June yarding sets benchmark

Kate Matthews

1 July 2010

For the first time at the Katanning saleyard, a line of two-year-old wethers made $159.50 - the highest price paid during the inaugural Primaries and FarmWorks June Special sale.

FarmWorks

Wellard continued its buying spree in the FarmWorks catalogue picking up the first two lines.

The first line, 345 full-wool, two-year-old wethers from W.A. Hinkley and Co. in Gnowangerup, with Mianellup genetics, made $154. The second line was the clincher, with bidding finishing at $159.50.

It was the biggest line of wethers in the sale put up by Borden farmers John and Jane Campbell.

Every line of wethers in FarmWorks' catalogue, bar one, made more than $115.

What buyers said...

Nigel Hawke, Emanuel Exports

"The message from this sale is that quality still sells at a premium, it doesn't matter if it's in a sale of 10,000 or 40,000," he said. And for producers wanting to capitalise on high prices, Mr Hawke's advice was to visit the sales and benchmark their sheep against their peers.

Murray French, Wellard Rural Exports

"The yarding FarmWorks and Primaries was very good for a June Special and the top sheep were equal and as good as any wethers in last week's sale," he said. Wethers bought by Wellard will go to its feedlot at Baldivis to be shorn and sold into the Gulf.

Chris Medcalf, Livestock Shipping Services

Mr Medcalf said the quality of the yarding was exceptionally high and LSS paid a premium for shorn wethers. He said the wethers would be sent to a feedlot before being shipped overseas.