LIVESTOCK
Farm Weekly Thursday, October 23, 2014
57
Westerdale hits $8500 top price
By JODIE RINTOUL
AS temperatures soared around
the State last Wednesday, so too
did the competition at the
Westerdale on-property ram sale
at McAlinden as buyers pushed
prices to a top of $8500 for an
upstanding Poll Merino sire.
With strong support from a
long list of return buyers and
new clients chasing the quality
“true blue” wools the stud is
renowned for, the sale was solid
from beginning to end.
When the final ram was
knocked down by guest
auctioneer Deane Allen, the
Jackson family had cleared all
132 rams offered at a strong
average of $1483.
In comparison to last year the
average was back $190 on the
same number of rams sold.
Mr Allen said it was a very
solid sale for the Jackson family
and reflected the excellent
quality of the sheep on offer.
“The team was very even
throughout and buyers could
purchase with confidence, which
is a credit to the Jacksons as it
shows their breeding is right on
track. They are breeding Poll
Merinos with a quality wool and
SALE SUMMARY
Offered: 132
Sold: 132
Top: $8500
Gross: $195,800
Average: $1483
a good frame which can go into
the high rainfall areas and
beyond,” he said.
“The top rams were well
supported, with a number of
studs bidding, but the best
indication of how the stud is
performing is to look at the
number of return buyers who
come back year-in and year-out
chasing the quality wools.
“The buyers want quality and
the Jacksons continue to deliver.
Landmark Boyup Brook
representative Adam Becker was
also happy with the result.
“It was an outstanding result
for an exceptional line-up of
rams,” he said.
“Repeat buyers were happy to
pay good money for the rams on
offer, as they know they are
getting the results from the
Westerdale blood sheep in the
paddock.
“The result shows Westerdale
❐ With the $7700 second top-priced ram at last week's Westerdale
on-property ram sale at McAlinden were Landmark Boyup Brook
representative Adam Becker (left), stud principal Peter Jackson and
buyers Danny and Chanyanit Hansberry, Orchid Valley.
❐ Prices topped at $8500 at the Westerdale on-property Poll Merino
ram sale at McAlinden last week when this ram sold to the Angenup
stud, Kojonup. With the ram were Landmark Boyup Brook
representative Adam Becker (left), Westerdale stud principal Peter
Jackson and buyers Gavin and Paul Norrish, Angenup stud.
sheep perform for the clients and
handle the high rainfall
conditions extremely well.”
With such an even line-up of
rams that you could throw a
blanket over in terms of quality,
it was easy to see why the sale
was strong throughout.
The sale got off to a flying
start with first run of 10 rams
averaging $3720 and included
three rams selling at $4000 or
more.
The flying start was set up
from the very first pen, when
bidding kicked off at $4000 on
the upstanding team leader, and
the price quickly rose before
only two determined buyers
were left in the race.
They went bid for bid, before
brothers Gavin and Paul
Norrish, Angenup stud,
Kojonup, who have successfully
used Westerdale genetics in the
past, landed the final blow and
secured the ram at $8500.
Gavin Norrish said they
bought from Westerdale some
years ago and were looking for a
new sire to continue the family
in the stud.
“We are wanting to add to our
Poll stud and breed more rams
due to the increasing demand for
them and we believe this ram
will help us work towards that,”
he said.
“He is a different bloodline to
what we had in the past from
Westerdale but believe it will fit
into our program extremely
well.
“He has great make and shape
and his size for his wool quality
is exceptional.
“He has a big, strong
masculine head.
“It really is a good all-round,
safe sheep.”
The AI-bred ram, which was
sired by a Grassy Creek ram,
had May wool figures of 17.8
micron, 3.2 SD, 18.2 CV and
99.9 per cent comfort factor.
Having purchased two rams
from the stud in the past and
achieving excellent results
Danny Hansberry, Orchid
Valley, was back at the sale this
year, chasing another top sire.
He found what he was
looking for in pen four, when a
heavy cutting, stylish-woolled
ram stood out from the pack.
❐ Continued on page 58
58
LIVESTOCK
Farm Weekly Thursday, October 23, 2014
❐ Continued from page 57
Mr Hansberry was challenged
in his bidding like the Norrish
brothers by other buyers who
saw the stand-out virtues the ram
possessed.
In the end he purchased the
ram at the sale’s $7700 second
top price.
Mr Hansberry said he was
impressed by the ram’s nice,
bright, stylish wool and its
cutting ability.
