Just over 600 sheep were on offer at Roscommon Mart on Wednesday, July 22, which mainly consisted of store lambs.

According to the mart manager, Maura Quigley, the sale wasn’t as big as last week and the trade ‘was slightly easier but still fairly good’.

The highlight of the sale was the trade for store lambs, which Maura said was ‘great’, with farmers the main customers for these types.

To find out more about the trade on the day, AgriLand spoke with Maura to get her views.

She said: “We had a slightly smaller sale of sheep this week in comparison to last week. I would say that the finished lambs were back a touch this week; however, the store lambs continue to be a good trade.

We didn’t have as many butcher or factory-type lambs; the sale was mainly dominated by store lambs.

“Looking at the trade, the top price on the day was €121/head for a pen of butcher lambs weighing 59kg. Butcher lambs, in general, sold from €115/head up to €121/head. Factory-fit lambs made anywhere from €100/head up to €118/head.”

Sample finished lamb prices: 

  • 50.8kg: €118/head;
  • 47.8kg: €115/head;
  • 47.4kg: €118/head;
  • 45.2kg: €110/head;
  • 44.5kg: €108/head;
  • 42.4kg: €100/head.

Sample store lamb prices: 

  • 35.4kg: €93/head;
  • 38.3kg: €92/head;
  • 33kg: €80/head;
  • 38kg: €86/head;
  • 31.8kg: €89/head (ewe lambs).

Maura added: “Store lambs weighing anywhere from 30kg up to 38kg made from €80/head up to €93/head, with some forward-type store lambs making a little bit more.

“There is a great demand for store lambs at the minute, with the main customers being farmers.

Farmers were also on the lookout for ewe lambs that would be fit for breeding. I saw a pen of ewe lambs weighing 41kg that sold for €115/head.

“In terms of cast ewes, prices for these lots ranged from €35/head for store ewes up to a top price of €108/head for heavy ewes.”

Maura noted that breeding sales – for ewes and ewe hoggets – are set to kick-off at Roscommon Mart on Saturday, August 1, and are due to run for 10 weeks.