Poll Merino and Merino rams with high index figures which support a strong constitution and fleece weight were eagerly sought by a loyal clientele at the 10th annual on-property ram sale for Mick and Jane Corkhill, Grassy Creek Merinos, Reids Flat, when they presented 168 rams for sale.
A top price of $21,000 was achived along with an average price of $3772 for the 163 rams sold.
The top priced ram was bought by longstanding clients, Kullingrah Pastoral Co., Frogmore, for an AI son of Glenlea Park Poll 170382.
Pete Campbell, partner in Kullingrah Pastoral Co, noted the supreme fleece quality on a sound body were a standout for he and his sister-in-law Jane in deciding their purchase, a PP poll.
"He is very even in the crimp right through his fleece," Mr Campbell said.
"He is a good all-rounder with balance and a solid set of ASBV figures to back his productivity potential."
Mr Campbell was referring to a micron of 17.8, 2.8 standard deviation (SD), and 99pc comfort factor (CF) while his yearling clean fleece weight (YCFW) of 38.1 was in the top one percent, and his Fibre Production Plus Index (FP+) of 152 was in the top ten pc and Merino Production Plus (MP+) of 178 and Dual Purpose Plus (DP+) of 180 were in the top five percent.
He is a good all-rounder with balance and a solid set of ASBV figures to back his productivity potential
- Pete Campbell, Kullingrah Pastoral Co., Frogmore
Second top price at $11,000 was paid by Max and Zoe Giles, Binalong, for a ram they considered a true dual-purpose sire with 'excellent all-round stats."
Mrs Giles noted their new sire was the "pick of the Grassy Creek draft."
"He has lovely soft wool with deep crimp, excellent body weight and those dual purpose traits backed by his figures are what we are looking for."
Mrs Giles was referring to the 17.8 micron, 3.7 SD and 99.1pc CF fleece measurements while his Australian Estimated Breeding Values ASBV's showed 28.3 YCFW (top ten pc) 10.5 yearling weight (YWT), 162 FP+ and 176 MP+ (both in the top ten pc) and 174 DP+ (top 20pc).
Third top priced ram at $9500 was purchased by Goorama Pty Ltd, Galong.
Mick Corkhill described the AI son of Glenlea Park Poll 170382 as having 'extra growth' along with a heavy fleece.
"He is a magnificent woolled sheep, with a strong date set," he said.
"We have the first AI sheep from the Glenlea Park Poll ram in NSW and they are seriously attracting a lot of interest for the purity of their wool on a very supple skin."
Opening the sale Mr Corkhill announced the private sale to Coryule Merino stud, Skipton, Victoria of another AI son of the Glenlea Park Poll ram.
"We think the GP ram is an amazing sire and his son is an exception poll ram weighing 112kg while still with his lambs teeth," he said.
The Coryule purchase has an impeccable pedigree being out of daughter of Tallawong 280, one of the best performing dams in the Grassy Creek stud.
"He has very good structure, with sound feet and legs and a tremendous neck extension," Mr Corkhill went on to further describe the sold ram.
"He has a soft pure muzzle with no pigment and a very clean dry poll.
"He is a 'perfectly balanced' ram with 10/10 for wool quality throughout the whole fleece."
His tests for the Bendigo ram sale which was cancelled indicated 16.1 micron, 2.9 SD and 99.8pc CF.
The Valley Vista Poll Merino stud, Culcairn, purchased an exciting new sire with fantastic fleece and conformation for $7500: while volume buyers included Willow Bend Station, Boorowa, who bought 16 rams for $2574 average and Frombay Pty Ltd, Breadalbane who selected eight new sires for $3000 average price.
The sale was settled by Nutrien, Boorowa, in association with Elders, and Rick Power and Tim Woodham conducted the bidding which was supported by Elite Livestock Auctions.
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