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.
Sample butcher lamb prices:
- 50kg lambs sold for €141/head or €2.82/kg;
- 54.5kg lambs sold for €146/head or €2.67/kg;
- 54kg lambs sold for €149/head or €2.75/kg;
- 56kg lambs sold for €147/head or €2.63/kg;
- 50.5kg lambs sold for €144/head or €2.85/kg;
- 52kg lambs sold for €147/head or €2.82/kg;
- 58kg lambs sold for €155/head or €2.67/kg.
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.
Sample factory lamb prices:
- 47kg lambs sold for €139/head or €2.95/kg;
- 46kg lambs sold for €131/head or €2.84/kg;
- 45kg lambs sold for €128/head or €2.84/kg;
- 47kg lambs sold for €136/head or €2.89/kg;
- 47kg lambs sold for €140/head or €2.97/kg;
- 46.5kg lambs sold for €134/head or €2.88/kg.
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.
Sample store lamb prices:
- 41kg lambs sold for €122/head or €2.97/kg;
- 39kg lambs sold for €114/head or €2.92/kg;
- 40kg lambs sold for €113/head or €2.83/kg;
- 36.5kg lambs sold for €107/head or €2.93/kg;
- 38kg lambs sold for €108/head or €2.84/kg;
- 39.5 lambs sold for €116/head or €2.93/kg.
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.
