On Saturday last (October 15) Agriland made the trip to Mountbellew Mart in Co. Galway to cast an eye over the mart’s sheep sale.
A full yard of sheep was seen on the day, with throughput dominated by store lambs, with a smaller number of heavy lambs on offer and also a strong entry of breeding sheep.
The number of cull ewes on offer in Mountbellew was small, with those on offer consisting mainly of lighter types.
The number of heavy lambs on offer was small and factory agents were very firm in what they were willing to pay.
The general run of prices for any fleshed lambs ranged from €125/head up to €140/head, with prices above this range rare and when available, confined to lambs either weighing over 50kg and ewe lambs.
Forward stores generally traded above €100/head and sold up to €115/head, with prices above this confined to nice-quality ewe lambs.
Lighter stores were a much trickier trade on the day, with a number of 30-35kg lambs on offer.
Prices generally started from the mid €60 range up to €85-95/head, with prices above this for these lighter lambs, being seen for ewe lambs.
Moving to the culls, numbers were small and the majority were light in weight, with prices ranging in general from €60/head up to €140/head.
On the breeding ewe side, a strong entry of hoggets and ewes took up four pens of the yard in Mountbellew.
Demand, which has been the story of the year, was variable for all categories of breeding ewes, with the majority exchanging hands from €130/head to €170/head and a better-quality lots selling for €180-220/head.