WHEN the first bid of the day was $200, vendors at the Hay, NSW, annual September sheep sale knew they were in for a good time.

And by the sale's end, the 15,000 head had averaged $164 and put $2.24 million into the pockets of Hay-district Merino breeders.

Long-time observers regarded the sale as the best ever at Hay - a centre which for 22 years held the honours for the highest price  for a commercial Merino ewe at $178.

It took 90 minutes of selling for a pen to make less than $100, with only a handful failing to get to three figures.

The cheapest pen of Merino ewes made $112 for some six-year-olds, while buyers couldn't get a pen of young ewes under $173.

Buyers from across Victoria and NSW fought hard for what was there, and pushed prices to record levels.

Clive Davenport was the Elders manager at Hay for more than 20 years and he described the sale as magnificent.

"It is absolutely the best sheep sale I have ever seen," Mr Davenport said.

"The record today for young ewes was not beaten, it was smashed."

Young Merino breeding ewes, freshly shorn, sold from $173 to $237, with five pens making $200 or more.

A year ago, young ewes sold from $90 to $122.

Honours for the best pen of young Merino ewes went to Greg and Helen Rogers, Yarto, Booligal, who sold 404 breeders, March-April 2009-drop, Alma blood and August-shorn, for $237. Last year, similar sheep sold for $132.

"Sheep prices have almost doubled in 12 months and that's incredible," he said.

Interest in young ewes came from Echuca, Corowa, Yarrawonga, Bendigo and Forbes, NSW.

Bidding didn't slow when the market moved on to old ewes, which topped at $176 for a pen of bareshorn three-year-old breeders.

Classed five-year-old breeders made from $150 to $156, while four-year-olds sold to $174 for the Mooloomoon ewes.

A year ago, old ewes sold from $65 to $95.

There was only a small offering of Merino wether lambs.

The best price was $100 paid by Elders northern Victoria livestock manager Kevin Thompson for 821 head, April-May 2010-drop, Alma blood and unshorn, sold by Yamba Booligal.

Other woolly wether lambs sold from $84 to $94.

Wether vendor Geoff Chapman from Nyangay at Hay said he was  wondering whether he had done the right thing by selling.

"Usually we are just happy that someone has turned up to buy sheep in September as it is usually dry, but you just don't know this year where prices could go," he said.