Spring Is Ram Sale Time For Australian Studs
The sheep industry is very busy in the springtime, with studs holding sales all around the country.
Caroline Telfer photographed the Anderson Rams merino ram sale near Kojonup last year, and the day has come around again for this year’s sale. With wool prices currently doing well, average prices at merino ram sales this year are higher than last year.
This sale is different from most, as it is held using the Helmsman auction system, whereby bidders vote for their preferred rams by submitting to the auctioneer slips of paper on which the purchase price is written. The current highest bid is displayed on a board, and once a bidder’s price is outbid then the price is updated on the board and they have a chance to put in a higher bid. In this way buyers are bidding on all of the rams over a period of an hour or so. Towards the end the bids will be finalised, and there will be a chance for one last bid on each ram. With this system there is a flurry of activity at times, and at other times it is a bit like cat and mouse, waiting to see if the person whose bid has just been beaten will come back to raise the stakes again.
You can see some “action shots” of the bidding in the photos below. The bidder handing over the bid slip is captured in one photo, and other photos show the buyers adding notes to their sale booklets, or watching the board. You can see the auctioneers writing numbers on the board and wiping off others as bids increase.
Like most rural events there is good country hospitality, as you can see in the photograph of family members at the food table.
Stud master Lynley Anderson greets buyers at Anderson Rams Merino Ram sale at Kojonup
Inspecting rams at Anderson Rams Merino Ram sale at Kojonup
Buyers seated as they prepare their bids
Ram sale fashions – boots and jeans
The sale booklet contains plenty of information about the rams
Handing over a bid slip
Rams are auctioned by the helmsman system
Buyer getting advice over the phone during the ram sale
Family members provided food and drink at Anderson Rams Merino Ram sale at Kojonup
Stud master Lynley Anderson
Rams loaded onto farm ute ready to go to their new home.
Farm driveway at Anderson Rams Merino Ram sale at Kojonup
Are you having a sale or auction? Why not get some great photos to add to your Facebook page, Instagram, blog, or website?
Australian Farm Albums can send a photographer to your on-farm sale to photograph the events. Send an enquiry through our web contact form or email info@ausfarmalbums.com.au.
