POLL Merinos were in hot demand yesterday at the annual Brundanella Merino and Poll Merino on-property sale held at Victoria Park, Grenfell, with rams reaching a top of $10,000 at auction.
With two rams secured by interstate stud buyers, vendor Ian Griffith said it was the best sale yet with a “big swing in demand towards the Pollies”.
“Our recent success in the show ring have been great publicity,” Mr Griffith said.
This was backed up by Landmark auctioneer Rick Power’s opening comments that “it had been a wonderful year in the show ring for the Brundanella stud, and as mentioned in the catalogue ‘two outa three ain’t bad’”.
By the end of the day, the Griffith family sold all but one of the 60 rams offered for an average of $2253.
Sheep classer Michael Elmes from Smart Stock at Narranderra, purchased the $10,000 top-priced ram on behalf of new buyers Boughen Brothers from Kamora Netley Park stud, Karoonda, South Australia.
Brundanella 17-0093 was the sale topper sired by the Moorundie PB201 ram who was the $30,000 second top-priced ram at the 2015 Adelaide Ram Sale, purchased in syndicate by the Brundanella, Kamora Netley Park and Pemcaw studs.
The 17-0093 ram was 18.3 in the micron with a standard deviation (SD) of 2.8 and comfort factor (CF) of 99.5pc. It had a body weight percentage (BWT) of 94.5pc, eye muscle depth (EMD) of 36 millimetres and fat scan of 4.5mm.
Mr Elmes said the ram was selected due to its bloodlines, richness of wool and loose supple skin.
Brundanella 17-006, a replacement ram in the offering, sold for the second top price of $7000 to Rod Hardie from Tallimba.
Also sired by the PB201 ram, it was 19.1 in the micron, 2.6 SD, 99.8pc CF and had a BWT of 101.1pc, an EMD of 35.5mm and fat scans of 4mm.
To top off a great auction for the Griffith family, a display ram was sold privately for $15,000 to first-time buyers Paul, Eileen and Felicity Brady from Stavely Park Merinos, Stavely, Victoria.
The private sale ram was Brundanella 17-002 sired by the Brundanella 14-002 ram, more commonly known as “Big Al”, who was the 2016 supreme Poll Merino exhibit at the Great Southern Supreme Merino show at Canberra and the grand champion fine/medium Poll Merino ram at Sydney Royal in the same year.
Felicity Brady said they knew the grandfather of the ram from One Oak Poll Merinos, Narrandera, and were impressed by the ram’s father “Big Al”.
“The family breeds true to type,” Ms Brady said.
Previously being held under the Helmsman system, this year the sale changed with Landmark conducting the sale and the auctioneering duties shared between Rick Power, Boorowa, and Tim Woodham, Wagga Wagga.