Ram sales: $240k Tattykeel topper and Merino record for Victorian stud

Ram sales are having an amazing run across Victoria and NSW with record prices broken – including a new high of $240,000. Here’s what you need to know.

Tattykeel has smashed their own benchmark to set a new Australian White record.

Tattykeel has obliterated their own benchmark to set a new Australian White record of $240,000 at their sale at Black Springs in central New South Wales.

Tattykeel ‘Platinum’ was purchased by four New South Wales studs that make up The Elite Syndicate, comprising of Sans-Souci Australian Whites, Bungarley Australian White Sheep, Regal Australian White Sheep Stud and Doonkami Australian Whites.

The 125kg sale-topping ram has hit highs not seen since the sale of Collinsville Merino ram which sold for an Australian record of $450,000 in 1989 when the wool industry in its peak.

This year’s top-price surpassed the previous record, set by Tattykeel White Gold at $165,000, by a whopping $75,000, which in itself was more than three times the previous year when a record was set for Magnum Tattykeel at $53,000.

“We were expecting around $200,000 for him shortly before the sale because some of the bidders had told us they were prepared to go pretty hard,” Tattykeel principal Graham Gilmore.

“While some are saying it’s quite unbelievable, but if you look at it in perspective four people bought that ram and spent $60,000 each,” Mr Gilmore said.

In total, 30 stud rams sold to full clearance for an Australian top-price record of $240,000 to average $42,667 while 327 of 390 flock rams sold to $45,000 to average $8704.

A further 201 of 214 stud ewes topped at $26,000 and averaged $6311.

In the last 10 years the unique Australian White breed have seen a meteoric rise in popularity after the first cross of the breed was made in 2008.

Mr Gilmore and his family developed the unique Australian White breed by selecting key traits within the Poll Dorset, White Dorper, Texel and Van Rooy breeds to develop a low maintenance, self-replacing sheep that doesn’t require shearing.

“The Australian Whites are a redesign of the whole industry,” Mr Gilmore said.

“They make a lot of the other meat breeds obsolete because you don’t need the wool on them; it’s a liability.

“We’ve got a polyesterous breed too, which means they join readily all year round, so our rams that are going out there are being used two to three times a year which means they’re cheaper than the Merino or the Border Leicester ram that’s only being used eight weeks a year.

In yet another high for the week of rams sales, Victoria stud Wallaloo Park Merinos achieved the highest Australian average this year of $5423 for 205 rams sold to full clearance, to top at $32,000.

“The Mumblebone sale finished about an hour before us and they had theirs as an Australian record and we knocked their average off by about $100,” co-stud principal Trent Carter said.

“It was a ridiculous day and wasn’t at all expected – we had another 30 rams up for sale,” Mr Carter said.

The Mumblebone Merino sale at Wellington, NSW sold 394 of 400 rams to top at $24,000 and average $5226.