Growth, muscle, fat and weaning rate were the focus of buyers at the 14th New Armatree Border Leicester on-property sale, at Armatree, where rams topped at $7200.
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All up, 100 sold from 110 offered averaged $3168, with four finding new homes with stud buyers.
The $7200 sale topper, New Armatree 178, was one of two rams bought by Alison Kensit, Dunnedoo, to average $4500.
The top lot had a mature weaning weight figure of 1.1, post weaning weight figure of 7.4, post weaning fat figure of 1.4 and post weaning eye muscle depth of 2.0.
Marc, Ian and Jack Griffiths, Green Camp, Nyngan, arrived at the sale looking for 20 new rams and ended up going home with 25.
They topped at $2800 to average $2120 and have been buying at New Armatree for at least 10 years.
They join about 2000 Merino ewes to Border Leicesters and another 2600 to Merinos.
They look for rams of a good visual type, and with good figures, and have a repeat buyer for their first-cross ewes while their wethers are sold either over the hook or through the saleyards - which ever is bes at the time.
"We just sell there straight out of the paddock. We don't have to do anything with them (and) they weigh heavier than you'd expect," Marc said.
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Other volume buyers included David Grieg, Tottenham, who also bought to top-priced flock ram at $7000.
His draft included five rams to average $3760, the top ram having figures of 1.5 PFAT, 1.8 PEMD and a 137.7 Border Leicester Index figure.
Kent Lummis, Curban, bought four to a top of $3000 to average $2700; Nick Forbes, Hazeldean, Cooma, bought four to a top of $4400 to average $3950; David Turnbull, Bourke, bought 13 to top at $6200 to average $3108, and Kevin Norrie, Jemalong, through Jemalong Wool, bought six to a $6200 top to average $5867.
Stud buyers were also among the bidders, with Be Dean Border Leicesters, Meredith, Vic, paid $5000 for New Armatree 237, and Martin O'Sullivan, Baynton stud, Baynton, Vic, also bought New Armatree 256 for $5600.
Craig Bradley, who runs the New Armatree stud with wife Jenny, said they pleased with the sale result and satisfied to see "people are looking to buy sheep with sound ASBVs (Australian Sheep Breeding Values) focused on production traits".
He said one producer in particular had also requested to view the intramuscular fat and shear force figures this year, too, and so those figures would also be included in next year's catalogue.
"It's certainly coming to the fore with the Gundagai abattoir paying a premium up to 50c/kg," he said.
The sale was handled by Hallcroft and Bennett, with Steve Colwell, Hallcroft and Bennett, Gulargambone, and Matt Prentice, Elders Coonamble, as auctioneers.
