A REVIVAL of confidence in Merino sheep was evident at Friday's Kurra-Wirra annual ram sale.
Mr Close and his wife, Bernadette, sold 67 of the 74 rams on offer, with J and J Mason, of Balmoral, paying the top price of $2200.
Mr Close said they sold 14 more than last year for an overall average of $938, which was $100 higher.
Volume buyers included Clarkes Lake Trading, which bought 17 rams, and Ardenside, of Tooma in NSW, which paid up to $1700 for 14 rams.
Mr Close said the on-property sale north of Coleraine did not attract many new buyers, as he had hoped.
"It was mainly the regulars," Mr Close said.
"There was good, strong competition.
"People got on with it, and most of the regulars bought a few more and spent a little bit more, which is probably a reflection on the industry," he said.
Mr Close said confidence in the wool and sheep industry, particularly Merinos, had picked up in the past year.
"The strength of the wool market as well as the whole Merino sheep market - whether it's the sale of cast-for-age ewes or whether it's quality young ewes or whether it's wethers, or breeding first-cross lambs or second-cross lambs out of them," he said.
"Either way, the Merino ewe has a diverse range of options (producers) can take and they're all going very well," Mr Close said.
