Another strong week of trading was seen at sheep sales last week, with hoggets and cull ewes as the standout trades.
Hogget numbers remain tight at sales, while spring lamb numbers continue to increase. Although both hogget and spring lamb prices continued to strengthen last week in line with increasing factory prices.
The way the cull ewe trade is at the moment, the number of ewes at sales is high and increasing week-on-week at some marts.
Spring lambs
Spring lambs weren’t as hot as the week before, which saw lambs breach the €200 mark at a number of sales.
Last week, spring lamb prices generally topped €170-190/head for 45kg plus lambs, with some sales later in the week reporting prices to be closer to the €200 mark.
Lambs in the 40-44kg bracket were making from €140/head up to €170/head, with some selling to a high of €180/head in isolated cases.
Hoggets
Moving onto hoggets, many marts saw a lift in prices, with some sales reporting prices of up to €185-190/head for 49kg plus hoggets.
Although the general run of prices for those top-quality hoggets were from €170/head up to €180/head, with some exceptional types making to €185-190/head and higher in some cases.
46-48kg hoggets generally have been making from €150/head up as high as €170/head in cases over the past week.
44-45kg hogget prices have been ranging from €140-160/head, with 40-43kg hoggets starting out around the €110/head and working up as far as €135-140/head.
Cull ewes
The cull ewe trade was once again on fire last week, with prices breaching the €200 mark at some sales.
In the main, heavy types upwards of 90kg were selling from €140/head up to €180/head, with prices above this generally seen for 100kg plus ewes.
85-89kg ewes have been making up to €130/head and up as high as €160/head in some cases.
Ewes with lambs at foot
Ewes with lambs at foot remains a solid trade, with prices holding much the same as the previous week.
Aged ewes with single lambs at foot continue to make from €110/unit up to €170/unit, with better-quality younger ewes with a strong single lamb making from €190/unit up to €220/unit in general.
Ewes with two lambs at foot continue to make from €220/unit up to €280/unit on average, with some sales reporting top prices of €290-350/unit.