Sundries sought at clearing sale

After 92 years in the Ralston family, Shahs Merino stud has been dispersed.

A clearing sale packed with machinery, plant equipment and sundries was held onsite at the Tammin sheep and cropping property recently.

People from the surrounding area checked out what was on offer and many former customers of the stud attended the sale.

A hydra boom sold for $35,000 and a field bin fetched a good price but other big ticket items failed to find buyers. However, the sundries sold well.

Landmark auctioneer Grant Lupton described the John Deere 9400 as a great opportunity but it failed to sell and was passed in at $80,000. A John Deere 9650ST met a similar response.

"It was a good strong sale but with people doing their budget the money's just not there," Mr Lupton said.

"There was plenty of competition on the smaller items, making it an exceptionally good sale.

"Typically, headers are hard to shift at this time of year, although negotiation was pretty strong after the sale on the tractor and box and bar. It reflects the economy at the moment."

Owner Jason Ralston said it was disappointing to have to sell the family farm but drought and pricing had forced them out of the business.

"We were sick of the drought," said Mr Ralston, who ran the stud with his parents. "This year we had huge yields and low pricing."

He said the sale was met with a good response but he understood the situation of other farmers.

"Most of the small stuff sold pretty well but the air seeder and tractor didn't," Mr Ralston said. "A lot of the guys aren't in a position to be buying big machinery."