A strong trade all around was seen at Enniscorthy Mart on Wednesday last (July 7) – with lamb prices seeing an increase, while cull ewes continue to be in strong demand, with prices reaching a high of €213.

Talking to Agriland after the sale, the mart’s assistant manager, Kevin Murphy, gave the lowdown on the trade.

He said: “We had a much bigger sheep sale this week. Numbers are increasing every week as more mid-season lambs become fit and sellers start to sell stores.

“The trade overall received a massive boost – up €8-14/head – with demand from the upcoming Eid al-Adha the driving force behind this.

“Overall, the trade is extremely good for the time of the year.

“The cull ewes continue to improve with a single ewe weighing 100kg topping the sale at €213/head.

“There are more and more finished lambs appearing each week, but demand from factory agents this week far outweighed supply as lambs seen a price hike of €10/head on average – which contrasted the trend of the previous two weeks where lambs had taken a knock.

“The heavier lambs or butcher-type lambs continue to sell very well, with local butchers and factory agents competing strongly for suitable lambs, as heavy lambs were scarce on the day. Prices ranged from €98 to €106 over the kilo.”

Sample heavy-lamb prices:

  • Five at 60kg sold for €166/head;
  • 10 at 52kg sold for €157/head;
  • Five at 58kg sold for €156/head;
  • 11 at 50kg sold for €152/head;
  • Five at 50kg sold for €151/head.

On the factory lamb trade, Kevin added: “There was a larger entry of factory-type lambs on offer which sold from €117/head for 13 lambs at 40kg, up to €145/head for five lambs at 48kg.”

Sample factory lamb prices:

  • Five at 45kg sold for €145/head;
  • 16 at 47kg sold for €143/head;
  • 10 at 47kg sold for €140/head;
  • 19 at 47kg sold for €137/head;
  • 13 at 45kg sold for €136/head;
  • 24 at 43kg sold for €129/head;
  • 14 at 41kg sold for €123/head;
  • Six at 42kg sold for €124/head;
  • Four at 40kg sold for €118/head.

Kevin said that more store lambs are coming to market – and there are plenty of farmers looking to buy store lambs – with some store cattle buyers opting for store lambs as grass is plentiful, and cattle have seen a big lift as well.

Heavy store lambs sold from €65 to €80 over the kilo at Enniscorthy Mart on Wednesday, while light stores made from €58 to €67 over the kilo.

Sample store lamb prices:

  • Eight at 40kg sold for €119/head;
  • 12 at 39kg sold for €115/head;
  • 17 at 38kg sold for €109/head;
  • 15 at 35kg sold for €102/head;
  • Eight at 36kg sold for €100/head;
  • Seven at 34kg sold for €96/head;
  • 13 at 31kg sold for €88/head;
  • Three at 30kg sold for €84/head.

Kevin said that they are starting to see a few pens of ewe lambs throughout the sale which like always, are receiving a premium of €10 to €20 when compared to wethers and rams.

Sample ewe lamb prices:

  • Four 45kg ewe lambs sold for €150/head;
  • Nine 39kg ewe lambs sold for €132/head;
  • Nine 41kg ewe lambs sold for €135/head;
  • 11 41kg ewe lambs sold for €128/head.

Cull ewes top €213 at Enniscorthy Mart

Touching on the cull ewe trade, Kevin said: “There was a bigger number of cull ewes on offer as farmers wean lambs and select ewes for culling when prices are so strong. Cull ewes got a big lift, probably up €10 to €15 on last week.

“The heavy ewes were scarce and an exceptional trade was seen, with a single ewe weighing 100kg making €213.”

Heavy cull ewe prices:

  • One at 100kg sold for €213/head;
  • One at 135kg sold for €206/head;
  • Two at 90kg sold for €180/head;
  • Five at 88kg sold for €154/head;
  • Three at 85kg sold for €146/head;
  • Seven at 82kg sold for €140/head.

Store cull ewe prices:

  • 16 at 78kg sold for €133/head;
  • 17 at 71kg sold for €118/head;
  • Seven at 74kg sold for €116/head;
  • Four at 66kg sold for €106/head;
  • 10 at 57kg sold for €86/head.

Ewe hoggets hit €225

In the brood ring at Enniscorthy Mart, Kevin said 72 ewe hoggets were entered into the first breeding sale of the year.

Speaking about the trade seen, he said: “We had our first sale of breeding ewe hoggets with 72 in total on offer – which met a strong demand on the day from farmers sourcing replacements.

“It was a strong start to the breeding season, with hoggets ranging from €184/head up to a top price of €225/head for a good pen of black hoggets. Hoggets averaged €210 on the day.”