Sheep marts: Stores stronger by as much as €5/head

Mart managers continue to note a strong trade for finished lambs, with heavy lambs hitting highs of €132-133/head at marts last week.

Despite buyers returning ringside last week, online trading continues to be popular, with plenty of bids coming in online across sales last week.

Butcher lambs traded much the same last week as the week before, with prices ranging from €120/head up to €130/head, with 56kg+ lambs hitting the €130-133/head mark regularly.

Factory lambs, again, sold strongly, with prices ranging from €108/head up to €122-124/head in general for lambs weighing 43-48kg.

Forward stores in the 39-42kg bracket have been making up to €112/head over the past week, with prices for these lots more often than not hitting the €100/head mark and rising to €110-112/head.

Slightly lighter lambs in the 36-38kg bracket have been making from €90/head up to €105/head, with ewe lambs in particular selling for more than €100/head in cases.

Long-keep stores, of lowland breeding, have generally been making from €80-90/head with good-quality lots making that bit more.

Mountain-bred stores, in the 27-34kg weight bracket, have generally been selling from €60-80/head.

More life appears to be coming back into the cull ewe trade, with heavy ewe trading that bit stronger over the past seven days.

Well-fleshed ewes have been making from €115/head up to €130/head, with slightly smaller-framed ewes selling from €100/head up to €115/head. Forward feeding ewes continue to trade from €85/head up to €95-100/head.

Carnew Mart

Carnew Mart held its weekly sheep sale on Thursday last (December 3). Just over 2,100 sheep were presented for sale on the day.

According to the mart’s manager, David Quinn, there was a strong demand for all classes of sheep, with lamb prices up by €1-2/head on last week.

David also noted a much stronger trade for cull ewes, with prices €5-7/head dearer for these lots than the previous Thursday.

Butcher lambs sold up to €132/head, while factory lambs hit a top price of €123/head. Forward store lambs were a very good trade, with 39-42kg lambs making up to €110/head.

Heavy cull ewes hit €140/head, while forward feeding ewes made up to €105/head. Light store ewes made back to €77/head.

Baltinglass Mart

Tom Coleman of Baltinglass Mart reported lambs to be €1-3/head dearer at Saturday’s sale at the Wicklow-based mart.

He said that there was a great selling trade for all classes of sheep, with bids flying in from ringside and online.

He noted a brisk trade for store lambs, with a top price of €120/head being achieved for a pen of 14 ewe lambs weighing 34kg.

Heavy lambs made up to €126/head on the day, while factory lambs sold up to €120/head.

Cast ewes were a stronger trade than the previous week, according to Tom, with heavy ewes making up to €120/head and store ewes making back to €70/head.

A selection of ewes with lambs at foot were also presented for sale and sold well, with prices ranging from €155/head up to €251/head.