Interest in fertile, easy-care sheep was the main attraction at Parkdale SRS Poll Merinos on-property sale at Dubbo on Tuesday, where rams were sold as far afield as South Australia.
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All up, 116 rams were sold from 118 offered to average $2758.
The equal top-priced rams, Parkdale 210682 and 211028 sold for $6000 and were purchased by Heath Eslick and George Crouch, Waverley Station, Gundy.
"The Parkdale program appealed to us. We are new to the soft rolling skin genetics and we have faith in their system," said Mr Eslick.
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"The Parkdale breeding program is something we would like to achieve ourselves," he added.
Waverley Station runs a commercial flock with a focus on dual purpose genetics.
"The first few lots really appealed to us. We are trying to cover most bases including wool and carcase traits," said Mr Eslick.
"Lot 2 (Parkdale 210682) had the biggest appeal to us. Carcase traits, good staple and a twin. We aim to get twins on the ground and he was probably the pick of the day for us."
Waverly Station's flock was also established on Parkdale ewes and has been established with the support and guidance of the Mudford family.
"The Mudford family have been very supportive of what we are trying to achieve. We are getting back into sheep and Parkdale is the place to come," Mr Crouch said.
In total, Waverley Station purchased 11 rams, which averaged $4455.
Volume buyers included Cuttaburra Pastoral Company, Bourke, which bought 20 rams to average $2100.
There were also seven short-tail rams offered, which all sold to a $3000 top and $2229 average.
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Parkdale co-principal, Don Mudford, was extremely pleased with the sale.
"Fantastic result. I am very pleased to see existing buyers and new faces," Mr Mudford said.
He said DNA testing had also led to new traits being used for selection.
"At Parkdale we have 20,000 sheep and we do not use preventative chemical. We haven't mulesed for 19 years and our blowfly control is the skin structure," Mr Mudford said.
"Intramuscular fat (IMF) is coming to the forefront at the moment as it impacts eating quality.
"We hadn't selected for IMF in the past, but we have good figures coming out of the animals we already have. I think that's were we need to be targeting and it is something we will certainly be using as a selection criteria going forward."
Auctioneer, Jason Hartin, Hartin Schute Bell, it was a successful sale.
"The rams stood up extremely well under these conditions. There was a big crowd with new faces and regular repeat buyers," he said.
The sale was conducted by Hartin Schute Bell, with Jason Hartin as auctioneer.
