Pics and prices: Well-fleshed hoggets and ewes in high demand at Tullow Mart

Tullow Mart held its weekly sheep sale on Tuesday, March 3. AgriLand made the trip down to see what the trade was like, while also having a chat with the mart manager Eric Driver.

There was a good entry of sheep on the day, with a strong trade for any good-quality well-fleshed hoggets that were fit for the factory.

Similar to previous weeks, there was a good trade for in-lamb ewes, with mature ewes scanned with one lamb making up to €150/head, with younger ewes scanned with two lambs making up to €170/head.

Speaking to AgriLand after the sale, the mart manager, Eric Driver, said: “Overall, there was a good trade, with heavier hoggets easier by €1.00-2.00/head compared to the previous week.

“However, prices for good-quality hoggets held out well, with €143/head being achieved for hoggets weighing upwards of 50kg.

This time of the year we are starting to see some ‘end of the line’ hoggets, which are a lighter type of sheep and are that bit harder to sell.

“In the brood ring, there was a lively trade for in-lamb ewes and ewes with lambs at foot. Aged ewes with a lamb at foot made up to €155/head, while ewes with two lambs at foot made up to €235/head.

“It is great to see such a good trade for butcher ewes and hoggets at this time of the year,” Eric concluded.

Hoggets

There was a strong entry of both heavy and lighter types of hoggets at Tullow Mart on Tuesday, March 3. There was plenty of interest from farmers for nice-quality ewe hoggets, that would be suitable for breeding.

Furthermore, there was plenty of competition between farmers and factory agents for well-fleshed butcher hoggets, with prices for these lots upwards of €140/head.

Hoggets weighing 45-50kg made between €120/head up to €130/head, while lots weighing 40-45kg made between €115-120/head.

There was a solid trade for forward store hoggets, with prices for these lots ranging from €91/head up to €115/head.

There was a number of lighter hoggets on offer, with these lots weighing between 23kg and 32kg. In general, prices for these lots ranged between €72/head up to €88/head.

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/sale price.

Cast ewes

There was a large number of butcher and feeding ewes on offer, with plenty of interest from factory agents for these lots – due to the fact that factories are offering up to €3.00/kg for factory-fit ewes.

Butcher ewes weighing upwards of 95kg were a very strong trade, with prices ranging between €132/head and €160/head – depending on the quality and flesh cover.

Feeding ewes were also a solid trade, with ewes weighing up to 70kg making up to €98/head.

In-lamb ewes

There was a lively trade for good-quality in-lamb ewes. However, prices were back as much as €10/head compared to last week.

There was a small number of these lots on offer, with the majority of them set to lamb down at the end of March.

In general, prices for these lots ranged between €158/head and €170/head. The majority of these lots were made up of two and three-year-old ewes, with some four-year-old ewes included as well.

Ewes with lambs at foot

There was a strong number of ewes with lambs at foot on offer for the time of year. There were some nice-quality lots on offer.

There was a number of aged ewes carrying one lamb on offer, with these lots making up to €150/head. A young ewe with one lamb at foot sold for €185/head. Ewes with two at lambs at foot made up to €235/head.

In general, prices for ewes with two lambs at foot ranged between €180/head and €230/head – depending on the quality and age of the ewe.