On Tuesday evening (March 2), Tuam Mart held its weekly sale of sheep. A strong showing of both finished and store type hoggets was on offer, while quality was lacking in the cull ewe section, with mainly store types on offer.
The trade for finished hoggets, like at so many other marts, was very strong with a top price of €169/head being achieved for two smashing pens of 53.5kg and 55.5kg hoggets, while one heavy 66kg hogget sold for €170.
Speaking to AgriLand after the conclusion of the sale, the mart’s auctioneer, Pat Burke, gave his thoughts on the trade: “Hoggets were a very good trade as you would have seen there, with prices well up on last week.
The tops would have been €169/head for those finished hoggets. Overall, the 50kg plus lots made from €155/head up to €169/head.
“There was probably an even better trade for 44-49kg hoggets. Those weighing 47-49kg generally sold from €136/head up to €155/head, with two exceptional pens of 49kg hoggets making €157/head and €164/head respectively.
“44-46kg lots traded from €137/head up to a high of €151/head. We saw some of the good prices for the in-between sheep. One pen that stood out for me was 42kg making €139/head. In the main, those weighing 40-43kg exchanged hands at €128-140/head.
“There was a nice few pens of light stores and these generally made from €80/head up to a top of €122/head for 32-39kg lots.
“All in all, hoggets were a super trade and were well up again on the previous week.”
Cull ewes
Quality was lacking in the cull ewe section on Tuesday evening, with mainly store types on offer and only a handful of heavy ewes on offer.
Pat added: “Quality was lacking in the cull ewe section. There were mostly store ewes on offer. Prices for those light store types generally ranged from €46/head up to €82/head.
“Those 80-90kg ewes sold from €93/head up to €114/head, with heavier ewes in excess of 90kg selling up to a high of €130/head.”
