Merino and Dohne breeders looking to increase their wool clip were attracted to the Airlie ram sale at the Uralla Showgrounds on Thursday where the offering peaked at $1700.
Stud principals Murray and Michelle Power presented a reduced 52 ram offering to a gallery of repeat and new buyers who helped sell 32 for a $1106 average.
Having attracted 16 registered buyers compared to 40 the year before, Mr Power was still pleased with the result and the future of the ram market.
"I've had 10 or 12 clients ring me yesterday and today and they are all saying they are not out of the ram market but are just waiting for one more fall of rain," he said.
"If they get one more fall of rain they will probably be down to buy grade rams."
The rams were two kilograms heavier than last year's drop with an average bodyweight of 88.2 kilograms and were prepared on a winter oats crop before moving onto feeders with barley hay and a barley diet in the last six weeks.
Their sale preparations were also interrupted by a welcome 127 millimetres of rain in the fortnight prior.
The $1700 top price ram, Y304, found a home with repeat buyers Lachlan and Tammy Sanderson, Balnagowan, Guyra, as part of a draft of six averaging $1216.
Having reduced their Merino flock from 2500 to about 1500, the duo were looking to get more size and a heavier cut in their sheep of a superfine background.
Their top price purchase was an outlier with a 17.2 micron fleece, 3.0 standard deviation, 17.6 per cent co-efficient variation, comfort factor of 100pc, greasy fleece weight of 110% and yield of 100pc.
But the son of Yarrawonga 961, who himself weighed 102 kilograms at 11 months, was a perfect example of what the couple were looking to breed.
"He has still got the size and he has got the frame; he is probably where we would like to go," Mr Sanderson said
"I understand to get where we need to be with him we have got to go bigger and come back to that. We are probably buying what we are trying to get.
"Our clip is usually 17 to 17.5 micron so I'm happy enough to get anything up to 18 micron but if you can get them cutting that 17 I'd be happy with that."
A new ram buyer on the day was Dohne breeder Graig Stoddart, Springvale, Delungra.
Running 650 ewes, back from the usual 1050, he secured three rams averaging $1166 as an experiment.
The polled rams will be joined over younger lighter cutting ewes.
"I'm putting polly merinos over them to increase the wool cut; keep the body, keep the weight and just increase the wool cut," he said.
"The last couple of shearings I've been wanting to cut more wool.
"I think it will probably blend into more of a cross breeding program because I'm not unhappy with the Dohnes, but I'm not adverse to doing a very tidy crossbreeding program, heading towards a multipurpose sheep."
Also taking home a solid draft was Belcon Pastoral Company, Ashford, with five rams averaging $1000.
The sale was conducted by Schute Bell Badgery Lumby and Australian Wool Network with Graham Andrews of Schute Bell undertaking the auctioneering.
Read the full report in next week's edition of The Land.
Lucy Kinbacher
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
