Blackwood SheepMaster ram sells to $8600 at inaugural combined ram sale with Thompson family's Venturon Livestock

Held at the Thompson family's Venturon Livestock property, the two Boyup Brook-based breeders made the move away from multi-vendor fixtures to offer clients a greater selection of seedstock.

The relatively young sheep studs presented a combined quality catalogue of 129 commercially focused terminal and maternal rams including White Suffolk and newer breeds to the WA sheep industry Charollais and shedding breed SheepMaster, along with a selection of maiden and mature age SheepMaster ewes.

There was a vibrant atmosphere at the Venturon Livestock selling complex with a big crowd turning out for the first sale to view the sheep and enjoy the warm hospitality provided by the Venturon and Blackwood teams.

This saw 31 buyers register at the sale with strong local and South West support and from a far as the central and northern Wheatbelts and Central Midlands coast.

There were also several buyers from WA and throughout the country logged into the sale and actively operating on AuctionsPlus.

The sale catalogue had 1320 views online yielding six successful online buyers from WA, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, placing 162 online bids across 55 lots.

At the completion of selling, the Elders selling team led by stud stock auctioneer James Culleton, notched up a strong combined clearance of 125 rams (97 per cent) at an average of $1961 and sold all 102 SheepMaster ewes for an average of $331.

The Thompson family's Venturon Livestock started proceedings with its team of 18 Charollais rams.

The Charollais breed originated from France (same region as Charolais cattle which the Thompsons also breed) and are gaining in popularity as a terminal sire option in Australia for their low birthweight, high fertility, growth and yielding carcases.

All rams found new homes with values reaching $2800 to average $1405, a much larger offering of rams compared to last year where the stud sold six rams at the Dinninup ram sale to a $4300 top price and average $2517.

The $2800 top price was recorded from the outset with the sale team leader knocked down to a Hill River (WA) buyer on AuctionsPlus.

The 123kg, June-drop ET-bred ram by Hillden H2-7 scanned raw data of 48.5mm eye muscle depth (EMD) and 4.6mm fat depth (FD).

The following ram fell one bid shy when it sold to Koompartoo Farms, Williams, for $2700.

It displayed raw data of 73kg bodyweight (BW), 33mm EMD and 2.9 FD.

Koompartoo Farms also paid the next highest price of $1700 for lot five containing a 88.5kg ram scanning 40.5mm EMD and 3.9mm FD.

Volume buyer of Charollais rams was the Thompson's neighbour Nigel Sprigg, NO & R Sprigg, Boyup Brook, who finished the sale with eight rams costing from $900 to $1400.

An online Moora buyer secured five Charollais rams paying from $1100 to $1500, while single purchases went to a Victoria buyer via AuctionsPlus and a local seedstock producer Bullco Genetics.

Venturon's team of 50 White Suffolk rams were next up with 47 rams selling under the hammer at good value for money to average $778.

Again it was a significantly larger offering than last year's sale at Dinninup where they sold all 20 rams for a $933 average.

Pearce Watling, Elders Donnybrook, was a prominent buyer of White Suffolks for two orders and paid the breed's $1600 top price for lot 29, one of two rams purchased on behalf of DV Brockman & Co, Cowaramup.

The 111kg top-priced ram scanned 47mm EMD and 6.7mm FD.

The August-drop ram was sired by Idavale 194043.

Mr Watling's other order amounted to the volume White Suffolk account with 15 rams at value from $700 to $750.

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A Moora buyer on AuctionsPlus added eight White Suffolk rams to their account for $700 each, including the charity ram with sale proceeds donated by the Thompson family to the Shearing For Liz Pink Day fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Centre - WA (BRDC - WA).

Local graziers MJ & CH Bleechmore secured six rams, paying to $1100 top price for lot 52, a 106kg ram scanning 48mm EMD and 6.1mm FD.

Other local buyers Yondalee Farms collected five White Suffolk rams, while three rams headed to Victoria and one to New South Wales via AuctionsPlus.

Mr Sprigg added three White Suffolk rams to his load of Charollais rams as did Rural Solutions with three rams.

The wave of momentum for shedding breeds showed no signs of slowing with the WA-developed Sheepmaster breed attracting plenty of interest from stud and commercial breeders at the sale.

The Corker and Bleechmore families, Blackwood stud, offered a top team of 61 paddock prepared, well-grown and shedded rams with buyers prepared to pay strong commercial values for their rams of choice.

All bar one ram sold at auction for a healthy average of $3055, however values ranged from $1000 to $8600, giving buyers of all budgets the opportunity to get their hands on Sheepmaster genetics.

The single overlooked ram was quickly snapped up following the sale.

This showed massive progress from Blackwood's first public auction last year where they offered seven rams at the inaugural Mid West combined SheepMaster sale for an average of $2771.

Blackwood also offered 102 Sheepmaster ewes in four lines ranging from maidens to mature age which topped at $435 and averaged $331 overall.

It took until the final run of rams before the sale's $8600 top price was recorded, knocked down to Peter Forrest, Elders Boyup Brook, on behalf of an undisclosed buyer.

The 105kg younger August 2021-drop twin ram was by G119 and recorded figures (against flock average) of +6 weaning weight (WWT) and +6 post weaning weight (PWWT) with scans of 41mm EMD and 6.7mm FD.

WM & CM Robertson, Boyup Brook, was the sale's most prominent buyer of Blackwood SheepMaster sheep, finishing the sale with a haul of 13 rams costing to $6800 at a strong average of $4223, along with 24 1.5-year-old ewes for the sale's $435 top price and 24 mature age ewes for $355 to average $337 across the two drafts.

The family's $6800 top price was paid for the fourth ram offered, a 110kg May-drop twin son of H97 and displayed figures of +4.5 WWT and +4 PWWT with raw data of 43.5mm EMD and 8.1mm FD.

They also got the sale off to a strong start with a $6700 bid for the team leader, an April-drop 116kg ram by H97 with figures of +10 WWT, +12 PWWT, 45mm EMD and 6.1mm FD.

Buyer Wayde Robertson said they were building a low maintenance sheep flock to run separately to their Merino enterprise.

"I don't usually go that hard at sheep sales but these are our building blocks and we wanted to start well with the best available genetics so we aren't chasing our tail," Mr Robertson said.

"We've got two years of lambs and are happy with how it's going."

Mr Robertson said he liked the fertility, growth rates and high dressing percentage of the breed and the ability to confidently join ewe lambs.

He said they sold 75pc of last year's June-July-drop sale lambs as suckers to processors in October and the balance in December.

"They are a simple product marketed to the abattoir which hit the grid sweet spot at about 24kg carcase weight," Mr Robertson said.

Repeat buyer Murray Magini, S & MD Magini, Crystal Ridge, Mokup, competed strongly on the top sheep to build a team of five rams at a firm average of $4400, with their $6000 top price paid for the fifth ram catalogued, a 102kg twin May-drop ram by H97 recording figures of +2.5 WWT, +4.5 PWWT, 40.5mm EMD and 7.1mm FD.

AuctionsPlus represented five rams with three rams heading to South Australia and two to a Karridale buyer.

Paul Chatfield, PD & ZE Chatfield, York, purchased two rams for $5000 and the charity ram for $5200 with proceeds donated by the Blackwood team to BRDC - WA.

Volume buyers of Blackwood rams were M & M Keightley, Boyup Brook, operating at values from $1000 to $2200 for a team of 11 rams, LR & KA Brown, Pantapin, seven rams ($2000-$3800) and 8PZ Plozza Farming, Leeman, six rams ($1600-$2800).