On Tuesday last (November 10), Tullow Mart held its weekly sale of sheep, which saw a strong entry of finished and store lambs.

Heavy butcher lambs made up to a top price of €128/head, while forward-type stores met a flying trade, with 37-41kg lambs breaking past the €100/head mark on occasion.

After the sale, AgriLand spoke to the mart’s manager, Eric Driver, to get his views on the trade.

He explained: “Overall, we saw the butcher and factory lambs moving forward [in price once again]. They were a little bit dearer on Tuesday in comparison to the previous week – which is great to see.

“Similarly, we are seeing a very strong store trade at present. Store customers are still very active. I would have to say, the online system – although it’s not ideal with buyers not being allowed ringside – is working exceptionally well and we are finding that there is a very honest and steady trade across the board.

“However, in particular, the online trading system seems to be working very well for those factory-type lambs. There is big activity among factory agents online at the moment.

What I did notice, and it gives me a bit of confidence in terms of the trade over the coming weeks, is that factory agents are buying store lambs for themselves and feeding them on.

“This for me, looking in, tells me that they feel confident this trade is here to stay for the weeks ahead – if not months ahead.

“There were some exceptional prices on Tuesday for all types of lambs and we have been seeing this for the last number of weeks.

“With the way the weather is and the beef trade sticky at the moment, we are seeing farmers looking to store lambs to graze off grass that cattle couldn’t graze in account of the wet weather lately.”

Buyers ringside at Tullow Mart prior to the outbreak of Covid-19

Eric added: “I saw light stores [30-33kg] making up on €87/head and there is a gamble buying them; it’s a bit like the lottery.

“Who knows what the prices will be like for these lambs in the factory when they are finished going into next year.

Speaking to factory agents at the sale on Tuesday, the reason why the more forward lambs are being sought after more, is that they see the trade being good up until Christmas and into the early part of January.

“However, there is anxiety there over the long-term picture of the sheep trade such as Brexit, as well as Covid-19 which doesn’t look to be going away anytime soon – although it seems to be helping the sheep trade this year.

“I would say that across the board lamb prices are stronger by €10-15/head in comparison to last year. It’s been a great year.

“In terms of the cull ewe trade, the heat is gone out of it for those heavy ewes in comparison to this time last year leading up to the Christmas period. In saying that, the trade is steady, but there isn’t an awful lot of them on the ground at the minute.”