock to identify the direction he wanted to take his sheep, with the ram selection process remaining consistent each year.

One of the rams will be used across the flock, while Lot 11 will be single-mated to hoggets to target additional frame and type.

GI, BA&DG Simpson, Jamestown, was among the volume buyers, purchasing seven rams at a $2343 average, while Chapman Ag Enterprises, Peterborough, also bought seven, averaging $1628.

CK&RA Bowman, Jamestown purchased six, averaging $1000, while CW&CS Philp, Peterborough, bought six, averaging $1100.

For Carunna Vale principal Tim Hall, the result exceeded expectations for the stud's first on-property auction.

"I had a bit of a figure in my head of what I'd have been happy with average wise and we just beat that," he said.

Mr Hall said the support from buyers had been "immense".

"We've got to be pretty happy at this stage just to focus on providing that service for this northern type region," he said.

Carunna Vale livestock manager Hayden Hillman said the top rams stood out for their body shape, depth and weight as well as their wool type.

"They're both just heavy cutting rams on great frames," he said.

Nutrien stud stock auctioneer Gordon Wood said the clearance was a strong result for a debut sale.

"The rams presented as big, robust, square-bodied sheep with a heap of fibre on them," he said.

Mr Wood said the majority of buyers had followed the sheep from the Bradfield program, providing an important foundation for Carunna Vale's future.

The sale was ran by Nutrien in conjunction with Elders, with Mr Wood the auctioneer.