11 Sep 2016 TV Sale Another Success

Trigger Vale held its 39^th annual on property sale at Lockhart on Friday 2^nd of September. The forecast of up to 50 mls of rain didn’t keep the crowd away with by far the biggest attendance in the history of the sale. Trigger Vales unique balance of wool, carcase and fertility genetics in their Poll Merino’s backed up by independently generated Sheep Breeding Values resulted in competition from WA, SA, Victoria and NSW. “Clients aren’t travelling interstate just because Mandi and I are nice people “commented Andrew, “it’s the combination of the right genetic balance in a modern day Merino phenotype. True doubled polled rams on a plain bodied well shaped early maturing body are hard to find across the Australian Merino landscape and we are industry leaders in this type of animal”.

Strong competition throughout the sale resulted in a 100% clearance of rams offered with 135 Poll Merino’s topping at $7000 with an average of $2470 and 85 White Suffolks sold to a top of $1800 to average $1195. The top priced ram sold to long term Trigger Vale client Shane Zammit from Ballarat. The ram had Merino select breeding values in the top 10% of all measured merinos for Post Weaning Weight, Yearling Fat and Numbers of Lambs Weaned. Second top price of $6250 for Lot 4 went locally to J & M McDonnell & sons to inject into their ram breeding enterprise. The McDonnell’s were attracted to the ram for his tremendous growth and carcase qualities reflected in the fact the ram had Breeding Values in the top 5% for growth and muscle and top 1% for Yearling Fat. $6000 was also reached twice with Ricky and Russel Luhrs from Hamilton and Russel and Nicole Smith from Lockhart securing the rams. Volume buyers included long term Trigger Vale clients Philip and John Lenehan who secured 14 rams and new client Ross Lomas from Cavendish Victoria who purchased 15 rams.

The White Suffolk’s topped at $ 1800 twice with long term Trigger Vale clients Paul and Robin Quilty securing the second ram offered. He was in the top 10% for all Lambplan recorded terminal rams for Post weaning weight and on Carcase plus and Lean Meat Eating Quality index’s. The Hyde family from the Kohat White Suffolk stud WA purchased the other top priced ram. While he was one of the younger drop ram lambs in the draft it was its balanced figures along with its shape and early maturing body type that caught the purchases eye.  Volume buyers for the White Suffolks included Bogondillan Pastoral Co. at Rand securing 7 rams, locals Terry and Kerry Doig who put together a very even draft of 6 rams and new client Peter Carrol from Ganmain securing 8 rams. “We would like to thank all new and returning clients who supported us at our 39^th sale and will get to work on next year’s draft when we start weaning next week “Andrew said.