A strong entry of 750 head of sheep at Ennis Mart on Monday (May 9) was met with a solid trade all round.
The mart’s manager, Martin McNamara, said that cull ewes were the pick of the trade on the day, with spring lambs remaining largely the same to last week.
Hoggets however, were a slightly easier trade than the previous week, according to Martin.
Giving a rundown of the sale to Agriland afterwards, Martin said: “We had a strong entry of sheep on the day here at Ennis, with near 500 spring lambs on offer.
“The majority of the spring lambs on offer weighing 44-48kg sold from €155/head up to €167-168/head, with a couple of heavier spring lambs making to €170-171/head.”
Sample spring lamb prices from Monday’s sale:
- 10 at 47.5kg sold for €167/head or €3.52/kg;
- 10 at 43.5kg sold for €158/head or €3.63/kg;
- 11 at 46kg sold for €165/head or €3.59/kg;
- Nine at 41kg sold for €153/head or €3.73/kg;
- Five at 45.5kg sold for €166/head or €3.65/kg;
- Five at 49.5kg sold for €171/head or €3.45/kg.
“Hogget numbers are getting tighter and what we had on offer today sold from €140/head up to €160/head,” Martin continued.
“Prices were back a shade on last week and overall the quality of hoggets is becoming more variable every week,” he said.
Sample hogget prices from Monday’s sale:
- 15 at 47kg sold for €166/head or €3.53/kg;
- Seven at 62.5kg sold for €168/head or €2.69/kg;
- 10 at 51kg sold for €160/head or €3.14/kg;
- 12 at 44kg sold for €147/head or €3.34/kg;
- 18 at 46kg sold for €144/head or €3.13/kg.
“Cull ewes remain a strong trade and made up to €196,” added Martin.
“Lastly, ewes with lambs at-foot made to €220/unit for pairs and €202/unit for single lambs at foot,” the Ennis Mart manager concluded.