$19,500 for Merino ram
A ONE Oak Merino ram sold for $19,500 at Hamilton's Sheepvention sale today.
It underpins studmaster Graham Wells' decision to offer some top sheep from his embryo transfer program for the first time.
"It's the best price I've ever had at Hamilton," the Jerilderie-based studmaster said after Landmark auctioneer Peter Godbolt knocked the ram down to Landmark's Kevin Beaton for Glenthompson's Nareeb Nareeb stud.
The ram was one of a group of five sold by One Oak in the sale for an average of $7300, the stud's best average yet at Hamilton.
Interest was strong for the 383 rams offered, with 342 selling for an average of $2488.
Mr Wells said four of his pen of five rams were by Roseville Park 14, including the top-priced 14-month-old 18.4 micron sire, Lot 271, that was out of the top stud ewe One Oak 2.
"This is the first time I have been prepared to offer my top ET rams in a sale and I've got some rams going to Adelaide as well, all out of the ET program.
"It is the first time I have offered that quality of sheep and I was so pleased to see that the industry supported that decision."
Nareeb Nareeb studmaster Richards Beggs said of the Roseville Park-sired rams he had seen in recent years Lot 271 had the best mix of the frame and bone of One Oak coupled in with Roseville Park's wool.
"He is the complete package, he has got it all," he said.
Other top-priced rams in the joint Elders and Landmark-run sale included Glenlea Park's Lot 191, a 15-month-old 19.6 micron ram that sold to Landmark Albury wool agent David Johnson for his client Len Mathews of the Bulgandri Merino Stud at Rand, in NSW.
Langdene sold their Lot 321 to a Roberts Tasmania client Trefusis and the Bogo stud sold their Lot 316 for $10,000
Source: weeklytimesnow.com.au