A superfine tradition at Mudgee Merino event

This year's show and sale will be held across two days, on Sunday, January 9, and Monday, January 10, at the Mudgee Showgrounds, with 45 stud and specially selected rams on offer.

The show will be held from 2pm on the Sunday, while the sale will kick off at 11am on the Monday.

Sale committee president Max Rayner, Grathlyn Merinos, Hargraves, said the studs which bought rams to the event always had a lovely selection on offer.

Mr Rayner said vendors saved their sheep with the best wool for the Mudgee sale.

"It gives produces the chance to see a number of rams in the one place, and they don't have to drive so far to look at them all," he said.

This will be the 58th annual sale held in Mudgee, and Mr Rayner said it had always been one of the prem- ier Merino multi-vendor sales in NSW.

"As superfine wool has wained it has fallen away a bit, but the studs still bring some of their best rams to the sale," he said.

"For those into superfine wool it's the place to be."

Mr Rayner said considering the quality of the rams on offer, they were well priced for those wishing to secure top genetics, which could be used in both stud and commercial operations.

He said there were a number of reasons why there was still interest in superfine wool in the Mudgee district.

"In many areas, especially south of Mudgee, you don't have a lot of options of what you can run," he said.

"The country just lends itself to superfine wool."

The show component of the event was introduced about 24 years ago, when growing superfine wool became fashionable according to Mr Rayner, and has continued since.

This year the judge will be successful Merino breeder and joint 2013 NSW Farmer of the Year Matthew Coddington, Roseville Park Merinos, Dubbo.

There are nine studs set to offer rams at the event, which will travel from the South West Slopes, Central West, New England and the Southern and Central Tablelands.

Demondrille Merinos will make the trek from Harden, while Merryville Merinos, Boorowa, and Walwa Merinos, Gurrundah, will represent the Southern Tablelands.

Maybrook Merinos will bring rams from Narromine, while Shalimar Park Merinos will travel to the sale from Walcha.

Local vendors include Bocoble Merinos, Mudgee; Glanna Merinos, Gulgong; Grathlyn Merinos, Hargraves, and Pomanara Merinos, Sallys Flat.

Mr Rayner said these studs had all offered rams at the sale in previous years.

In fact Merryville, Bocoble and Grathlyn have never missed a sale at Mudgee, according to Mr Rayner.

Last year's sale saw 34 rams of the 49 offered sold to a top of $6750 and averaged $2163, which reinforced Mr Rayner's comments about the value for money offered at the sale considering the quality of the rams.

The top sire last year was selected by David and Jess Grills, Guyra, from the Davis family's Demondrille Merinos, Harden.

The ram, described by Mr Grills as having outstanding wool quality, was by Uniform Snowy 7289 and tested at 15.5-micron.