Small numbers of in-lamb ewes have started to appear at marts since the turn of the year. Some marts in the past week or two have even held special entries of in-lamb ewes.
The trade could be described as mixed so far. Prices for springing ewes have generally ranged from €120/head up to €200/head, with a multitude of factors dictating prices, such as breed, age, and the number of lambs being carried.
In some instances, prices for in-lamb ewes have reached highs of €220/head.
At Raphoe Mart earlier in the week, springing ewes sold from €140/head up to €220/head.
In the west, at Roscommon Mart on Wednesday (January 18), in-lamb ewes moved at prices ranging from €130/head up to €154/head.
At Carnew Mart on Thursday (January 19), in-lamb ewes traded from €120/head up to €170/head.
Last weekend at Headford Mart a special entry of 90 Texel and Suffolk-cross ewes scanned in-lamb to Charollais and Suffolk rams saw prices top €200/head.
Sample prices from the mart include: Six ewes selling for €192/head; five ewes selling for €138/head; five ewes making €170; and four pens of ewes selling for €182/head.
In the coming weeks, entries of in-lamb ewes will be expected to get bigger but as a whole, looking at the trade currently, it would be a surprise if prices above what is seen will be achieved for in-lamb ewes.
Coming up, this Tuesday (January 24) at Tullow Mart, a special entry of 40 purebred Cheviot in-lamb ewes will be on offer.
The ewes are scanned in-lamb to pedigree Suffolk rams and are due to lamb from March 1, onwards. Ewes will be sold in lots of five.