On Tuesday (April 27), Agriland made the trip down to Co. Wicklow to Blessington Mart to check in on the mart’s weekly sheep sale.
On the day, a large entry of cull ewes was presented for sale, with spring lamb numbers relatively small, while hogget supplies continue to get smaller week-on-week.
The spring lamb trade, in line with cuts in factory prices this week, was an easier trade on the day; however, hoggets, for the few that were on sale, held a firm trade and sold to a high of €181/head.
Cull ewes were the standout trade on the day, with both heavy and light ewes a very lively trade.
Cull ewes at Blessington Mart
Starting with the cull ewes, there were over 60 lots on offer, with the majority made up of lighter ewes. Both heavy and light ewe prices were up on the previous week.
A couple of ewes, weighing over 100kg were on offer and sold to a high of €160.
In general, 90kg plus ewes sold from €148/head up to €160/head, with many of those 100kg plus ewes selling over €150/head.
80-89kg ewes sold strongly and traded from €114/head up to €154/head for 88kg. Similarly, a good trade was seen for 70-79kg ewes, with prices for these ranging from €110/head up to €128/head.
60-68kg ewes exchanged hands from €76/head up to €116/head. The lightest ewes on offer on the day were 41kg and sold for €62/head.
Spring lambs at Blessington
An easier trade was seen for spring lambs at Blessington on Tuesday, with prices back in the region of €5-7/head on the week before.
Prices for spring lambs topped €160/head for 49.1kg. There were very few heavy spring lambs on offer, with lighter types mainly going through the ring.
Lambs weighing 40-44kg sold from €140/head up to €148/head. Lambs weighing 36-38kg sold from €127/head up to €136/head.
The lightest spring lambs on the day weighed 26kg and sold for €73/head.
Hoggets
Numbers of hoggets going through the ring at Blessington continue to get smaller, with quality also becoming extremely variable.
Good-quality ewe hoggets topped the hogget section at the Wicklow–based mart on Tuesday, with four 50kg ewe hoggets making €181/head (pictured below).
Looking at the hogget trade in more detail, 50kg plus hoggets sold from €156/head up to, as already mentioned, €181/head.
46-49kg hoggets made from €141/head up to €160/head. 40-44kg hoggets made from €105/head up to €140/head. Lighter (30kg), poor-quality hoggets sold back as far as €80.
Ewes with lambs at foot
Just over a half dozen ewes with lambs at foot were on offer. Aged ewes with young single lambs at foot started from €130/unit and sold up to €240/unit for eight ewes with eight strong single lambs at foot.
Ewes with twin lambs at foot sold up to a high of €295/unit for a two-year-old ewe with two smashing lambs at foot (pictured below).
