Top price of $1800 at Bailup Downs Afrino stud ram sale at Southern Brook

The top price of $1800 may have been down from the previous sale top, but the clearance was up and the sale average was a very solid $1005 across the 20 Afrino sires sold under the hammer.

A joint total of 20 buyers registered for the event with seven of these securing Afrino rams for their breeding programs.

John Bennier, Bailup Downs Afrinos, was pleased that buyers who have trialled rams from his stud in their breeding programs returned for more.

To start a stud off a breed that is not well known and has not always had an easy start in Australia may seem like a daunting task, but Mr Bennier said it was made easier by the breed results.

"The Afrino breed was developed as a dual purpose meat and fine wool sheep by the South African Agriculture Department over a 30-year period," Mr Bennier said.

Once he was introduced to the breed with their high fertility, good mothering skills, their bare breech - requiring no mulesing, plus their prime lamb and fine white wool traits, he found the breed a pleasure to work with and was motivated to keep improving the strengths of the breed at his Wooroloo stud.

Eastern States buyers returned to buy more Bailup Downs Afrino rams at last week's sale.

This year Tim Ferguson, LW & JI Ferguson, managed a phone link up to buy the top-priced ram on the day at $1800, with the assistance of Elders stud stock prime lamb specialist, Michael O'Neill.

As their ram sale is on the same day each year in Hopetoun, Victoria, the Fergusons last year missed the sale but trialled a Bailup Down ram in 2021 and obviously returned to purchase not just another, but the top price of the day.

The ram was lot five at the sale and weighed 98 kilograms with 42.2 millimetre eye muscle depth (EMD), 10.7mm fat with 19.3 micron wool and a 99.9 per cent comfort factor (CF).

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Mr O'Neill said the top-priced ram was specifically chosen by Mr Ferguson.

"He has beautiful, fine, white wool, exceptional Dohne wool," Mr O'Neill said.

"He is a real package with his carcase and bare breach attributes."

JG & JA Girdwood, Gatum, Victoria, were the volume buyers at the sale last year with their seven rams and a further three rams purchased post sale.

At this year's sale, the Girdwoods were once again the volume buyers, adding another four Bailup Downs Afrinos to their breeding program to a top of $1200 and for an average of $960.

Mr O'Neill purchased the rams at auction on behalf of the Girdwoods.

"His selections were made to produce big milky ewes for their prime lamb operation," Mr O'Neill said.

Western Australian buyers who purchased their first Bailup Downs Afrinos last year returned to buy more this year.

AJ & EW Brown, Quairading, bought four Afrino rams at last year's sale, before sourcing a further six off the farm the following week.

This year they returned to source four Bailup Downs Afrino rams.

The sale this year also produced a couple of first time buyers in IB & JS Elliot, Eneabba, who took home four rams for an average price of $1100.

The Elliots also purchased the $1500 second top-priced Afrino.

The ram was lot one for the sale and weighed 116.5 kg, had 45.5mm EMD, 7.8mm fat, 18.1 micron wool and 99.5pc CF.

Cameron Wallis, CR Wallis, Bolgart, purchased three of the Afrino rams that had the finest micron wool test results this year - lot 17 was 15.8 microns, while also weighing 109.5kg, 40.7mm EMD, 6.8mm fat and all three rams he bought had a CF of 100pc, with Mr Wallis paying and average price of $867.

Previous buyer Hodgson Estate, Tambellup, bought another two rams at this year's sale, while another regular Afrino buyer, LP & S Cutmore, Greenwoods Valley, purchased one ram at the sale.

John Bennier thanked Nigel and Joan Armstrong and Gemma Richter for their assistance at the sale and the Lawrence family, Canternatting, for its hospitality and use of their property at the joint sale.