On Tuesday evening (May 11), Agriland made the trip to Ballymote, to cast an eye over the Sligo-based mart’s weekly sheep sale.
On the day, a strong entry of spring lambs, cull ewes and ewes with lambs at foot was witnessed, while hogget numbers continue to decline.
Pulling the strings during the sale was auctioneer Gerry Campbell, who watched over a very lively trade all-around.
Spring lambs catch the eye
The sale at Ballymote was dominated by spring lambs, and with a strong factory demand for factory-fit sheep, it led to a very firm trade.
Lambs over 50kg were few and far between, but sold to a high of €175/head for 54kg.
The general run of prices for those 50kg plus lambs ranged from €170/head up to €175/head.
45-49kg lambs generally traded from €158/head up to €170/head, with lots lacking flesh selling back to €150/head.
Some very good prices were seen for lambs weighing 40-44kg, with prices running from €144/head, up to €164/head.
The bulk of the sale was made up of 42-46kg lambs, and were very much the main attraction to factory agents.
There were very few lambs under 40kg on offer; the few that were there sold well, with prices reaching as high as €142/head for 39kg lambs.
Click on a thumbnail in the gallery (below) to open up a full-size image; once opened you can scroll sideways to see the next picture. Refer to each caption to see details of each lot, including the hammer price.
Cull ewes
Moving onto the cull ewes, a good mix of both lighter and heavier ewes were on offer.
The trade however, according to the mart’s manager David Faughnan, was back on last week.
The top price for those heavy cull ewes was €150/head. The general run of prices for those heavier ewes ranged from €120/head up to €150/head.
Lighter store ewes traded from €80/head up to €100/head, with more forward feeding ewes making from €105/head, up to €120/head.
Hoggets
Fist through the ring at Ballymote on Tuesday were hoggets. Just over a dozen lots went through the ring.
Finished hoggets on the evening made from €140/head, up to a tops of €166/head for 56kg. The few store hoggets on offer made from €108/head, up to €130/head for 40kg.
Ewes with lambs at foot
Bigger than normal numbers of ewes with lambs at foot are appearing at Ballymote Mart for the time of year, with David saying poor growth rates, which is leaving grass scarce, is forcing farmers’ hands into selling some.
Despite this, those selling weren’t too disappointed, as a good trade was seen for all types on offer.
Aged horned ewes with single lambs at foot started from €135/unit, while better-quality lowland ewes with strong lambs at foot sold up to €235/unit.
Again, aged horned ewes with twin lambs at foot started from €150/unit and sold up to €180/unit, while better-quality outfits made from €200/unit, up to a tops of €300/unit.
