“It was the best trade I’ve ever seen for sheep at the mart ever.” These were the words of Carnew Mart’s manager, David Quinn, after Thursday’s (March 11) weekly sale of sheep at the Wicklow-based mart.

A very strong trade was seen for all types of hoggets at Thursday’s sale, with some super prices seen for those factory-fit and butcher-type hoggets.

On the day, a top price of €172/head was achieved for a pen of 61kg hoggets, with those 50kg plus hoggets selling from €162/head up to €170/head.

David added that the more factory-type were also a smashing trade, with a standout price of €165/head being achieved for a pen of 25 47kg hoggets.

He added: “There was a huge demand for all types of hoggets on Thursday. We’ve seen how strong a trade the factory and butcher-type hoggets have been, but some of the prices paid out for the lighter hoggets were unbelievable as well.

“I saw a pen of 43kg hoggets making €145/head and 40kg making €141/head. It’s the best trade I’ve ever seen for sheep that’s for sure.”

Sample hogget prices: 

  • 72 hoggets at 53kg sold for €166/head or €3.13/kg;
  • 56 hoggets at 59kg sold for €168/head or €2.84/kg;
  • 25 hoggets at 47kg sold for €165/head or €3.51/kg;
  • 32 hoggets at 48kg sold for €164/head or €3.41/kg;
  • 44 hoggets at 43kg sold for €145/head or €3.37/kg;
  • 25 hoggets at 40kg sold for €141/head or €3.52/kg;
  • 22 hoggets at 30kg sold for €107/head or €3.56/kg;
  • 25 hoggets at 38kg sold for €118/head or €3.10/kg.

Looking at the cull ewe trade, David said that heavy cull ewes remain a good solid trade, with those heavy ewes making from €125/head up to €144/head.

However, a much-improved trade was seen for lighter cull ewes, with David saying that prices for these types were stronger by as much as €10/head, with prices for these lots going from €85/head up to €110/head.

A small number of in-lamb ewes were on offer and these sold similar to the week before (€140-180/head).

Similar to the hoggets, a very strong trade was seen for ewes with lambs at foot. Ewes with single lambs at foot sold from €185/unit up to €240/unit, while ewes with twin lambs at foot traded from €230/unit up to a high of €285/unit.

Dispersal sales

Coming up this Thursday (March 18) at Carnew Mart is a dispersal sale of 150 ewes with lambs at foot and also 150 in-lamb ewes.

The dispersal sale of 150 ewes and lambs is made up of Suffolk cross ewes ranging in age from two-years-old up to four-years-old, with approximately 1.5 lambs at foot and more in some cases.

The dispersal sale of 150 in-lamb ewes once again consists of Suffolk-cross ewe hoggets that are scanned in-lamb (average 1.5 lambs) to Charollais and Texel rams and are due from April 1.

Speaking ahead of the two dispersal sales, the mart manager of Carnew Mart, David Quinn, said: “The two consignments of ewes with lambs at foot and in-lamb ewes are top quality stock. I saw them myself and they are very genuine stock.

“We’ve seen a very good trade for in-lamb ewes so far this year and it’s not often you get to see 150 ewes with lambs at foot from the one farm come to the market, so I’m looking forward to seeing how both sales go. Kickoff will be approximately 12:00pm on Thursday.”

For more information regarding the dispersal sales, Carnew Mart can be reached at: (053) 942 6234.