Annual MWGA Ram and Ewe Sale a success

Miles City, Mont. hosted the Annual Montana Wool Growers Association’s (MWGA) Ram and Ewe Sales on Sept. 16-17. Crowds filled the stands both days, and online bidders showed up in record numbers. Buyers were from Montana, South Dakota, Idaho, North Dakota, Washington, Wyoming and Nevada. All sale averages were up from 2019.  

Auctioneers Collin Gibbs and Kyle Shobe sold 283 lots for an overall average of $1,542, up from $1,010 in 2019. The sale grossed $463,250. 

95th Annual Montana Ram Sale

The high-selling ram was a Targhee consigned by Skull Creek Targhee of Brockway, Mont. It sold for $6,750 to Turner Sheep Company of Gillette. Eight Targhee ram lots sold for $3,500 or more. The Targhee sale average was $1,608 per head across the 210 rams sold, with a high of $6,750 and a low of $650. 

Rambouillet bucks sold exceptionally well, with an overall average of $1,710 per head across the 31 head sold. Helle Rambouillet of Dillon, Mont. had the top-selling buck, purchased for $3,500 by Jim Page of Garneill, Mont.

Ten Rambouillet cross rams sold for an average of $1,890 per head, with a low of $1,500 and a high of $3,000. 

Dawe Suffolks of Big Timber, Mont. topped the black-faced sheep portion of the sale, selling two of their lots for $1,200 each – one bought by Lisa Toth of Havre, Mont. and another selling to the Bair Ranch Foundation.  The overall black-faced sheep average was $891 per head across the 16 head sold, more than $200 above last year’s average. 

Fourteen Suffolk/Hampshire cross rams sold for an average of $911, with a low of $600 and a high of $1,050.

Two Hampshire rams sold for an average of $775. 

Seventh Annual Montana Ewe Sale

Montana Sheep Company of Fort Shaw, Mont. topped the ewe sale again this year, selling 10 head for $450 each. Wang Ranch of Baker, Mont. was the volume buyer off-site, buying 200 head. Wanda Pinnow, of Baker, Mont. was the volume on-site buyer, taking home 39 head.

The sale grossed a total of $187,615 across the 638 ewes sold.

Of the 638 ewes sold, 628 were white-faced yearling ewes, averaging $314 per head. Ten black-faced yearling ewes averaged $350 per head. Pens of 10 averaged $323, and pens of 20 averaged $315. Off-site ewes average $278 per head.
Donation ewe

John and Betty Sampsel of Hughes Newford donated a yearling Targhee ewe, with proceeds used as scholarships to sponsor young sheep producers to attend MWGA’s annual convention in December. Ten buyers donated a total of $3,400.  

MWGA thanks Cora Best of Dry River Law, Jon Beastrom, Burdell Johnson of Food and Fiber Risk Managers, Mick Weist, Wanda Pinnow, Jack McRae, Randy Tunby, Duane and Debbie Talcott, Sam Ortmann and Hollenbecks of Blue Bell Sheep Co. for contributing.  

For more information on the MWGA’s annual sale, visit mtsheep.org.