With the hogget trade improving each week, their supply has shown a slight increase recently in comparison to previous weeks.
44,367 lambs / hoggets were slaughtered last week according to the latest sheep kill figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
This represents an increase of 5,398 head since the previous week, with factories keen to get supplies of well-fleshed hoggets in for processing.
Farmers with heavy hoggets are no doubt keeping a close eye on the factory trade in Ireland, which is being influenced by issues surrounding the import of New Zealand lamb to the UK.
The table below gives an overview of the sheep kill for week 9 (ending Sunday, March 3) and the cumulative kill to date this year, compared to the same time period in 2023.
Type 2024
week 92024 cumulative 2023 weekly 2023 cumulative Weekly
differenceCumulative difference 24 vs. 23 % weekly difference 24 vs. 23 % cumulative difference Lambs/hogget 44,367 387,879 43,559 412,300 808 -24,421 2% -6% Spring lambs 0 8,571 0 0 0 8,571 – – Ewes and rams 4,920 45,668 4,670 54,949 250 -9,281 5% -17% Light lambs 3 22 3 30 0 -8 0% -27% Total 49,290 442,140 48,232 467,279 1,058 -25,139 2% -5%
The supply of lambs/hoggets in week eight is ahead by 808 head when compared with the same week in 2023, but the overall supply this year is 24,421 behind the cumulative total of the same period last year.
Ewe and ram numbers also rose slightly last week by 250 head compared to the same week last year, but their overall numbers are running 9,281 head behind the same period in 2023.
Taking a look at this year’s throughput figures to date, 442,140 sheep have been processed so far.
Of that figure, 387,879 have been lambs/hoggets, 8,571 were spring lambs, with the rest made up of ewes and rams (45,668), and a small portion of light lambs (22).