Over 1,000 lambs were on offer at Roscommon Mart on Wednesday (August 17), with the trade for ewe lambs and stores taking centre stage.
The trade for factory lambs was maintained on the previous week, while cull ewes, despite prices easing in recent weeks, still made up to €200.
The strong entry of lambs was dominated by store lambs, many of these being ewe lambs, which gathered a lot of interest among farmers.
Finished lambs were also in demand. Factory agents did not let these lambs slip through their grasps, but were very firm on what they were willing to pay. This demand was helped by the fact that supplies weren’t big and that farmers were also competing for ewe lambs.
Heavier lambs sold up to €140/head in general, with only a handful of pens exceeding this level and in cases, these prices were obtained for heavy ewe lambs purchased by farmers.
Prices
Finished lamb prices ranged from €132-134/head up to €144/head, with many selling at €140/head, especially the heavier types.
Forward stores traded from €118/head up to €130/head in general. Lighter stores in the 35-38kg weight bracket sold from €106/head up to €116/head, with the lesser-quality types selling below €100.
Stores weighing less than 35kg sold back to €88/head.
Ewe lambs sold for €5-10/head more than the above prices, with the top price of the day coming for a pen of Suffolk ewe lambs weighing 46kg that sold for €150/head.
Ewe lambs weighing from 40-47kg moved at prices ranging from €125/head up to €145/head, with heavier, closer to 50kg ewe lambs selling to a high of €150/head.
Some lighter ewe lambs in the 36-39kg weight bracket sold from €130-132/head and started from a base of roughly €115/head, with prices starting for ewe lambs at €90/head.
Cull ewes were the last to be sold and they traded from €58/head for stores up to €200/head for heavy fleshed types.