A top price of $4800 was reached twice at Calcookara Poll Merino Stud’s 2024 auction.
One was bought by Richard Strauss of Greenpatch, with the other by Puckridge Ag of Wangary.
Many buyers bought more than one ram, including Puckridge Ag, which bought a total of six, and Strausses three.
Calcookara was also well supported by Locks Well, which bought 22 rams and Mid North client NV and EJ Byerlee, which took 13, plus Hillsea Station Trust with nine and Hyde Pastoral with eight.
Buying four rams each were Cillro Farms, Kimba, DS & CE Elson, Cleve, and GD, MJ & SG Gibb, Orroroo.
AJ & TA Gregory, Kimba, Carapook Pastoral, Casterton, Dumonte Pty Ltd, Wudinna, Lockayshore Pty Ltd, Lock, and St Clause Graziers, Mangalo, each bought three sires.
Calcookara stud principal Brenton Smith was pleased to sell 98 of the 109 rams offered in the auction, for an average of $1761.
“We would like to thank our very valued clients and agents for their terrific support once again for trusting in our genetics,” he said.
“We are very privileged to have such great support and look forward to what the future brings for us all with the great type of animal we are now breeding.
“We are driven to always make improvements as we go to become better at what we do.”
As part of that, Calcookara added Ridgeway Advance 236234 to its flock, paying $15,000 for him at the Classings Classic.
“This ram stood out to us for a number of reasons. For starters, he is very correct on all of his feet with a very straight top line,” Brenton said.
“He has great neck extension and stands very proud. He has soft supple skin and is pigment free. We believe he had one of the best wools in the marquee with almost the perfect length and density.
“His wool is bold crimping, very white and lustrous that should stand up in most districts with the right amount of fluid nourishment.”
Brenton said the real bonus was that along with all of those attributes he had a well balanced set of Australian Sheep Breeding Values.