“He is very thick, wellcovered ram, which I believe
will cut a lot of wool,” he said.
The ram had May wool
figures of 18.3 micron, 3.4 SD,
18.3 CV and 99.9pc CF, while
its greasy fleece weight when
shorn was 5.1 kilograms, which
was 0.6kg above the average for
the group, highlighting it is
certain to cut a lot of wool.
Mr Hansberry will use the
ram in a nucleus flock of 150170 ewes to breed his own rams
to use over his ewe flock of
2500 ewes, which averages 19
micron and 5.5-6kg wool cut.
After buying from the stud for
more than a decade, DFD
Rhodes Pty Ltd manager
Michael Wright, Boyup Brook,
knows how the Westerdale rams
perform.
Mr Wright, with stockman
Tristan Mead, picked out a
selection of rams and were
determined to go home with
their first choices.
Not only did they purchase
the third top-priced ram at
$4700, the also went on to be
the sale’s volume buyer.
By the end of the sale the
Boyup Brook operation had
bought 25 sires at an average of
$2232, including another two
rams at $4000 or more.
DFD Rhodes will increase its
matings this year mating 7500
ewes to Merinos plus 4600
Merino ewes to White Suffolks,
due to the purchase of more
land.
Now in its third year of setting
up a nucleus flock to breed its
own rams, Mr Wright said they
were after top rams to use in the
480-head nucleus flock and
believe they found it in the
$4700 ram.
“I believe he was the best
woolled ram in the shed,” Mr
Wright said.
“He has a soft, really white,
well-nourished wool which has
a top style with crimp from top
to bottom.
“He really has the ‘true blue
wool’ which is a wool bred for
the high rainfall area.”
The ram will be used along
with another sire purchased at
the sale over the 150 hoggets in
the operations nucleus flock.
The $4700 second top-priced
ram had May wool figures of
17.6 micron, 3.4 SD, 19.1 CV
and 99.9pc CF.
After losing out on a number
of top-priced rams, return buyers
Roz and Phyllis Smith, Marlo
Farms, Gnowangerup, with the
assistance of Colin Kingston,
secured eight sires to a top of
$2300 twice and an average of
$1638.
❐ This ram sold for
the third top price of
$4700 at last week's
Westerdale onproperty ram sale at
McAlinden to regular
buyer DFD Rhodes
Pty Ltd, Boyup Brook,
which purchased a
total of 25 sires
during the sale. With
the ram were
Landmark Boyup
Brook representative
Adam Becker (left),
Westerdale stud
principal Peter
Jackson and DFD
Rhodes farm manager
Michael Wright.
The Smiths, who have been
using Poll Merino rams for 30
years and this year will mate
1800 ewes to Poll Merinos, said
it was hard to find a quality wool
on a Poll ram but that wasn’t the
case at Westerdale.
Another to buy a sizeable
draft at the top end of the sale
was one of the stud’s longest
serving clients Ronald Tuckett,
RL & HM Tuckett, Boyup
Brook, who purchased nine sires
at an average of $1511 and to a
top of $1900.
A number of others fitted into
this same category, including
return buyers G & A Watts,
Pingelly, who averaged $1413
over a team of eight, and MT &
DJ Carroll, Boyup Brook,
purchased six for a $1533
average.
David Mackie, Hartnell
Grazing, Boyup Brook, and Mal
and Barbara Gibbs, ME Gibbs
& Co, Boyup Brook, bought at
the top end and secured teams of
two and three respectively for
average of $2900 and $2167.
Return Kojonup buyer Digby
Stretch, Stretch Enterprises, was
again a major buyer and this
year secured 12 rams at an
average of $1067, while fellow
return buyer Andy McElroy, PR
& JA McElroy, averaged $1110
over a team of 10.
Even though the sale was
strong throughout, buyers with
smaller budgets were still able to
fill sizable orders.
These included return buyers
Wayne Duffield, WP & ST
Duffield, Darkan, who put
together a team of nine for a
$967 average; and John Jackson,
JS & CP Jackson, Collie,
secured 10 rams for a $610
average.
1435564
REMINDER
COMBINED AGENTS
KATANNING SPECIAL EWE SALE
Friday, October 24, 2014
Commencing at 1pm
23,000 SHEEP
23,000
For further details refer to full advertisement on page 93 in last week’s Farm Weekly (October 16)
Mark Warren 0427 966 900
Chris Elliott 0438 413 829
Tom Bowen 0428 612 914
A RURALCO BUSINESS
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