Macquarie Dohne stud breaks on-property price and sale average records

An 'exceptional' ram combining elite wool and quality carcase traits set a new on-property record at the 23rd annual Macquarie Dohne production sale on Wednesday, September 23.

Held at Carinya, near Ballimore, the sale delivered an outstanding result, with all 165 lots selling under the hammer to a full clearance and an average of $3842, up $885 on last year, with a sale high of $21,000.

Strong competition for the unhoused rams came from long-term repeat clients and several new buyers, with spirited online bidding through AuctionsPlus adding further depth to the buying base.

There were 52 registered buyers in total with 72 people attending the sale and 41 online.

Rams headed to Tasmania, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and across NSW, with plenty of support from the Walgett area. A bidder from Argentina also registered for the sale.

The Perry family from Wyndabyne, Marthaguy, paid the record price for lot one in the catalogue, MD241852.

A son of MD228076, out of MD228044, the April 2024-drop ram had an 18-micron fleece with a 17.9 per cent coefficient of variation and 99.7pc comfort factor. Carcase scanning recorded an eye muscle area of 38 square centimetres and fat depth of four millimetres.

Bred from the proven Wardry sire line, his grandsire, MD162966, was one of the top-performing sires in the Coonong Dohne Sire Evaluation trial.

Stephen Perry said the $21,000 ram immediately stood out for his wool quality and carcase traits, when seeing him for the first time on sale day.

"He was an exceptionally good Dohne ram and had an elite wool type that we're aiming to continue to produce in our breeding program," Mr Perry said.

"He has also got a really good carcase shape with plenty of depth. He's not overly large, but too many sheep these days have too much daylight under them. He's a very deep, wide and thick ram.

"I couldn't be happier with him, he's ideal for what we're trying to achieve."

The Perry family has been buying Dohne rams from Macquarie for about 25 years, with the $21,000 ram joining a specially-selected flock of 200 Dohne ewes to produce rams for their 2400-head commercial ewe operation. They also bought lot 2 for $5000.

The family's flock is non-mulesed and has been accredited under the Responsible Wool Standard for more than 10 years.

Mr Perry said their wool, which averages about 19.5 micron, had returned a premium above the market in the past four years through Fox & Lillie Rural.

Long-standing Macquarie clients, David and Annie Berrell, Midgery, Walgett, bought the second- top-priced ram, MD253228, for $7000.

Sired by MD231335, the May 2025-drop ram, from the Olympus family, recorded one of the highest Dohne Plus indexes in the catalogue at 168.26.

The Berrells have predominantly used Empire and Wardry bloodlines through the years and were looking to introduce another family line into their flock.

The purchase follows the Berrell family's recent success in the Walgett Show Wether Trial, where their Midgery Dohne Merino Stud team won the Fletcher International Exporters Champion Team trophy for combined wool and carcase results.

Volume buyers were the O'Brien family, Brigalows Pastoral Co, Walgett, who took home 27 rams for an average price of $4296, while DP O'Brien from Walgett bought 19 rams to $6000, averaging $3868.

JG and SK Currey Partnership, Walgett, secured 11 rams paying to $5500 for an average of $4045; Coomalah Farming, Walgett, bought 10 rams to average $2250 and Woomera Pastoral Co, Gurley, took home eight rams, averaging $4000.

Other buyers included Clark Birch & Son, Cunnamulla, Qld, which bought eight rams to average $2312, while Rosscommon Farming, Mungindi, purchased seven rams, paying to $5000 for an average of $4071.

Macquarie stud principal John Nadin was thrilled with the result, particularly the return of long-term clients and the broad spread of buyers across five states.

"One of the most pleasing aspects was our return buyers, they're back every year, and we picked up five new buyers this year," Mr Nadin said.

"Rams went to five states, from Tasmania through to western Queensland, which is very pleasing to see and shows the sheep can handle a range of conditions, which is important to us.

"We're very happy with the sale. It's the highest price we've ever sold a ram for."

Nutrien Clemson Hiscox and Co, Walgett, conducted the sale, with Paul Dooley, Tamworth, as auctioneer. AuctionsPlus provided the online interface.