Rams sold to three states at the National SheepMaster ram sale

Of the 63 rams on offer from six studs, 26 rams sold to a top of $5000 to average $2173. A further 14 rams were sold after the sale.

The sale-topper Merton Downs 220082 was purchased by Bernadette Binnie and Richard Sharpe, Winton Park SheepMaster stud, Parkes, for $5000.

Sold by Merton Downs SheepMaster Parent stud, Merton, Victoria, the 24 month old ram was sired by Monarch and weighed 108 kilograms.

The ram had an eye muscle area (EMA) of 38 millimetres and a fat depth (FAT) of 7.5mm.

Winton Park SheepMaster stud co-principal Bernadette Binnie said she sought rams that would fit in well with their program but also reflected their future direction.

"We purchased the top-priced ram for his size, eye muscle area, skin and bone structure," she said.

"The base of our stud is out of 110 Wild Oat SheepMaster ewes and ten Parent stud rams which we purchased at the end of 2022. We want to continue updating our genetics as that is important to us.

"We run 600 head of SheepMasters at home as well as 500 head of Australian White and Dorper ewes.

"The SheepMaster rams are used over those to produce commercial lambs and we're finding that the wether lambs are turning out well but we're also getting some good females coming through."

Ms Binnie and Mr Sharpe also purchased Merton Downs 220833 for $1500.

Volume buyer Pip Smith, Eudora stud, Nyngan, purchased a draft of eight rams to average $2062.

Ms Smith's top-priced ram, Ferny Hill 118, was purchased from Ferny Hill SheepMaster stud, Gundagi, for $4000.

Son of Garnett Y061, the six-month-old ram weighed 68kg with an EMA of 32mm and FAT of 3.5mm.

Ms Smith, who has also recently started a SheepMaster stud, runs approximately 5000 head across two properties and has seen great results crossing the SheepMaster rams over her SAMM ewes.

"Our first lambs hit the ground about seven months ago and we're just so happy with them," she said.

"The fertility rate was just out of control with a lambing percentage of 156, we have lambs for days and they look amazing.

"I was seeking rams with deep bodies that were also structurally sound."

Ferny Hill SheepMaster stud sold seven out of the seven rams offered to a top-price of $4500 to average $2860.

Ferny Hill SheepMaster stud co-principal Aaron Nicholls said it was the stud's first sale and he was extremely happy with their result.

Winton Park SheepMaster, Parkes, stud sold two rams to a top-price of $2500.

PB and J Carter, Umagarlee, Wellington, purchased three rams to average $1500.

Elders, Dubbo, conducted the sale with Paul Dooley, Tamworth, as auctioneer. AuctionsPlus provided the online interface.

Other participating vendors included;