Pics from the mart: Improved trade for finished hoggets seen at Athenry

An improved trade was seen at Athenry Mart on Monday, February 8, for finished hoggets in comparison to the previous week.

AgriLand made the trip to the Galway-based mart on Monday, to see what the trade was like. The majority of the hoggets on offer consisted of factory and butcher-types, while a very strong showing of heavy cull ewes was seen.

Looking at those heavy hoggets in excess of 50kg, there was quite a bit of variation in prices, with those lacking a bit of flesh selling for €137-141/head mainly, while those with a better flesh cover sold from €146/head up to €153/head.

47-49kg hoggets generally traded from €130/head up to €135/head. The few pens of hoggets weighing 45-46kg sold from €124/head up to €129/head, with one exceptional pen making up to €134/head.

Prices for hoggets in the 42-44kg ranged from €110/head up to €123/head. There were very few stores under 40kg on offer; however, the few that were there started from €80/head for 31kg hoggets up to €109/head for 39kg stores.

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 price.

: This pen of 56kg hoggets sold for €150/head

: Sale toppers: This pen of 58kg hoggets sold at €153/head

: These 14 48.5kg hoggets made €133/head

: These 39kg stores sold for €109/head

: These 53kg hoggets sold at €140/head

: Hammer fell on these 45kg hoggets at €124/head

: Weighing 46kg, this pen of hoggets were snapped up at €134/head

: These three at 48kg made €132/head

: These 42kg stores sold for €110/head

Cull ewes

There was a fine selection of cull ewes, both heavy and store types, on offer at Monday’s sale, with numbers on offer significantly up from the previous week.

Some of those well-fleshed ewes on offer were brought forward for sale by farmers as they had scanned empty.

Looking at those well-fleshed ewes, the trade was strong, with prices for these types ranging from €120/head up to €142/head; although, the bulk of these lots sold from €131/head up to €139/head.

Forward-feeding ewes generally traded from €96/head up to €115/head, with store ewes selling back to €44/head.