Yesterday (November 14), Agriland made the trip down to Co. Wicklow to observe the sheep trade at Blessington Mart, where its weekly sheep sale took place.
The usual sale of lambs and cull ewes got underway and was met with a lively trade, with a good demand seen for fat and store lambs, in particular.
The heavy lamb trade was up €5/head on the previous week according to the mart’s manager, John Doyle.
“It’s all about the lamb with good flesh. All breeds done well on that basis,” he said.
With close to 2,000 sheep at the sale, Doyle noted that there were increased numbers of cast ewes, but that the store lamb trade was “good”, and that prices for store lambs were up €2-3/head.
Lamb prices at Blessington Mart
With over 1,400 lambs on offer at Blessington Mart, the trade was particularly strong for well conditioned and heavy lambs.
Coming through the ring were 17 Suffolk ewe lambs, weighing 45.8kg, which sold for €132/head.
Suffolks continued to show a good demand at the sale, as a heavy 54.4kg lamb sold for €154, and seven lambs weighing 51kg sold for €148/head.
Wicklow Cheviot lambs proved to fetch good prices at the sale, with 21 lambs being sold for €133/head, which weighed 47.8kg.
A good crop of Zwartable lambs were seen at Blessington Mart for the sale, as one particular lot of 12 ewe lambs weighing 40.8kg sold for €114/head.
Two ewe lambs weighing 47kg sold for €142, while a slightly heavier group of 14 lambs sold for €143/head, weighing 47.6kg.
Ewe prices
Wicklow Cheviot ewes were in good supply at the sale, with a crop of ten ewes weighing 66kg reaching a price of €78/head.
Prices differed for the Cheviot ewes depending on their weight and condition, with five ewes weighing 67.6kg selling for €82/head, while nine Cheviot ewes that weighed 56.9kg sold for €100/head.
Lot 44 was a group of ten Cheviot hoggets, each weighing 53.6kg, which sold for €128/head.
A 54kg mule ewe made €60, while two Suffolk ewes weighing 43kg fetched a price of €90/head.
A group of 14 Texel ewes weighing 83.2kg sold for €132/head.
The sheep sale is set to return to Blessington Mart next Tuesday, November 21, but the mart will also host its weekly cattle sale this Thursday, November 16.