GENTLE rain welcomed buyers to the annual Waverley Downs Merino Stud sale on Saturday afternoon and helped inspire a near-perfect clearance rate.
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A total of 19 registered bidders gathered at the Delungra on-property sale and snapped up 53 of the 60 rams at an average of $1428, which was up on the 2020 clearance of 33 out of 53 rams.
The average bettered the stud's 2020 auction average of $1097 but fell short of the 2019 average of $1559.
Conducted by Australian Wool Network (AWN) and Schute Bell Livestock, the sale began at a steady pace as AWN's John Croake had the auctioneering duties.
Mr Croake was made to wait until after the half-way mark of the sale for the top-priced ram to be purchased by Ford End Pastoral Company, Delungra for $2800.
The 17-month-old ram (tag 14), weighed 88kg, boasted a greasy fleece weight of 114 per cent, had a fibre diameter of 19.4 micron, standard deviation of 2.8 micron, a co-efficient variation of 14.6 and a comfort factor of 99.9pc.
Ford End Pastoral are regular buyers at Waverley Downs, having last bought the top selling ram in 2018 for $3800.
The operation also topped the recent Kurrajong Park Merino Stud sale on January 25, paying $2200 for the top-priced ram.
Ford End Pastoral's Phil Taylor said the family-run operation continued to come back to Waverley Downs because of the quality of the rams.
"Not living too far away, we know these rams are bred to suit our conditions really well," Mr Taylor said.
"They're going to go with the rams we bought at Kurrajong Park last month.
"We've got 500 maiden ewes and the two rams we bought at Kurrajong Park weren't going to be enough so we came back here."
Ford End Pastoral was among the day's most prolific buyers, taking home four rams at an average of $2150.
Other prolific buyers included Borah Creek Pastoral Company, Manilla, which purchased six rams at an average of $866, the Easy family of Malino, Bundurra, which purchased six rams at an average of $1416 and Matthew Martel of Woodstock, Uralla, who purchased five rams at an average of $1275.
However, the sale's busiest buyer was the Turner family of Lauriston, Inverell, which took home 12 rams at an average of $1491.
Buying on behalf of Lauriston principal Norman Turner was his granddaughter Emma Turner and Lauriston overseer Michael Biddle, who said it was the operation's first time buying at Waverley Downs.
"We only came to get 10 but the quality was so high and the opportunity was there so we ended up with 12," Mr Biddle said.
"Usually, we join about 4000 ewes and we're just trying to brighten the wool up in the Merinos, we're not too worried about the micron side of it, we're just trying to get it whiter and a little bit more wool on them.
"We're confident in the sheep market and in the Marino base, so we're quite happy to keep breeding with the Merinos.
"We also purchased some rams at Nerstane on January 29, so they will be joined separately and we will just keep an eye on the progeny."
Waverley Downs principal Sean Ballinger said he was delighted with the results of Saturday's sale.
"We were very happy with that and to get nearly a full clearance was really pleasing," Mr Ballinger said.
"It was good to see the guys from Ford End come back and top the sale again, they know their sheep and it's really pleasing to know they like what we have to offer.
"The top seller really fit the bill in all aspects, body, shape, well marked wool that really stood out when you opened it up, so he was a standout."
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
