THE PRE-SHOW
We attend the 2021 Dohne Merino ram auction at Ganora. Jan Peet and Graham Hobson of Ebenezer Farm in the Pearston district have teamed up to offer their best saleable specimens for the last 12 years.
Days before, the rams know something is up. They are kept overnight in a small paddock near the auction ring, fascinated by the fluttering OVK co-op bunting, which they take turns to nibble.
On the day of the auction, they are led to their enclosures, and grouped two by two. If they donʼt have a companion, they get jittery and inclined to leap. The OVK and BKB co-op guys in their corporate colours patrol up and down the pens, carefully checking the rams and their traits as listed in the catalogue.
But no matter how accurate the description, itʼs really the eye- and hand-classing that tell the difference, says Fourie Vosloo of OVK. The livestock handlers help to bring each ram out many times so that the agents, and later the farmers, can run their hands over the beast and open up its fleece to the sun for a good look. It takes serious skill from the farmworkers to manoeuvre 100kg of skittish, woolly testosterone, and keep the animal still while surrounded by touchy-feely strangers.
Over the morning, the farmyard fills up with big men in shorts and sturdy boots, driving white bakkies. Interested buyers come from all over the country, including Ermelo, Vanrhynsdorp, Paarl, various parts of the Free State and of course, the farming districts around Nieu-Bethesda. Everyone knows these are good rams.
The chairs in the marquee are placed a safe distance apart for these pandemic times.
Jakkie Nel takes the microphone, flanked by three assistants who will look out for the nearly invisible finger-twitches, winks and lifted eyebrows that indicate bids from those who donʼt want their fellow farmers to know who is bidding on what.
ʻIʼve seen farmers sit absolutely still while flies crawl over their faces rather than wave them away and make an inadvertent bid,ʼ grins Pierre Martin of Cradock OVK.
The rams are lined up, ready to be led into the limelight. A cowbell rings precisely at noon. Bidding starts on Lot 1, a handsome fellow somewhat bemused by the sawdust-covered rostrum that keeps revolving beneath his hooves.
Jakkie extols his multi virtues in a compelling machine-gun singsong, switching between Afrikaans and English with ease as each ram is led up to the rostrum.
The assistants on either side of him announce each secretive bid with a loud ʻHupʼ and the price jumps by R500 or R1 000 each time.
Jakkie continues through the rams on auction, exhorting the buyers.
ʻLook at his head and his back. Look how he moves. His mother bore eight lambs from five pregnancies. Are you through and are you done? No more bids? The hammer comes down on R27 000. Congratulations to the buyers. This excellent ram is headed for Cradock.ʼ
In the wake of the auction, Graham and Jan Peet pronounce themselves more than happy with the prices. Fellow farmers have clearly shown they have confidence in their stock and hope in Karoo sheep-farming going forward.
The rams are loaded. After a torrid few weeks, they are off to start their new lives where a harem of willing ewes await. The party starts and the bloodlines continue.