Prominent buyers at the sale included Geoff and Leigh Clothier, Lucindale, Gordon and Peter Last, Byaduk, Alec Ross, Lucindale, and Graham Clothier, Lucindale. Together they bought 43 rams - 23 per cent of the offering.
THE stands were nearly back to having the 'fully occupied' sign at the 26th annual Woolumbool Poll Dorset and White Suffolk sale on October 2.
The paddock-reared rams had outstanding early maturity and displayed good muscling and breed type.
The 41 registered, repeat and new bidders were keen to secure some of the leading genetics despite the 'October winter' the day before and on sale day.
Woolumbool principals Phil and Sharon Clothier have regularly performance-tested rams since the inception of their stud 27 years ago.
Stud buyer demand was limited, in line with most sales this year, but one who made the most of the opportunity was Steve Funke, Bundara Downs, Bordertown.
He bought the second of the 10 elite White Suffolk rams offered, W127658, for $4100. This powerhouse ram had figures to match, including 16.3 for post weaning weight, -0.4 for fat and +2.0 for eye muscle depth, culminating in a Carcase Plus index of 205 and a Trade$ index of 113.
John Keilor, Cashmore Park, buying through Elders Hamilton, paid $2200 for W127890, which had performance to match the sale topper.
The ten elite White Suffolks averaged $1890 while four Poll Dorset elite rams could only make a $1300 top, and averaged $1250.
The first run of 39 Poll Dorset flock rams met strong competition but operated within a relatively tight budget, topping at $1400 and averaging $1085.
The 39 White Suffolk flock rams that followed met even stronger bidding, topping at $2000 and averaging $1115.
When the first ram in the second run of 49 Poll Dorsets was passed and three of the first 15 failed to sell, it seemed last year's disappointing sale results would be repeated, but competition fired up again. This run saw 46 sell to $1400, and average $793.
The final run of 46 White Suffolks sold to a $1600 top and $1015 average.
The 85 White Suffolk flock rams sold to a $1063 average while 85 of 88 Poll Dorsets averaged $927.
Buying support came from a group of repeat clients, plus some new buyers, mainly from Vic regions.
Courtesy of Ian Turner, The Stock Journal