Another strong and improved week of trading was seen at sheep sales last week, with factory lamb prices improving by €2-4/head in general.
Heavy lamb prices also witnessed an improved trade. Prices for those heavy lambs ranged from €135/head up close to €160/head.
However in general, the bulk of these types over the past week sold from €138-146/head.
Factory lambs, as mentioned, saw a lift in price of €2-4/head over the past week, with some mart managers noting increases of as much as €6/head.
Again, prices started from €118-120/head and hit €132-134/head – with cases of butchers and factory agents battling for well-fleshed lambs, pushing prices over the €135/head mark.
Store and ewe lambs
A solid trade for store lambs continues to be seen. Forward stores, depending on where you are in the country, have been selling over the past week, anywhere from €100-105/head up to €113-117/head for more forward types.
Lighter stores are selling from a base of €75-80/head for lambs in around the 30kg mark, up to €95-100/head for 37-38/kg stores.
Ewe lambs are attracting the greatest interest among farmers, particularly those of good quality, weighing well over 40kg.
Prices last week reached highs of €150-170/head, with lighter ewe lambs weighing 32-35kg selling as far back as €100/head.
Depending on quality, lambs around the 40kg mark have been selling from a base of €120/head, up to about €140-145/head in general.
Cull ewes
The cull ewe trade is also holding firm, with top prices over the past seven days reaching highs of €180-195/head, with many of those heavy ewes selling from €140/head up to €180/head.
Ewes near or over 100kg are achieving prices close to and over the €190 mark.
Hogget ewes
The trade for good-quality hogget ewes is continuing to hold strong – although the same can’t be said for lighter or plainer-quality types, with mart managers commenting that they are a much harder sell.
Top prices for hogget ewes, over the past week, have ranged from €220/head up to €240/head, with Blessington Mart seeing prices of up to €270/head last Tuesday.
€180-210/head seems to where a lot of hoggets are selling at.
Plainer and lighter types have been making from €150/head up to €170/head.
Mart trade: Loughrea Mart
On Thursday last, Agriland made the trip to Loughrea Mart to check in on the trade at the mart’s sheep sale.
A strong turnout of heavy and factory-type lambs were on offer, as well as nice-quality ewe lambs.
Looking at the trade, heavy lamb prices saw a lift of €5-8/head, with prices topping €158/head for 58kg.
Factory lamb prices also saw an increase, this time of €2-3/head – with prices ranging anywhere from €120/head up to €130/head, with a couple of standout pens breaking the €130/head mark and rising to €137/head.
Store lambs were in short supply; however, any forward stores that were there sold well.
Ewe lambs were the real eye-catcher at the sale, with top-quality lots selling above €140/head and topped €152/head for a smashing pen of Suffolk lambs weighing 46kg.
Cull ewes were a solid trade and sold up to €189/head. Meanwhile, hogget ewes sold up to €220/head, with plainer lots harder to sell on the day.
For a full report on the sale at Loughrea, click here.