A smashing trade for lambs was seen at Athenry Mart this morning (Monday, January 11), with fat lambs making up to a top price of €155/head.

A strong entry of butcher and factory lambs were presented for sale, along with a good selection of cull ewes, while two pens of in-lamb ewes were also on offer.

Lambs in excess of 50kg sold from €141/head up to the top price of €155/head. Prices of between €143/head up to €148/head were regularly achieved for those butcher-type lambs.

Factory lambs were in strong demand, with 46-48kg lambs regularly selling in excess of €130/head. Overall, prices for these lots started from €129/head and sold up to €139/head.

One pen of 47kg lambs made a great price of €140/head or €2.97/kg. Slightly lighter lambs in the 44-45kg weight bracket averaged €128/head.

There were a couple of pens of forward store lambs and again a sharp trade was seen for these lots. One standout price was achieved for a pen of 41kg lambs which sold for €122/head or €2.97/kg. In general, prices of between €107/head up to €122/head were seen for those forward-type lambs.

A good trade overall was seen for stag ewes, with a top price of €139/head achieved in this section. The majority of the heavy ewes on offer sold from €115/head up to €130/head, with select lots selling for more than €130/head.

Two pens of third crop in-lamb ewes were offered on the day. One pen consisting of twin-bearing ewes sold for €200/head, while the second pen of triplet-bearing ewes made €203/head.