A strong trade was seen for spring lambs and hoggets at Enniscorthy Mart on Wednesday, April 22.
A strong entry of cull ewes was met with an easier trade, while a good, solid trade was seen for ewes with lambs at foot.
To get an insight into the trade, Agriland made the trip down to the Wexford-based mart on Wednesday.
Spring lambs
Looking at the spring lamb trade first, there was a large entry of lighter spring lambs, with heavier 45kg plus lambs a little more scarce.
It was the lighter lambs that sold the strongest in terms of price per kg; 40-44kg spring lambs generally traded from €145/head, up to a high of €170/head for 43kg.
A handful of lots in the same weight category of lesser-quality sold back to €131/head.
46kg plus spring lambs made from €170/head, up to the highest price on the day of €182/head for two 55kg lambs.
Turning back to the lighter store lambs on offer, those weighing between 33-38kg sold from €120/head, up to €138/head.
Hoggets
As already mentioned, a small number of hoggets was on offer on the day.
Starting with the lighter store hoggets, weighing 34-38kg, these lots made from €130/head, up to €138/head.
40-44kg hoggets generally made from €140/head up to €143/head. While 46kg to 48kg lots traded from €146/head, up to €164/head.
50-60kg hoggets made from €152/head, up to a top of €181/head for 57kg.
Cull ewes
A strong entry of cull ewes was seen at Enniscorthy Mart on Wednesday, with the trade back in general for all categories of ewes, although in particular for the heavy well-fleshed ewes.
Starting with the heavier ewes, the top price on the day was seen for two 130kg ewes, that came in at €180/head.
90kg+ ewes started from €116/head and sold up to €178/head, with the exception of the two ewes that sold for €180/head.
The majority of these ewes, however, exchanged hands from €128/head up to €150/head.
85-89kg ewes sold from €105/head, up to a high of €137/head, with the majority selling upwards of €115/head.
75-80kg lots traded from €98/head up to a top of €135/head for 80kg. 60-70kg ewes generally sold from €70/head, up to €115/head. The lightest ewes around the 50kg mark sold back to €50/head.
Ewes with lambs at foot
A solid entry of ewes with lambs at foot was seen, with a good trade overall at Enniscorthy Mart.
Aged ewes with young, single lambs at foot, started from €140/unit and made up to a high of €232/unit for a hogget ewe with a strong lamb at foot.
Ewes with twin lambs at foot made from €172/unit, for aged ewes with young lambs and up to €286/head for a three-year-old ewe with two good, strong lambs.
