MERINO rams reigned supreme over the polls and Dohnes at the Nareeb Nareeb stud sale near Glenthompson, Victoria, today.
Selling agents Elders sold 42 of the 45 Merino rams offered for stud principals Richard and Sally Beggs, averaging $1144, and making up to $3200 for a ram bought by Minjah wool grower David Keillor.
The 13 poll Merino rams sold of 15 offered averaged $769 and made to $1300. Only 26 of the 47 Dohne rams sold, to a top price of $1000 and an average of $769.
In the 2011 sale, 58 Merino rams made to $2500 and averaged $1241, 47 Dohnes sold to $2000, averaging $881 and the Poll rams sold to $2500.
Mr Beggs said the $3200 ram was one of three specially selected sires he offered for the first time.
Mr Keillor's Arcadian agent Fraser McKenzie also paid $2000 for another specially selected ram to go over the grower's Barrama-Nareeb blood ewes.
Mr Beggs said despite the sale result he had strong demand for Merino and Dohne rams this year and expected to sell larger numbers of grade rams after the sale.
He attributed this to the strengthening wool market, struggling mutton and lamb prices, and increasing use of Dohne rams to produce a maternal ewe with better wool quality at less cost than buying in first cross ewe replacements.
His clients were using Dohnes over composite ewes to improve wool quality and over Merinos instead of Border Leicester rams.
Mr McKenzie said wool growers were buying more Merino rams to rebuild their Merino ewe numbers and only joining old ewes to terminal sires
Source: weeklytimesnow.com.au
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