IT WILL be an auction with a difference at Tom Bull's LambPro sale next Wednesday at Holbrook.
Not only will the catalogue of 510 rams be one of the largest offerings seen at a single venue, but buyers or clients have made commitments as to how many rams they want to buy.
Mr Bull describes the pre-sale commitment as a revolutionary sales process designed to take the volatility out of the market.
Mr Bull said his catalogue of 510 Primeline maternal rams were likely the highest performing maternal meat sheep offered in Australia this season.
"But what sets this auction apart is that lamb producers have already pre-committed the number of rams they wish to purchase by completing an order form," he said.
"LambPro has, in turn, limited the ram orders to the number of rams they are offering, ensuring a perfect match of supply and demand.
"We sat down with our clients and worked through a system that allows them to select their rams; the auction is a selection process to fine-tune traits, and lamb producers have been given a base, with the theory at some point rams will come back to the price base as the sale progresses.
"It gives our clients supply and some price security, and for LambPro it gives us a regular client base."
Mr Bull said LambPro averaged an Australian record $2230 for maternal rams last year, but he didn't feel that necessarily benefited the industry long term.
"We see studs break records one year, only to see clients head to cheaper alternatives the next year," he said.
