Similar to what has been seen at marts over the past week, butcher lambs presented for sale at Loughrea Mart on Thursday (November 5) were met with a flying trade, with prices reaching €124/head.
The sale was dominated by factory-fit and butcher-type lambs, with a small proportion of the sale made up of forward stores and cull ewes.
Mart managers, over the past week, have been quick to note the flying trade for those well-fleshed, heavy lambs with prices of €118-126/head being reported throughout the week.
Also Read: 'The trade for butcher lambs was on fire' - Athenry's Brian HoganAt Loughrea on Thursday, AgriLand tuned into the sale to see what the trade was like. Lambs weighing 49kg and above were a great trade, with prices for these lots ranging from €111/head up to €124/head.
Lambs weighing 52kg and above regularly sold for in excess of €120/head. 49-51kg lambs generally made from €115/head up to €119/head, with one or two lots – lacking a small bit of flesh – selling for a bit less.
Sample butcher lamb prices:
- Seven lambs weighing 51kg sold for €115/head;
- Eight lambs weighing 56kg sold for €124/head;
- Four lambs weighing 52.7kg sold for €120/head;
- Three lambs weighing 56kg sold for €123/head;
- 11 lambs weighing 52.6kg sold for €120/head;
- 16 lambs weighing 50kg sold for €119/head;
- Six lambs weighing 51.6kg sold for €121/head.
Factory-fit lambs weighing 42-48kg were also a strong trade on the day, with prices varying from €104/head up to €114/head.
Sample factory-fit lamb prices:
- Seven lambs weighing 42.8kg sold for €105/head;
- Eight lambs weighing 46.2kg sold for €112/head;
- 10 lambs weighing 47.3kg sold for €114/head;
- 24 lambs weighing 44kg sold for €107/head;
- 11 lambs weighing 46.7kg sold for €108/head;
- 10 lambs weighing 43.5kg sold for €105/head;
- 14 lambs weighing 45kg sold for €108/head.
The seven pens of store lambs that were on offer also met a good trade, particularly those forward-type lambs weighing 38-41kg.
One standout price was for a pen of seven lambs that weighed 39kg, on average, that sold for €101/head.
In general, prices for stores weighing anywhere from 35kg up to 41kg ranged from €86/head up to €101/head.
Sample store lamb prices:
- 14 lambs weighing 38.3kg sold for €98/head;
- 12 lambs weighing 35.6kg sold for €86/head;
- 10 lambs weighing 37.3kg sold for €91/head;
- Seven lambs weighing 39kg sold for €101/head;
- Four lambs weighing 37.7kg sold for €93/head;
- Two lambs weighing 38kg sold for €88/head.
Lastly, a couple of feeding and heavy ewes were presented for sale. Feeding ewes sold from €64/head up to €96/head – for more forward-feeding types. Heavy ewes traded from €107/head up to a tops of €120/head.