The Western Organic Producer Organisation (WOPO) is set to host its inaugural sale of organic sheep tomorrow (Sunday, August 23).

The sale will take place at Maam Cross Mart in Connemara, Co. Galway.

The producer group is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and all sheep entered in the sale will have been supplied by producer group members.

The sale is expected to feature over 700 store lambs, both hill and lowland breeds, as well as approximately 500 ewe lambs, 200 ewe hoggets, and 100 breeding ewes.

The sale is set to include approximately:

750 store lambs;
500 ewe lambs;
200 ewe hoggets;
100 breeding ewes.

Online bidding will be avaliable to buyers on the MartEye app.

Online customers must register with Maam Cross Mart prior to the sale to bid online.

First for the group

Last autumn, the group made a successful application to DAFM for funding.

The producer group came about as a result of organic farmers in the west wanting to get more organised, "producing quality, organic stock for both finishers, hogget and commercial farms".

The group has said that it is keen to develop relationships with store lamb finishers and hogget buyers and also to provide both with large numbers of quality stock to help further develop the organic sheep industry.

The group said that the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) is providing "valuable income streams to many young families in remote rural areas while at the same time helping to contribute positively to water quality, climate change, and biodiversity targets".

The sale will also have local organic food and animal feed stands.

It is being run in conjunction with OBLIG (Organic Beef and Lamb Innovation Group) an European Innovation Partnership (EIP)-funded project to address leakage in the organic sector.

All farmers, both organic and conventional, are welcome to the sale.