On Tuesday, April 14, Tuam Mart reopened its doors to facilitate the movement of sheep for the first time in over a month.
On the day, there were 226 sheep on offer, with the majority of these consisting of factory and butcher-type stock.
On Friday last, Tuam Mart received its standard operating procedure (SOP) and, from then on, preparations began to get everything in order to hold the first sheep sale since the announcement was made that marts could reopen – albeit under strict protocols and social distancing measures.
To find out how the sale was managed and what the trade was like, AgriLand spoke with the mart manager, Marian Devane.
‘Ran smoothly’
Speaking about how the sale was managed, Marian explained: “In fairness, all the buyers and sellers respected the protocols and social distancing measures that were in place – which led to the sale running smoothly.
“We started taking in bookings between 10:00am and 1:00pm, where farmers were given a slot to come in and drop off their sheep.
At the allocated time, the seller would drop off their sheep at the unloading bay and, afterwards, it was up to the farmer if he wanted to stay out in the yard in their vehicle or go home.
“Either way, we took their phone number and gave them a ring when their sheep were being sold.
“In the case of the buyers, we gave them a sheet of paper. On it, they were instructed to write their name, the lot number they were bidding on and a price they were willing to give for the pen of sheep they were interested in.”
Sheep sale in full swing at Tuam Mart prior to Covid-19 related restrictions
She explained: “Two buyers – at a time – were allowed to inspect the sheep on offer. However, they had to respect social distancing guidelines – with all buyers told to keep a minimum distance of 2m apart.
“When all the bids were collected, the seller was either brought into the office or we rang them and asked them if they were happy with the price they were being offered for their sheep.
If they were happy, the buyer who made the highest bid was sold that particular lot of sheep. The sale kicked off at 5:00pm and it was wrapped up at 7:00pm.
“All in all, the sale ran smoothly, with no issues arising at all. Everyone that was there on the day, including the mart’s staff, buyers and sellers respected the protocols and social distancing measures that were in place.
“We look forward to having our next sale of sheep again next Tuesday and we are expecting bigger numbers to be on offer.”
‘Success’
Speaking about the trade on the day, Marian added: “It was a very lively trade, with all buyers offering fair prices for the sheep that were on offer.
“Nearly all of the stock that were presented for sale consisted of factory and butcher-type sheep.
To give an idea of how successful the sale was, out of the 226 sheep on offer, only nine were not sold.
“Cast ewes – consisting of both feeding and factory-type stock – made from €80/head up to €125/head on the day.”
Sheep penned at a sale in Tuam Mart
She added: “In terms of hoggets, there was a couple of standout prices, a pen of ewe hoggets weighing 65kg sold for €148.50/head.
“Whereas, in general, your butcher-type hogget, weighing 50-55kg, made up to €140/head.
“In the store hogget section, the top price on the day was €116/head for a pen of hoggets weighing 40kg.
Looking back on the prices, they were not so different to what they were before the outbreak of the coronavirus – which is great to see.
“There were no ewes with lambs at foot on offer, but I am expecting that there will be some at next week’s sale.
“Both the buyers and sellers were happy with how the sale went, so all in all, I would consider it a success.
“It was great to get back up and running again in some capacity to give farmers the opportunity to get stock moved on.”