![Joe Carlon, Queenlee, buyers Tracey and Robert Doak, Drogheda, Bundarra, Adam
Nordstrom, Schute Bell, and Brad Wilson, Nutrien. Picture supplied Joe Carlon, Queenlee, buyers Tracey and Robert Doak, Drogheda, Bundarra, Adam
Nordstrom, Schute Bell, and Brad Wilson, Nutrien. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/213266301/7d53c516-b2ec-4826-b865-74c43a03af90.jpg/r0_14_640_480_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Both new and return buyers supported Queenlee Merinos on-property sale at Salibury Plains on Tuesday, with rams selling to three states.
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The stud offered 49 rams, with 29 selling by the fall of the hammer to a $2800 top to average $1217. Another nine rams were sold straight after the sale.
The top-priced lot, tagged Queenlee Y44, sold to new buyers Robert and Tracey Doak, Drogheda, Bundarra.
The two-year-old ram was by a Laraben poll sire and had a fibre diameter of 17.1 micron, standard deviation of 2.7 micron, and comfort factor of 99.9 per cent.
He also had a clean fleece weight of 115pc with a faecal egg count of -17.
The Doaks also bought a second ram for $2000, this time by a Wurrook sire.
The 17.7-micron ram had a 2.7-micron SD, 99.7pc CF, 95pc CFW and -12 FEC.
Another new buyer, Ray Taylor, Springsure, Qld, took home eight rams after the sale to a top of $2000 to average $1125.
His top-priced ram was by a Merryville sire with a fibre diameter of 17.6 micron.
He also had a 3.3-micron SD, 99.8pc CF, and 156pc CFW.
Long-time client Ralph Price, Mudgee, took home two rams for $1200 and $1300.
His top ram had a 14.1-micron fibre diameter, 2.86-micron SD, 100pc CF and 122pc CFW.
![The Queenlee crew on sale day. Picture supplied The Queenlee crew on sale day. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/213266301/33eeae28-01bf-44f9-bcde-2f6cf2aaeea8.jpg/r0_67_640_471_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Stud principal Phillip Carlon said the sale results were as expected given seasonal conditions in the north, although it was pleasing to sell rams to SA, Qld, and NSW.
There was support from return clients and four new buyers too, he said.
Many of the stud's long-term clients were not in the market for rams this year but he expected them to return in 2025.
Many clients were moving from sheep into cattle or were reaching retirement age and no longer farming, he said.
"Sheep numbers are so diminished in the northern tablelands - we're working on getting our sheep and genetics into other areas," he said.
The stud would continue to breed big, productive sheep with good, heavy-cutting wool. There was also a focus on the commercial operation, which shore about 20,000 sheep each year.
Nutrien Armidale and Schute Bell Armidale conducted the sale. AuctionsPlus provided the interface.