Last Bell rings at Poll Boonoke and Wanganella as stud brings in new era

The Bell family went out on a high note at Wanganella and Poll Boonoke with new owners set to take on the historic Merino operation.

There was a total clearance in the sale, held on-property at Conargo on Wednesday, September 15, with 200 rams sold to a top-price of $22,000 and for an average of $4373, with the top rams all bound for stud duties.

In the breakdown, 150 Poll Boonoke Poll Merino rams sold to the $20,000 top and for an average of $4307, while 50 Wanganella Merino rams sold to a top of $12,000 to average $4570, to buyers from NSW, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania.

It was the final ram sale held under the ownership of the Bell family's Australian Food and Agriculture, with Ian and Camilla Shippen, Banyandah Pastoral, Moulamein, to officially take on the Deniliquin aggregation in October, which includes the studs.

Andrew Bell opened the sale on behalf of the family.

"After 26 years this is the last auction the existing owners will present, which is coinciding with very exciting times and fabulous prices for wool, protein and mutton," he said.

The top-priced ram was Poll Boonoke 251176, which sold for $22,000 to repeat buyers Haddon Rig Pty Ltd, Warren.

The 112.5kg PP ram, sired by RP171133, was 17.8 micron with 2.6 micron standard deviation, 14.7 per cent coefficient of variation and a comfort factor of 99.8pc.

He scanned an eye muscle depth (EMD) of 42.5mm and fat of 6mm.

The ram recorded Australian Sheep Breeding Values of -3.21 for yearling fibre diameter (YFD).

Haddon Rig stud classer Stuart Murdoch said they admired the ram for his good confirmation and heavy cutting wool.

"He's a good medium-fine ram with scale," he said.

Mr Murdoch said the ram would go into the stud's AI program and be used for paddock joinings.

He said Haddon Rig joined about 3500 Poll Merino ewes with a focus on "quality wool on early maturing Merinos", averaging 19.5 micron across the flock.

The second top-priced ram was Poll Boonoke 251170, which sold for $16,000 to Roger Fiebig, Hilton Heath Merino stud, Sanderston, South Australia.

The 116.5kg PP ram, sired by RP171133, was 20.8 micron with 2.5 micron SD, 12.2pc CV and 99.7 CF.

He scanned an EMD of 44mm and 7.5mm fat.

The ram had ASBVs of +37.90 for yearling clean fleece weight (YCFW), +28.30 for adult clean fleece weight (ACFW) and +193.22 on the wool production (WP) index.

Mr Fiebig, who was the underbidder on the top-priced ram, also purchased PB250153 for $12,000.

The 122.5kg PP ram, sired by PB200780, was 18.6 micron with 2.5 micron SD, 13.6 CV and 99.6 CF.

He scanned an EMD of 43.5mm and 7.5mm fat.

Mr Fiebig said they were both "magnificent" rams.

"They're fine in micron with bold wool and big-boned animals," he said.

Mr Fiebig said both rams would go into their stud operation where they ran 1000 stud ewes at Sanderston and another 1000 at Keith, selling about 150 rams a year and cutting an average of 19-micron wool.

He said they had been buying rams from Poll Boonoke for almost 30 years with the heavy-boned sheep an attraction, along with the "beautiful white wool".

Another notable sale to stud interest was Poll Boonoke 250432, which sold for $10,000 to Kiawarra Pastoral, Weethalle.

The 117kg PP ram, by PB211136, was 19.4 micron with 2.8 micron SD, 14.5CV and 99.8CF.

He scanned 37.5mm EMD and 6.0mm fat.

The ram had ASBVs of +37.38 for YCFW and +33.86 for ACFW.

Buyer Alex Karsten, Kiawarra Merino stud, said he admired the ram for his wool and big barrel.

"His crimp definition suits our country," he said.

Mr Karsten said the ram would go into the stud operation where they run 400 stud Merino and 400 stud Poll Merino ewes.

He said they had been buying the horned Wanganella rams for about 15 to 20 years, but started on the Poll Boonoke rams since 2022.

"We've been focusing on the Polls - that has been where the demand is," he said.

In the Wanganella draft, the top-priced ram was W250595, which sold for $12,000 to Woodpark Pastoral, Jerilderie.

The 166kg ram was 18.5 micron with 3.3 micron SD, 17.9pc CV and 99.4pc CF.

Buyer Owen Huggins, Woodpark, said he admired the ram for his "soft lustrous wool, big lock and big staple".

"He'll produce some nice sheep for us going forward," he said.

Mr Huggins said they had a long history with the stud, buying Wanganella rams for almost 40 years.

He said Woodpark had been selling Merino rams for 120 years and ran 1200 stud ewes, aiming to breed balanced sheep with high quality wool, and are also focused on high fertility.

Their flock averages 18 micron.

Volume buyers included Griffiths Pastoral, Nyngan, which purchased 17 rams to average $2706.

SG and JH McLeod, took home 16 rams to average $4281; Q and C Ag Trust, Ganmain, bought 11 rams to average $3864 and JW and AJ Caldwell, Young, purchased nine rams to average $3722.

Wanganella and Poll Boonoke stud manager Justin Campbell said it was an "overwhelming" result.

He said buyers were after the good, soft handling, nourished wools.

"Our sheep are dual purpose, all very square on their feet, balanced, and fill wool bales, and you need to be filling wool bales," he said.

Mr Campbell said there was plenty of buying confidence with high wool and lamb prices.

"It was the final sale for the Bells, so it was good to finish them off on a high note," he said.

The sale was conducted by Nutrien Ag Solutions and Elders with Nutrien's Rick Power and Matthew Campion sharing the rostrum with Nick Gray, Elders.

StockLive provided the online interface.