This week’s sheep trade sees the first factories announce their opening prices for spring lamb, with hogget quotes increasing by a further 10c/kg and ewe price edging up 10c/kg at some sites also.
With just two weeks to go until Easter Sunday, the number of spring lambs slaughtered to date this year is still very low. However, supplies will begin to pick up over the coming few weeks.
Many flocks that were traditionally lambing earlier in the year in an effort to have finished lambs available in time for Easter have delayed their lambing this season due to increasing costs, and it will be interesting to see how supplies of lamb this season compares to supply from previous years.
Spring lamb
Kildare Chilling has opened prices for spring lamb at €7.40/kg plus a 10c/kg Quality Assurance (QA) bonus, bringing its total offering to €7.50/kg.
Kildare Chilling is paying farmers up to 19kg carcass weight, while Irish Country Meats (ICM) and other outlets are paying up to 20.5kg carcass weight for spring lambs.
ICM has opened spring lamb quotes at €7.45/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus, bringing its total offering to €7.65/kg.
Other factories are quoting €7.50/kg all in as their opening price for spring lamb.
Hoggets
Kildare Chilling is quoting €6.60/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus for hoggets, bringing its total offering to €6.70/kg, up to 23kg carcass weight.
The processor has warned farmers not to send unfinished lambs and said that poor lambs grading from an O2-P1 will be paid at €5.00/kg or less, adding that sheep must be clean.
ICM is quoting €6.45/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus, bringing its offering to €6.65/kg up to 23kg carcass weight for hoggets.
Other sheep processors are quoting €6.45/kg plus a 15c/kg QA bonus bringing their offering to €6.60/kg.
At the top end of the price scale, up to €6.75/kg and more is available to groups and larger suppliers of well-finished hoggets.
Cull ewes
Kildare Chilling is quoting €3.30/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus, bringing its offering to €3.40/kg up to 40kg carcass weight.
ICM is quoting €3.20/kg for ewes up to 45kg carcass weight while other outlets are quoting €3.30/kg for ewes up to 46kg carcass weight.
Some larger ewe suppliers are managing to secure €3.50/kg from the market and above in some cases for cull ewes.