Clare Marts, Ennis, Co. Clare, held its weekly sheep auction on Monday, June 22, where 520 sheep went on sale, with numbers down from the previous week.

Speaking to Agriland after the sale concluded, mart manager Martin McNamara noted that while there was a reduction in cull ewes on offer, ewes of a particularly high quality were still on offer.

Very good quality ewes averaged €2.18/kg, with the top price on the day going to a ewe weighing 131kg who made €250 or €1.91/kg

Three ewes weighing 81kg each made €200/head or €2.47/kg, a good indicator of the quality on display.

Another two ewes weighing 70kg made €158/head or €2.26/kg, while another pen of four ewes, weighing 90kg each, made €206/head or €2.29/kg for the farmer selling.

Lamb trade

Commenting on the lamb trade, McNamara noted that lambs were back €5-€7/head on the last couple of weeks with prices averaging around the €4.25/kg mark.

Here are a sample of the prices for lambs at the sale:

Eight spring lambs weighing 49.5kg each made €220/head or €4.44/kg;
A pen of three spring lambs weighing 51kg on average made €216/head or €4.23/kg;
Eight spring lambs weighing 44kg on average made €186 or €4.22/kg;
A pen of nine spring lambs weighing 41kg on average made €168/head or €4.09/kg;
A pen of 10 spring lambs weighing 41kg on average, made €170/head or €4.14/kg.

In addition, a large pen of 15 spring lambs weighing 47kg on average made €206/head or €4.38/kg, making the total pen worth nearly €3,100 for the seller.

Another large pen of 17 spring lambs weighing 44kg on average made €178/head or €4.04/kg.

The drop in price for lambs comes after a period of relative price stability as factories held spring lamb prices at €9.90/kg and mart prices holding for longer than some expected.

Sheep farmers across the country will be happy to hear that Bord Bia plans to invest in increasing lamb meat's market share among younger people.

The campaign is designed to drive long-term growth for Irish lamb, that is quality assured (QA) under Bord Bia's QA scheme, by encouraging younger consumers, aged 25 to 44, to choose lamb.