There was a major turnaround in fortunes for the Clothier family's Woolumbool stud at their 38th annual on-property ram sale held at Woolumbool, near Lucindale.
Last year, they struggled with clearance with 60 rams passed in, but this year notched up nearly a total clearance and more than $400 lift in average.
Overall,`198 of 205 White Suffolk, Poll Dorset and Multi-meat rams averaged an impressive $1651.
The catalogue featured many rams ranking in the top one to ten per cent among terminal sires nationally on Lambplan across a range of traits and indexes.
Several new commercial buyers from as far afield as NSW and WA were prepared to pay for this high performance.
There was a total clearance of 100 White Suffolks for a $1639 average and a surprising high of $9500 - just $1000 shy of the stud's on-property record.
After an opening bid of $1600, the lot 59 ram, Woolumbool 244197, which was midway through the first draft of White Suffolks, rocketed to the sale high.
Mark and Angas Richardson, Boothby Downs, Culburra, were pushed all the way to $9500 for the son of Ashmore 230099 by underbidder Majardah stud at Glencoe.
The Richardsons were looking for an impact ram as their foundation stud sire. They are keen to register a stud later in the year after breeding rams for their own use for years.
"We have got 60 or 70 (stud) ewes at home and we will probably add a few more," Mark said.
He said they were attracted to the balance of figures accompanying the ram, particularly being in the top 1pc for lamb eating quality at 174.47 and top 5pc for post-weaning weight at 20.16.
"He had good growth and moderate adult weight, I don't want my sheep getting too big," he said.
Two other White Suffolk rams also found stud duties with Michael and Julie Osborne, Ryeview stud, Millicent, taking home lot 42 and 46, both at $3000.
Commercial buyers were prepared to bid beyond $2000 in White Suffolk and Poll Dorset offerings, possibly on the strength of the lamb market.
Many of the 32 registered bidders had large orders, helping the clearance.
Well-known sheep consultant Jason Trompf bought 20 Poll Dorsets on behalf of new Woolumbool client Hewitt Agribusiness, Darlington Point, NSW, for a $1685 average.
He also bought ten top-end White Suffolks for Garvald Vale, Hamilton, Vic, for a $1750 average.
There were still rams for all budgets with Moorhouse Pty Ltd, Bool Lagoon, buying 11 Poll Dorsets, nine of which were at $1200.
Austral Park Merinos, Tarrenlea, Vic, was the sale's volume buyer but also found good value.
They filled their buying card with 20 White Suffolks from $1000 to $1400 and ten Poll Dorsets at $1000 to $1200.
The Multi-Meats, bred for high fecundity, also attracted a couple of first-time buyers, including Glenkeith Grazing, Borderdale, WA, who secured lot 194, one of the $2400 highest-priced lots.
The other $2400 ram sold to Peel Pastoral, Wrattonbully, one of four Multimeats they bought.
In a sell-out out, all 16 Multi-meats averaged $1800.
The sale's only passed in lots were in the Poll Dorsets where 82 of 89 rams topped at $3200 and averaged $1617.
In comparison in 2024, 64 of 90 Poll Dorsets averaged just $1153.
This year's highest-priced Dorset, lot 8 sold to RJ Williams, Lochaber, for $3200.
Stud principal Aaron Clothier attributed the strength of the sale to buoyant lamb prices and the confidence in the season.
He said it was great to see new interest in their stud, as well as welcoming back some of their long-established bulk buyers.
"We are over the moon," he said.
"Four days ago, I was very nervous, but as it got closer and closer, I got a feeling that there was demand out there and it could be a goer and it was."
Nutrien SA stud stock manager Gordon Wood said it was a fantastic sale with a few new buyers from the east.
"They put a floor in the sale which pushed a lot of the other buyers up a peg or two in their budget," he said.
He said it was great to see Aaron and Sally and the family rewarded for their efforts.
"They have had a bit of a tough run clearing the sheep in the last few years," Mr Wood said.
"It is great that people are recognising what they are doing, they put in a mammoth amount of work collecting data, particularly in worm egg counts.
"That is particularly hard in sheep because you have to let them get down to where they can collect eggs."
Elders stud stock's Tony Wetherall, who was the other auctioneer, commended the Clothiers for the evenness of type and quality of the rams.
"You are buying genetics that are going to perform, the data you can't jump over and you are going to get lambs on the ground, growth into those lambs and away to a market before you know," he said.
Nutrien and Elders were joint selling agents.
Story Courtesy of Catherine Miller, Stock Journal
https://www.stockjournal.com.au/story/9079743/woolumbool-ram-sale-sees-remarkable-success-and-near-sell-out/?msg=login