Queenlee Merinos held their annual on property sale at Uralla on Tuesday, selling 32 of 49 rams to average $1045 and top at $1700.
This quickly changed after the fall of the hammer with a further four rams selling, updating the results to 36 rams sold for an average of $1019.
It bettered their 2019 sale average of $964.
The second ram of the sale reached the top price, purchased by Cathy Hayne, Monterey, Manilla with assistance from AWN's John Croake.
The two-year-old ram sired by BAA 1 measured a fiber diameter of 16.2 micron, with 79.6 per cent yield, a standard deviation of 2.95pc and a comfort factor of 99.7.
The Hayne family breed superfine wool after selling off the last of the cattle due to the drought.
It was the first Queenlee ram purchase for Ms Hayne and her husband Bill, after they were impressed with the performance of Queenlee ewes they had purchased.
"(He is a) beautiful superfine ram, a great body structure, great wool and beautiful staple," she said
The Hayne family secured another ram for $1100 to complete their draft from the two tooth line up, tag 277, a Ringmaster 41 son with a fiber diameter of 13.8 micron and a comfort factor of 99.9.
Repeat volume buyer was Paul Mabbott, Rockvale Kentucky Pastoral Co, Kentucky purchasing 16 rams and a further three directly after the sale for a top of $1000 twice and average $893.
Mr Mabbott runs mostly Merinos but would normally breed about one third of his ewes to White Suffolks for the fat lamb market. But this year he will be joining all of his ewes to Merinos to replace his decreased flock numbers.
Rockvale runs a pure Queenlee flock having not introduced any other blood in more than two decades.
"They breed to the average which is why I like them," he said.
Queenlee was looking forward to the future with the purchase of three new rams, including the supreme champion from Mudgee.
The sale was conducted by Nutrien Ag solutions and Schute Bell with John Settree as auctioneer.
